Two Knobby Tires

Macbride Nature Recreation Area – Hiking Trails, Raptor Center – Iowa

twoknobbytires — Sat, 11 May 2013 17:38:48 +0000

The Macbride Nature Recreation Area is 13 miles north of Iowa City, on Mehaffey Bridge Rd, and 0.7 miles east of Sugar Bottom’s mountain biking trails. Hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing, dog walking, and camping are all popular activities in the park but mountain biking, hunting, and horseback riding are not allowed. Parking is free and includes restrooms and a water fountain. My cell phone service was intermittent while on the trails.

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We hiked a 2.0 mile loop that started with the Hawk Ravine Nature Trail, spent 20-30 minutes at the Raptor Center, and finished on the Osprey Nature Trail. Our range in elevation was a gently rolling 150 feet.

We hiked 0.4 miles on the Hawk Ravine Nature Trail and found its entrance at the southwest corner of the main parking lot. It was downhill to start.

It was narrow and mostly smooth. It had several fallen trees across it, which our kids had fun climbing under and over.

We saw only one other hiking group so it was a very peaceful experience for us.

After a short climb, this trail ended at a gravel road. We made a left turn onto the road and headed to the Raptor Center.

The Raptor Center is home to permanently disabled birds housed in wood cages that are viewable by the public. Dogs are not allowed near the cages but can be tied to a dog-specific resting area.

Our kids ages 6 and 2 1/2 had a blast seeing all of the birds. We were there when they were being fed dead rats for lunch but didn’t witness them eating. Here are some of the ones we saw:

Long-Eared Owl

Great Horned Owl

Bald Eagle

Peregrine Falcon

Red-Tailed Hawks

Turkey Vulture

Something we plan to do for our next visit is to have our kids donate money out of their piggy banks to help feed the birds.

We hiked a short distance past the Raptor Center to the Coralville Lake shore and enjoyed a picnic lunch on the rocks.

After lunch, we double backed on the gravel road, continued past the exit of the Hawk Ravine Nature Trail, and stopped at the parking lot near the Triangle Picnic Area. Our 2 1/2 year old walked to this point and then was carried in our ERGOBaby the rest of the way. From there, we had a little trouble finding the start of the Osprey Nature Trail. The quickest way from this parking lot would have been to turn right onto the road and then look for the trail sign on the left. However, we turned left, walked past the Triangle Picnic Area, then turned right onto a cross-country ski trail before finally finding the start of the Osprey trail. The next picture shows the picnic area on the right and the cross-country ski trail on the left.

The Osprey Nature Trail is a 0.7 mile half loop. The first part of it was covered with leaves so we relied on trail markers to guide us.

The rest of it was easier to follow because it paralleled the Coralville Lake shoreline.

Our 6 year old had fun walking across several narrow wood bridges.

It was very windy, which can be heard on this video.

Near the end was an abundance of Mayapple, which we last saw at Woodpecker Ridge in Virginia.

This trail ended near the Cedar Shelter.

Also near the end of the trail are the group campsites named “Wolf 1-5″, each of which appears to have its own fire pit. The prices per site ranged from $10 to $20.

From there, we walked a short distance on the main road to return to the parking lot from which we started.

In sum, we had a lot of fun exploring this nature area because it was peaceful with only a few other hikers on the trails. In addition, the Raptor Center captivated our kids attention and gave us lots to talk about afterwards. Two other nearby hiking areas that are great for kids are the Cedar Valley Nature Trail and Squire Point.

Twin Owls Loop – Estes Park, CO

twoknobbytires — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:38:14 +0000

Twin Owls Trail started from the Lumpy Ridge trailhead, which was located a few minutes northeast of downtown Estes Park. Directions can be determined on a GPS device by searching for Lumpy Ridge Road. Hiking was the main activity on the trail with a few spots for backcountry camping. Rock climbing was allowed during times of the year when raptors are not nesting. Dogs, horses (on specific trails), and mountain bikes were not allowed. Parking was free because the trailhead was not inside the boundaries of Rocky Mountain National Park. Restrooms are provided but not water. Our cell phone signal was moderate for most of the hike.

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We hiked a 1.85 mile counterclockwise loop on the Gem Lake and Twin Owls trails with a rise in elevation of 350 feet.

The day before, my wife and I hiked from the same trailhead to Gem Lake and explored the Twin Owls loop on our way back to the parking lot. We had so much fun on the loop that we returned the next day with our two kids (ages 2 and 6) and their grandparents. We started on the Gem Lake trail, which has a moderate incline.

After a half mile, we turned left at a sign that directed us to the Twin Owls View trail.

