(Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems).
In the summer, when there are 14 to 15 hours of daylight each day, hitting Mount Galbraith near Golden for a beautiful and vigorous hike before work is glorious.
Located at the threshold of Golden Gate Canyon, I can get in a hike of 4.5 miles in a little over two hours, with an elevation gain of almost 1,000 feet.
I prefer it as a weekday morning hike because this hike attracts a lot of folks on weekends, and there are only 27 parking spaces at the trailhead. The last time I did it, on June 21, there were only six cars in the lot when I started the hike at 6 a.m. It was an especially beautiful Friday morning. Temperatures were in the low 60s under a light overcast sky. As I climbed the first mile, a lovely fog bank hung over Arvada.
I was back in my car at 8:15 a.m.
The trailhead, which is located 1.2 miles up Golden Gate Canyon Road from Highway 93, is at 6,280 feet. The hike begins with a 1.3-mile climb up the Cedar Gulch Trail to the Mount Galbraith Loop trail, which rings the upper part of the mountain. After completing the loop, descent is via Cedar Gulch.
The loop can be done clockwise or counter-clockwise. There are some narrow rock scrambles on the backside of the mountain that are less threatening to climb up than go down, if you hike in the counter-clockwise direction.
Those aren’t the only rocky sections on this hike, so I do recommend bringing trekking poles, even though most of the trail is pretty smooth.
Hiking clockwise, the first 1.5 mile offers views of North Table Mountain, downtown Golden and Green Mountain as the trail heads east from the trailhead and then south. At 1.6 miles, you’ve climbed almost 600 feet, and the trail swings to the west. Now you’re high above Clear Creek Canyon with Lookout Mountain and Mount Zion looming on the other side of the canyon. There, views of Front Range sprawl give way to a more remote feeling for a mile or so. The summit of Galbraith at 7,260 feet, with lovely a 360-degree view that includes Mount Evans in the distance, is reached after another half mile of hiking.
Two other things to like about Mount Galbraith: There are several sections of trail that offer some shade from the sun, and Jeffco Open Space regulations make it a hiker-only park. That means no mountain bikes. Dogs are allowed, but must be leashed.
This week, we will have nearly 15 hours of daylight. Sunrises will be shortly after 5:30 a.m., and sunsets will be around 8:30 p.m. We will continue to have more than 14 hours of daylight through the first week of August. That, of course, means Mount Galbraith would be a nice place to hike after work, too, but I prefer the cool of the morning.
It really is a beautiful way to start a workday.
