Hiking in Colorado Springs: Spruce Mountain Open Space

I’m not sure if you’ve picked up on this, but I pretty well love hiking and being outdoors! I also love having a three day work week because I can hike on weekdays and avoid the massive weekend crowd in the Springs!  Weekend hiking around here is hardly a solo sport, so don’t count on having any trails to yourself! I wouldn’t be presumptive enough to say I’ve hiked everything worth hiking in the Colorado Springs area, but I will say that I’m pretty snobby about where I’ll go! One of my favorite places to hike is the Spruce Mountain Open Space near Larkspur!

Spruce Mountain is a butte that lies just north of Colorado Springs.  There’s a trail at the top of the mountain that loops around the entire mountaintop, which offers really amazing 360 views of the surrounding area! You can see the rolling green hills and a unique view of Pikes Peak on this trail! Let me tell ya, when the grass has turned green and the wildflowers are out the views from the top are truly breathtaking! I’m not usually a “give me those rolling hills” type of girl (I much prefer “give me those snow-capped peaks”), but I was really impressed with the views on this hike!

One of the main reasons I love hiking here (besides the views) is because I’ve never seen this place packed on a weekday! You can hike for a while here without seeing anyone, which is rare to find in Colorado Springs! It makes me feel like it’s my secret spot – although I know it’s really not *sigh*.

Of course, someone who reads this will go here on a weekday and it will be packed.  Such is life!

Here are some specs on hiking in Spruce Mountain Open Space:

Restrooms: Yes

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate.  It does not take long to ascend to the top, so overall the hiking here is pretty level and easy. Some people will find the switchback to get up the mountain moderate.

Pets OK? Pets are allowed on leash

Crowds: Depends on when you go! Weekends and summers are busy

Fees/Permits: None

Hours of Operation: 1 hour before sunrise to 1 hour after sunset

Tips:

• Depending on the time of year you may need poles for icy spots.  We have hiked this as early as April and there were very few icy spots.
• Whichever route you take, I highly recommend making your way to the top of Spruce Mountain to hike the Upper Mountain Loop.  It has amazing views!!
• The pictures from this trail are from Eagle Pass trail to the Service Road, then the Spruce Mountain trail to the Upper Loop Junction, then to Greenland Overlook to the Oak shortcut.  Here’s a map to help you figure out the way you’ll want to go!
• Expect that it might be windy depending on the time of year! It’s typically windier in Colorado throughout spring.
• During the summer, you’ll have a pretty good mix of exposed and shaded areas.  Come prepared for the sun!
• July and August are monsoon months, so be prepared for the possibility of afternoon thunderstorms and check the weather before coming!
• Wildlife is present, so be aware and be diligent with small children!
• I’m not a mountain biker, but I know that people do mountain bike here.

Starting out on the Eagle Pass Trail! I could not get enough of the bright green rolling hills!

Most of the pictures of this hike are from May, and you can see that there were wildflowers even this early!

The Eagle Pass trail was very level and easy, and it had great views!

The gate pictured above is your turn off for the Service Road that takes you up the mountain (pictured below).  This was a pretty intense switchback but it was brief!

Once you start climbing up switchbacks you begin to see the Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir!

At this point, we were on the Spruce Mountain Trail/Upper Loop trail heading toward the Junction to the northeast.  You could easily have gone south at the Service Road/Upper Loop junction and looped back around towards the trailhead.  We didn’t because we didn’t know how long my daughter was going to play ball with this hike!

I’m pretty in love with the above picture. I’m just sayin.  These views are still to the west of the mountain.

I have always loved seeing trains in wide open spaces like the above picture! When you’re on the east side of the mountain after the junction with the Upper Loop this is what you’ll see.

A distant view and a different perspective of Colorado Spring’s Front Range.

The spot in the above picture is when you are nearing Greenland Overlook.  This whole area is full of great views and interesting rock formations – not to mention a plethora of photo ops!

Colorado. Just doing its thing. Looking awesome.

I love the above picture because it’s such a different perspective of Pikes Peak than what I’m used to! From Greenland Overlook you switchback down the mountain and bickety-bam, you’re back at the parking lot!  I’ve read that a lot of people are willing to drive here from Denver and feel that the drive is worth it once they hike here!

I’m telling you, this is a great hiking spot – and I’m seriously snobby! I hope this has encouraged you to make this a must-see spot in Colorado Springs!

Don’t forget to leave me a comment!

Until next time!