From here, the trail was mostly horizontal and rolled gently up and down a ridge. Our six year old walked the entire loop but we carried our two year old in an ERGOBaby carrier up until this point, after which he walked the rest of the way.

We hiked in a counterclockwise direction so the views of Longs Peak and the surrounding mountains were in front of us as opposed to behind us. In the next picture, the trail was straight and then turned right, after which additional views to the west became available.

About half way around this loop, there was a rock climber’s access trail to the upper Twin Owls. We did not explore it because it was closed due to raptor nesting. The subsequent picture was of Twin Owls and Rock One.

A little farther down the trail we saw a rock climber bouldering. What’s more, the rock in the following picture had permanent climbing anchors.

We talked to some hikers who had taken the Black Canyon Trail to Batman Rock. It sounded like fun and maybe something we’ll fully explore on our next visit. Instead, we veered off the loop for only a few hundred feet by turning right at a sign for Lawn Lake and Batman Rock. We stopped and turned around at a sign for Black Canyon trail.

Near the sign in the above picture was a warning that there would not be any toilets beyond this point and with it free “RESTOP 2″ disposable human waste bags. Also near the sign was a set of benches that we used to rest and have lunch.

The next picture shows the view we had from the benches.

After lunch, we continued on the loop with 0.6 miles remaining to return to the parking lot.

We finished by hiking up and over a small ridge.

In sum, our group consisting of kids and grandparents thoroughly enjoyed this hike and, especially, the perfectly located benches that allowed us to rest and eat with a view of the mountains. Our kids have also had fun hiking on the Lily Lake trails.

Gem Lake Trail – Estes Park, CO

twoknobbytires — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:37:13 +0000

Gem Lake Trail started from the Lumpy Ridge trailhead, which was located a few minutes northeast of downtown Estes Park. Directions can be determined on a GPS device by searching for Lumpy Ridge Road. Hiking was the main activity on the trail and fishing was allowed too. Dogs, horses, and mountain bikes were not allowed. Parking was free because the trailhead was not inside the boundaries of Rocky Mountain National Park. Restrooms are provided but not water. Our cell phone signal was moderate for most of the hike.

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We hiked 1.7 miles with an elevation gain of 1000 feet to reach Gem Lake.

The trail’s gradient was consistent and allowed us to maintain an upbeat pace.

The trail was mostly smooth but contained log steps throughout. Our kids (ages 2 and 6) had fun hiking the Twin Owls Loop, which starts at the same trailhead, but this would have been too difficult for them.

After a half mile, we officially entered Rocky Mountain National Park. It wasn’t much longer when views to the south became available.

We hiked this in mid-March and, although, there were several feet of snow at Bear Lake, the rest of Estes Park was extremely dry. The next picture shows the only section with snow, a result stemming from a large set of boulders casting a shadow.

Near the end, we discovered an open air bathroom, something we hadn’t seen before this high up. This seemed to be a very popular trail, even in chilly March, so this bathroom was well placed.

The final ascent narrowed and was rockier.

Gem Lake was frozen and it seemed like its water level was low.

This video captures the tranquility of the lake.

Our descent was fun because we enjoyed panoramic views that contained Longs Peak and Twin Sisters Peaks.

The next picture was a zoomed in look at Longs Peak.

About a third of the way down we stopped at an overlook to enjoy a view of Lake Estes.

In addition, we saw a mule deer lying down about a hundred feet off of the trail.

On our way down we extended our hike 0.6 miles by taking the Twin Owls view trail (1.1 miles instead of 0.5) back to the parking lot. Read my Twin Owls post for information about a fun, easy loop with great views.

In sum, this trail was fun because it was moderate in difficulty, easy to get to, quick to do, and very scenic. It may be our new favorite hike in Estes Park. Deer Mountain was another hike we loved but was almost twice as long as this one.

Snowshoeing to Nymph, Dream, & Emerald Lakes – Estes Park, CO

twoknobbytires — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:51:36 +0000

Rocky Mountain National Park’s Bear Lake trailhead is located 20 minutes from downtown Estes Park, Colorado. The primary activity in the winter is snowshoeing but we’ve seen people doing a mix of cross country skiing, alpine skiing, and snowboarding. The trailhead is at 9,475 feet in elevation and includes restrooms but water was not available in the winter. In addition, the shuttle bus was not running so we drove to the end of Bear Lake Road. A park entrance fee or annual pass was required to enter. Cell phone service was weak for us. Before heading out, we called the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center to hear about the weather conditions and snow levels.

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In mid-March of 2013, we used snowshoes rented from the YMCA to hike around Bear Lake and then out and back to Nymph Lake. We reached Nymph Lake after 0.5 miles and a 225 foot increase in elevation.

