Hello, Green Mountain in Lakewood of the Denver Metropolitan Area, Colorado

I made it into Denver Metropolitan Area from Rawlins, Wyoming this past Monday after a drive that lasted just shy of 4 hours.

The drive was pleasant with a decent amount of scenery, especially after entering into Colorado. With the state border receiving drizzles of scattered show­ers, the air smelled crisp and refreshing—a pleasant contrast from the polluted air of the cities in which I usually am. I also had a work call during my drive, which made that hour feel like it went by a lot faster. Overall, the trip felt fairly quick.

My hotel of choice for this leg of my trip is the Courtyard by Marriott Denver South/Park Meadows Mall, south of the main Denver city/county and near Centennial. (Interestingly, the hotel has an Englewood address, even though Englewood is several miles northwest of Centennial; I haven’t figured out why yet.)

Since arriving, I spent Monday night and most of Tuesday catching up on work and relaxing. I’m heading out of Colorado on Saturday, so I didn’t want to lose any more days; I went on my first hike this morning.

Green Mountain in Lakewood, Colorado

When selecting hikes, I like to pick trails that are moderate or intermediate in difficulty that will allow me to overlook the city with a wide, sweeping view. For today’s hike, I wanted to summit Green Mountain in Lakewood. I headed over to the Rooney Road Trailhead and made my way up the Rooney Valley Trail.

Green Mountain in Lakewood, Colorado

Green Mountain in Lakewood, Colorado

Once I got close to the summit, I transferred over to the Summit Loop Trail for a nice view of the entire Denver Metropolitan Area.

Green Mountain in Lakewood, Colorado

Green Mountain in Lakewood, Colorado

Green Mountain in Lakewood, Colorado

Green Mountain in Lakewood, Colorado

After reaching the peak of Summit Loop, I transferred back over to the Rooney Valley Trail and summited Green Mountain, which gave me some nice views of the southwest corner of the Denver Metropolitan Area.

Green Mountain in Lakewood, Colorado

Green Mountain in Lakewood, Colorado

It seems like the Denver area has a lot of great hiking opportunities. Unfortunately, I’ll only have time to hit two more spots at most, but I’ll definitely be putting my final two full days in town to good use.

 

—§—

 

 

—§—