I didn’t make it up to the mountains for three weeks!! It seriously felt like forever! I was going a bit stir crazy. Things kept coming up around the house and life just got in the way! I was suppose to go hiking the weekend before but it snowed and ruined our plan of hiking. I was determined to make sure I got up to the mountains this weekend if nothing else!
Turns out, we had a lot going on this weekend as well. Justin and I both had to work on Saturday, which meant Sunday was going to have more chores than normal. However, I was determined. So I told my husband to get his butt out of bed on Sunday morning and we were going to go for a quick hike in the mountains.
I knew I had to get out of the house and do something fun, but I also knew if I didn’t have at least a couple hours to get things done, I was really going to regret it. Since time was an issue, we chose to do a quick hike up to St. Mary’s Glacier.
This little gem is the exit just after Idaho Springs along I-70. From Denver, it only takes about 45 minutes to get there depending on traffic.
Now, when I say a quick little hike, I mean a quick little hike. St. Mary’s Glacier is only about a 1.2 mile hike in and out. I chose this hike for a couple of reasons. One, it is close and easy to get to. Two, I wanted Lotus to be able to hike it with me.
Lotus had been telling me she wanted to go hiking with me! She asked me the whole drive up if we were hiking yet! I don’t think she realized that hiking was the walking part of the trip (Ha!). She did so great through!
The hike is pretty much all up hill. It does flatten out in some ports, but for the most part, it is an incline. It’s not overly steep but there are many rocks so be careful not to fall. The hike was also very icy. This is actually the second time I have done this hike and both times it has been very icy. The ice doesn’t affect you too much on the way up, but on the way down if you aren’t careful, you might slide al the way to the bottom!
Once you get to the top, you’ll come to a beautiful lake nestled right below a mountain. The lake was frozen and someone was actually ice fishing! The kids had a lot of fun sliding around on the ice, but they did fall a lot.
A lot of people bring sleds with them to sled down onto the ice. While this looks like a lot of fun, we did see rescue workers escorting someone down the mountains who fell off his sled and hit his head on a rock. Be careful up there!
We didn’t stay too long at the top since we were on a time crunch and the wind picked up tremendously, but the kids did get some time to run around and play. Jeffery especially liked this since he was stuck in the backpack carrier. We were also at the top just long enough for the kids to have a melt down. Jeffery threw a fit because I told him to be careful on the ice (I know, I’m so mean!) and Lotus didn’t like the wind! So we took that as an indication that it was time to head back.
The trek down was a little trickier just because of the ice but we did it no problem! Lotus was so proud of herself and she told me she wanted to go hiking all the time!
A few words of caution about this hike. Yes, it is a very quick and simple hike, but it is also a highly trafficked hike. There are typically a lot of people here. we must have gotten very lucky on the day we went. There were quite a few people but not as many as I expected. There are also a lot of dogs on this hike and a lot of dogs off their leashes. If your dog is not good with other dogs I would suggest leaving them at home. Even though the rules state dogs must be on leashes, almost none of the dogs were. Finally, there are only two small parking lots for this hike and fill up rather quickly. Once again we were fortunate that someone was pulling out when we were pulling up. Come early and come prepared to walk to the trail head!
St. Mary’s Glacier is really the perfect little hike to do and then go see Idaho Springs. Idaho Springs has some rich history, cool shops, and as you could probably guess, a hot springs! They also have some really neat restaurants and breweries! So if you have time to stick around after the hike, I would suggest checking out this little town!
Whether you have all day to hike and stroll around, or only an hour for a quick hike, St. Mary’s Glacier is a great hike to choose!