Nordic Walking Up Sanitas Valley

Close-to-home trail with decent elevation gain.

From our house, it is 1.6 miles and 565 vertical feet to the signpost at the top of the Sanitas Valley Trail, part of the fabulous trail system maintained by Boulder Mountain Parks and Open Space. Yesterday was gray and chilly, threatening snow that never came, so we bundled up and headed out. The wide south-facing route is terrific for a winter walk, because the snow melts quickly and the upaved surface of what was once a road to a quarry dries and hardens. A few steep sections elevate the heart rate, but basically, it is a steady, moderate ascent.

Early in the morning, especially in summer, we've often seen deer and once a coyote, but the wildlife retreats as soon as people and especially canines show up. And show up they do. Legions of runners, joggers and walkers -- with or without dogs, with or without infants in babypacks -- congenially share the trail. I have occasionally seen someone with a single trekking pole and even more occasionally someone with a pair of trekking poles (Sanitas Valley is part of a loop to the summit of Mt. Sanitas, a 1,340-foot-gain hike), but I am always the only Nordic Walker. I'm trying to start a trend.

On the return, the view from Sanitas Valley (the picture above is of the ascent) is toward the snowy, north-facing foothills. For those who don't live as close to the trailhead as we do, there are two small parking areas and on-street parking on Mapleton Avenue west of Fourth Street. Once Mapleton narrows into Sunshine Canyon, there is no more parking.