Hiking with the kids in Alderfer/Three Sisters

I've spent a lot of time in Elk Meadow, the Jefferson County Open Space park nearest our house.  But we somehow missed out on Alderfer/Three Sisters, though, until Frankie and Pop-pop were here last week.

Rock formation along the Ponderosa Trail

This park, located just west of Evergreen, has over 15 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails, including the well-known summit of Evergreen Mountain.  Trails are well maintained and well marked, and there are maps at the trailheads.  We chose a fairly easy path for the kids - a 2.7 mile loop that passed the landmark Three Sisters rock formation. 

We parked in the west lot and took the Sisters Trail until it looped around and met up with the Ponderosa Trail.  There were a few steep spots, but the kids did great.  This park boasts a ton of cool rock formations - magnets for kids who want to climb.  Our pace certainly would have been faster without the numerous climbing detours, but it would have been a far less fun hike.  At the Three Sisters, Joker, Frankie and the Bug even called down to the Bunny and me from some vertigo-inducing heights!

Also fun: there are a ton of geocaches hidden along these trails, if you're into that sort of thing.  We found three, dropping a TravelBug into one and getting little kiddie prizes in the others.  There were several along these trails that we passed up - so next time, still new things to discover.

What a fantastic place for Frankie's very first hike!  Great views of the mountains and of Evergreen.  Fun rocks to climb on.  Plenty of shade (and spots to stop for snacks).  A few tough uphills that result in nice easy downhill payoffs.  What more could you ask for?