South Boulder Foothills Loop Hike

This morning we awoke in our rundown hotel room, dressed, and hit the road driving west to the foothills for today's hike, a short loop hike just east of Eldorado Canyon State Park. We parked in the large lot, paid the parking fee as non-Boulder County residents, and then hit the trail.

The hike is based on a loop featured in the guidebook "100 Classic Hikes in Colorado." However, a short portion of that hike does not allow dogs, and with Rosie we were forced to detour on the Homestead Trail instead of the Towhee Trail. Almost immediately we came to the Homestead Trail's namesake; the Doudy-Debacker-Dunn House.

Then, we continued a gentle climb on the Homestead Trail through short sumacs.

It was a warm day for late December. We spent a good portion of the hike in short sleeves. There were lots of great views west to the mountains.

Soon, the trail entered into some thicker woods. We stopped to take a break on a large boulder.

Then continued on our way walking north and parallel to the mountains.

Since we were now in thicker woods, the views became less frequent. Still, we caught occasional views of the Flatirons and Devil's Thumb.

On the way back to the car, 

we took a wrong turn and ended up following the Lower Big Bluestem Trail into the treeless prairie. While it added a bit of length to the hike, it offered some nice views of the mountains.

With our hike finished, we headed to Pearl Street to walk around a bit. We ended up eating a delicious lunch at Southern Sun.