The path was wide and the snow was well packed because there were a lot of people using this trail.

It was mostly straight with a consistent upward slope that had us feeling the altitude a little bit.

The path leveled off for a short stretch just before we reached the lake.

It was cold with blowing snow so our views were limited. I took a picture from this same spot on a sunny day in 2009 and which can be seen later in this post.

This video depicts the blowing snow we experienced.

Our first experience snowshoeing was in early January 2009. On this trip, we continued past Nymph to Dream and Emerald Lakes. Snowshoeing was a lot easier than we had expected, as long as we walked forwards and not backwards. It fact, it seemed easier than it did when we hiked to these lakes the previous summer. Although, on this trip we were not carrying our daughter in a Kelty child carrier, which made a big difference. Our gear consisted of Leki trekking poles, MSR snowshoes rented from the Mountain Shop, a wicking baselayer, windbreaker jackets, winter beanies, and ski goggles.

There was little snow to be seen as we drove to the parking lot but there was three feet on the trails. If you like to hike and have never been snowshoeing then I highly recommend it because it was very similar to walking and renting snowshoes was affordable. Rocky Mountain National Park is a great place to start because the trails are well traveled (i.e., follow the trampled snow) which helps because markers are buried in the snow and, thus, trails can be ambiguous. Please read my descriptions for summer hiking at Bear Lake and Glacier Gorge Junction.

The next picture was taken at Nymph Lake.

We continued another 1.1 miles and 425 feet gain in elevation to get to Dream Lake. The next picture was taken on a ridge between Nymph and Dream lakes and showcases the view to the south.

Dream Lake was as scenic in the winter as it was in the summer. Notably, there was significantly less people snowshoeing than there was hiking in the summer so the peacefulness was an added bonus. The subsequent picture was taken from the east side of Dream Lake.

Getting to Emerald Lake was more difficult because it required an additional 605 foot climb over only 0.7 miles. Therefore, getting to Dream Lake should be doable with a child in a carrier backpack but it would be a challenge to get to Emerald Lake because of the steeper slope.The following picture illustrates the most vertically challenging stretch.

Before we reached Emerald Lake, the final stretch departed from the dense forest and, as a result, provided stunning views of the nearby mountains.

In the summer, Emerald Lake’s shoreline was only accessible from the eastern edge so it was difficult to get to the far side. However, in the winter and if the lake is sufficiently frozen, you can easily walk to the far end.

The following video captures both the beauty and intense wind we experienced.

In sum, snowshoeing from Bear Lake was great for us as first timers and certainly worthy of our repeat visit four years later. Please read about our other favorite RMNP hiking trails.

Valmont Bike Park – Boulder, CO

twoknobbytires — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 18:50:36 +0000

Valmont Bike Park is located in Boulder, Colorado and, specifically, on Airport Road a little north of Valmont Road. Parking is free and includes restrooms, a water fountain, and a bike service station.

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First, I checked out the small play area for kids. It was enough to hold my kids attention for 15-20 minutes.

Next to the play area was covered picnic tables, restrooms, and a water fountain.

What’s more, a bike repair service station was available with tools and a pump.

Using its multi-use path and starting at its southern end, I walked a counterclockwise loop through the park. The southern half featured single track with low lying platforms and logs that were ideal for riders of all ages.

I witnessed both young kids and adults having fun exploring the trails, which provided a safe learning environment for riders new to mountain biking.

The Valmont Dog Park borders the southeast edge and was another parking option.

The southern area included several unique opportunities to master various types of terrain such as rocks, raised logs, sloped turns, sand, wooden platforms, and more.

The northern area featured dirt jumps, slalom courses, and a pump track. The dirt jump area was the most fun to watch because the riders were performing advanced tricks.

The following picture shows the dirt jump area from atop the slalom course.

East of the slalom area was a pump track and a set of curvy single track.

The northwest corner featured a slalom area comprised of several tracks with various degrees of difficulty. In the next picture, the terrain difficulty increases from right to left. I had fun watching parents and their middle school aged children test their skills on the slalom course. The youth were fearless while the parents were wide-eyed and simply trying to keep up.

I didn’t see anyone jump off the wooden platform or the log.

The last picture zoomed in for a closer look at some of the advanced terrain.

In sum, I am very jealous of Boulder residents for having such an awesome park in their backyard. It is family friendly with nice facilities and a safe place for kids to learn to mountain bike. I had fun walking through it and highly recommend it for anyone who has a chance to check it out. There are two mountain bike skills parks in Fort Collins worth checking out too. Lastly, I’ve had fun biking at Hall Ranch and Rabbit Mountain.