Northridge, Devil's Canyon, and Mace Trails - Pueblo Mountain Park

It is an odd phenomen how people tend to take those things close to them for granted.  If somebody told me they were visiting Colorado and asked me what things I recommended they see, I would probably start listing all of the popular spots that tourists always make their way to.  It would include places like Pikes Peak, Seven Falls, The Royal Gorge, maybe even the mint in Denver.  Yet, I haven't been to Pikes Peak and Seven Falls since I was a teenager before I moved to Florida.  I haven't been to The Royal Gorge since my kids were really young.  And, I have never been to the mint.  These are just a few examples.  But, I think you understand what I am talking about.

When Lori and I set out for our first hike about a month ago, the first place I thought of was Rocky Mountain National Park.  I love RMNP.  I loved our hike.  We have gotten closer to home with each subsequent hike... from RMNP to Vail to Colorado Springs.  Last weekend, we finally ended up driving the short half hour to Pueblo Mountain Park near Beulah.  We have been up in the area a couple of times over the last few years.  And, every time we have been up there, we have said to ourselves that we should make the drive more often.

We started up the Northridge Trail and very shortly found ourselves overlooking a beautiful rock ridge.  The trail was awesome and well-shaded for most of the way.  In front of us were incredible rock formations.  Behind us were fantastic views of the entire valley below us.

The view along Northridge Trail

We eventually made our way through the forest and weaved back and found ourselves on top of the ridge pictured above.  Before turning back towards the forest for our descent down the mountain, we ran in to a little friend.

A green snake that I almost stepped on

Starting to heat up along the Northridge Trail

After enjoying the views and taking in some pictures, we eventually turned and started back through the forest making our way down the backside of the ridge.  This section of the trail was peaceful and was a cool respite from the sun that was starting to get a little warmer.  The forest was incredibly quiet and Lori and I felt completely alone. 

Some mushrooms appreciating the cool shaded conditions

We reached the bottom and turned left down Devil's Canyon.  Devil's Canyon is a beautiful canyon between the two sides of the rock ridge. 

Devil's Canyon

We made our way through the canyon slowly climbing down boulders until we realized that the faint buzzing sound we were hearing echoing off the canyon walls was actually wasps!  All of a sudden, I realized that my rock climbing skills, or rapelling skills, were a little bit better than I realized as I flew down along rock walls on the side of a small stream of water to the bottom... ignoring the wasps swarming around my feet and hands.  When I got to the bottom, I realized that I had left Lori a little behind...  who said chivalry was dead?  So, I decided to pull out the camera and get some shots of her climbing down the canyon!

That's Lori climbing down Devil's Canyon

Shortly after the climb through the canyon, we found ourselves back at the trailhead.  After a quick lunch, we started back up on the Mace Trail and eventually made our way to Lookout Point.  Lookout Point is a great spot to take in the views and sights on top of the East side of Devil's Canyon.

Lori taking in the scenery

The panaroma from atop Lookout Point

(click for larger image)

After some more picture taking, we headed back down Mace Trail.  Mace Trail wasn't as shaded as Northridge Trail and it was a nice relief to start making our way down back around the loop to the East side and eventually back to Devil's Canyon.  For the second time, we found ourselves in the canyon facing the hum from the buzzing wasps.  We both did a better job ignoring the wasps and Lori nimbly made her way through the crevice while facing her fear! 

We ended up hiking about 5 miles that morning and it was a perfect hike.  I enjoyed Waldo Canyon near Colorado Springs.  But, I have to tell you that I much preferred the journey around Pueblo Mountain Park and look forward to our return.  The views were better.  The forest and canyon were incredible.  And, the best part is that we only saw three other people on the trail the whole morning!  There must have been 70 people on the Waldo Canyon Trail by the time we got off it.  Who knew such a beautiful mountain and set of trails existed in our backyard?!  We will definitely be back at PMP in the very near future!  Here's to not taking things for granted and finding hidden treasures in your backyard...