Date: Saturday, April 27, 2019
Miles: 7.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 1161 feet
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Time: 3hr total
Type: Day hike from Denver ( 1 hr 20min drive)
Trail Head:
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/ouzel-falls-via-wild-basin-trail–2
Notes:
⚠️ Spring Thaw— Trail is very wet with deep, melting snow. The Wild Basin entrance is still operating with their winter trailhead, about 1.1 miles from the summer trailhead.
I hit my goal of completing 30 hikes by the end of April 🎉! Today we drove to the Wild Basin entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park, a smaller and lesser known trailhead near Allenspark, CO. If you want to explore RMNP without the crowds, I would recommend hiking out of this south eastern portal.
The winter trailhead adds some flat mileage to the Wild Basin TH, where You follow the path straight towards Ouzel Falls (2.7 miles from the summer TH). Our first two miles were flat and clear of snow, following the St. Vrain through scattered forest. After that traction is needed, with snow pack still deep and slowly melting. The trail passes Copeland Falls and Calypso Cascades (other water falls), adding a steep section following the cascades. The last mile is the worst for melting snow, almost impossible to not post hole (bring extra socks). When you approach the bridge and wood sign for Ouzel falls, make sure to break left before the bridge to the overlook. This is one of the largest waterfalls I’ve hiked to in Colorado— highly recommend checking it out in the summer when trail conditions are better.
Annie Hikes 500 Miles 