Castlerock State Park, santa cruz County, CaliforniaW

We took the Saratoga Gap trail in this large State Park.

There were some great views all along the way. Total mileage was 5.49 miles.

This hike travels through an oak savannah and chaparral-studded hillsides.There are a few steep dropoffs.

Other trees along the way are California bay, madrone, tanoak, and Douglas fir.

There are sandstone rock formations known as tafoni.

The trail alternates from along the edge of the mountain and inside the woods.

There were some wide trees!

This is the Castlerock.

Mesa Trail past Matron Boulder Open Space

This Trail began in Boulder on the Stranahan Trail.

Not much snow , in fact very dry most of the way. I was glad I brought my poles for some stretches of snow.

We went up Bluestem Trail that takes us by the Matron.

The Matron is an eloquent formation that reigns over the southern Flatirons. It soars above Shadow Canyon and is clearly visible from most of the area. It is the last major Flatiron formation before reaching the nearby climbing mecca, Eldorado Canyon and hosts several classic routes. Although the east face is similar to other Flatiron routes, the Matron has steep walls on all sides that guard access to the easier climbing above. 

Hike is about 7.5 miles RT - About 1417 ft+ up down

It was hard to believe this beautiful trail was so close to town.

Square Top Lakes- near Guanella Pass

Here is the Trailhead, there is a toliet and map. Usually lots of parking here. Its busy on the other side of the road to climb Mt Bierstadt.

Here is the narrow trail up to the lakes.

I love the unusual vegetation and little creeks you find along the way.

The trail is 4.2 miles round trip with a 600 ft gain elevation.

There are lots of willow plants.

Here you can see the lakes you will pass.

Here is the first lake.

The second lake is larger.

Looking down to the first lake below.

We like to drive back through Georgetown along rt 70 to see the beautiful aspens along the road.

Iceberg Lake Glacier National Park

These were some of the views as we headed along the trail to Iceberg Lake. This was another hike that started near the Many Glacier area of the park. The trailhead is located behind the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn complex. You keep driving a bit to get to a small parking lot.

There were many wildflowers along the way. We were told you can often see some moose to the left far down in the trees below. We did see a bear coming back at this area. It was very far away.

After two miles you come to Ptarmigan Falls. It is very pretty.

Crossing Ptarmigan creek

The snow up ahead is leading up to the icebergs and snow around the lake.

Iceberg lake is surrounded on three sides by towering cliffs, we can see as we are getting closer.

We only had to cross one snowfield.

There were plenty of icebergs in the lake. Beautiful color, aquamarine tarn.

This was a smaller pond next to the lake. The hike was 9 miles round trip. Beautiful scenery all along the way.

Hike to Grinnell Lake Glacier National Park

This was a hike we did while staying at the Many Glaciers section of the park. Grinnell Glacier Trail was closed due to all the snow.  We heard they were going to dynamite the trail to break up the snow the week we left. The trailhead parking lot is the Swiftcurrent Picnic area.

It was a bit cloudy when we started.

This trail travels along three lakes. You can cut off some of the miles by taking the boat tour. The views were beautiful all along the way. Here is the first Swiftcurrent lake.

This is the boat on the next Lake Josephine.

The sunny weather gave us lovely blues in the lake and we could see panoramic views of the peaks surrounding.

The trail follows the edge of the lake until we head back into the forest following the Grinnell Lake trail.

The wildflowers were at their peak.

The trail follows cataract Creek for .5 mile till you get to the suspension bridge. Its only .3 miles to the lake.

Grinnell Glacier Lake derives its milky aquamarine color from the refraction of sunlight through suspended particles of fine dust created by the abrasive action of the glacier. 

The waterfall gives the final touch to the amazing views.  7.8 miles round trip without the boat shuttle.

Heading back along the boardwalk we saw two moose and a beaver building its lodge. A Great Hiking Day!!