Hayden Green Mountain Park
Lakewood, CO
Trail Rating: T3, P2-P4, N3
Facilities: bM

Getting there:

Green Mountain Park is an 2000-acre park located on the western edge of Lakewood. It is easily accessed off Alameda Parkway. To get to the Florida Trailhead, take Route 6 to the Union/Simms Exit. Go south on Union and turn right onto Alameda. The trailhead is on the right after about two miles. To get to the Rooney Road trailhead, continue past the Florida trailhead on Alameda to the light at Jewell. Turn right (this is still Alameda) and take this road over C-470 and turn right onto Rooney Road. The trailhead is on the right in less than 1/2 a mile.

The trail system:

Green Mountain has over 20 miles of trails running throughout the park. Unfortunately, most of them are not on the map at either parking lot. But don't worry... I've mapped out the trails for you by running through the park with a GPS.

There are two main routes to follow, a 5K route and a 10K route. Both of the routes can be accessed from the Florida trailhead. If you plan on doing the 10K loop or more, I recommend parking at the Rooney Road trailhead. From this trailhead, you'll have a 3.5-mile rolling warm-up before you head uphill.

Be warned - this park can be packed with mountain bikers, so run cautiously on the curvy single track.

The 5K loop:

This loop starts at the Florida trailhead. The best way to run this loop is in a clockwise direction so that you get a warm-up prior to the hill climb.

Start by going left from the parking lot and head over the hill towards the mountains. If you see downtown Denver, you are going in the wrong direction. When you come to the first trail crossing, turn right and begin you ascent of the mountain. At the next two trail intersections, make a left, then a right. This will put you on the jeep road that is used to service the radio tower.

Run past the radio tower and veer to the right. Turn right at the second intersection, and proceed down the mountain to the parking lot.

Even though this loop is only 5K, it still has 600 feet of climb and descent, so it is a decent quad burner.

The 10K loop (Green Mountain Loop):

This loop can start at either the Florida or the Rooney Road trailhead. I prefer to start at Rooney Road and run counter- clockwise so that there is a warm-up before climbing the hill.

Start by leaving the parking lot and run over the bridge. Once you come to the trails, take the lowest dirt trail to the right and climb over a 200-meter hill. This will drop you into a meadow. In the summertime, the grass is rather high, but in the winter, you can see all of the prairie dogs that scurry around this meadow.

At the next intersection, you will make a right. Do not go straight here as you will end up climbing a very steep hill to the top. Follow this rolling section for about 3 miles. At each of the three trail crossings, you will want to continue straight. This will put you in the parking lot at the Florida trailhead.

Run through the parking lot and turn left onto the trail that switchbacks up the hill. This is when the fun begins. The total climb is about one and a half miles, but the worst section is the first 400 meters. Follow this trail up to an intersection and turn to the left. Keep your eye on the radio tower in front of you because that is where you are going. When you get there, turn left and follow the jeep road. You will run on this road for a half mile before reaching the official top of the mountain. At this point, you have one of three options. You can turn left and go 50 meters to the top for a great view of the mountains, or you may decide to go to the right and get a great view of Denver, or you can just continue on the jeep road straight ahead. If you choose the options with the views, remember to return to the jeep road to get down.

Once back on the road, follow it all of the way down and back to your car. This downhill is steep, so be careful not to let your feet slide too much on the loose dirt... that is unless you have a good stock of saline solution and bandages in the trunk of your car!

For the expert (17K loop):

If 10K and 1100 feet of climbing is not enough for you, then I suggest tackling my 17K expert loop with 1500 feet of climbing. It starts out the same way as the 10K loop until you begin to climb up out of the Florida parking lot.

Follow the same trail up towards the top and make the first left. After this, you will go 200 meters farther and see a trail going off to the left. Take that trail down to the other side where it meets up with the Utah trail. Make a right at the first intersection and continue up the hill. Follow this trail to the jeep road at the top. It is tempting to turn left here and head down, but you must resist the urge and turn right. Run past the tower and veer to the left. After you have run down this trail for about 100 meters, look for a trail that goes off to the left. If you run past the power line pole, you went too far. Take this trail for approximately one mile. You will come to an intersection of about five trails. Take the second trail to the left. This will put you back out on the jeep road, where you will turn right. About half way up the next hill, there is a trail to the left. Follow this trail around the top piece of the mountain (going straight at the intersection), back to the jeep road and turn left.

When the jeep road turns left and heads down the mountain, you are going to continue straight on the singletrack trail. At the next two intersections, turn left. The third intersection has a little sign post at it. Turn left here and head down the mountain, turning left at the next junction. Continue straight through the next intersection and follow the trail back around to the jeep road.

Turn right on the road and then make an almost immediate left onto another singletrack. Follow this trail down and then back up, going straight at each of the next two intersections. When you crest this hill, you will see the meadow that you started out in down to your right. Turn right at the next trail crossing and retrace your steps through the meadow, back to the parking lot.

These loops are best run in the cooler months of the year because of the lack of shade on Green Mountain. If you are running these loops in the summer (especially the 17K loop), make sure to take plenty of water with you.