Rosa’s Favorite Trail Runs in Colorado

In The Wild

Rosa’s Favorite Trail Runs in Colorado

There’s nothing like a new route to energize your run. So we asked Rosa Moriello (our warehouse Shipping Supervisor and a competitive runner + coach) what her favorite trail runs were, and she put together this incredible list to freshen up your running game.


Colorado Trail: Segment 7

  • Length: ~13mi point-to-point
  • Difficulty: Hard
  • Type: Technical

My personal favorite. This is the Breckenridge to Copper section of the Colorado Trail. It climbs about 3,500ft with great views of the surrounding mountains and tons of wildflowers along the trail. Incredibly beautiful!


Waterton Canyon

  • Length: ~12mi out-and-back
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Type: Flat

A relatively flat wide canyon trail that runs along the South Platte River just outside of Denver - it’s also the start of the Colorado Trail. It’s a great trail to use for all times of the year and can be used for running, hiking, or biking. If you’re lucky, you’ll even see some big horn sheep.


Lion’s Lair Spur Trail

  • Length: ~4mi out-and-back
  • Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
  • Type: Technical

Also known as the back side of Mt. Sanitas in Boulder, the trail offers a moderately tough climb (500ft) to the top. It has really nice switchbacks and a lot of shade for those hot summer days.


Photo by Ken Lund.

Santa Fe Regional Trail

  • Length: ~17mi point-to-point
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Type: Flat

Located near the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, this flat, wide trail is great for all running abilities. It offers some rolling hills, great views, and, depending on how far you’re running or where you start, you can check out Palmer Lake.


Beaver Brook Trail

  • Length: ~13mi out-and-back
  • Difficulty: Hard
  • Type: Technical

Starting at Windy Saddle trailhead in Golden, this trail offers a variety of challenges. There’s about 3,000ft of climbing, boulders for scrambling, forested soft trail areas, ledges, and great views along the way. And if you’re looking for a really long trail adventure, you can always start on the Chimney Gulch trail off of Highway 6 before connecting to the Windy Saddle trail.


Blue Sky Trail

  • Length: ~16mi out-and-back
  • Difficulty: Moderate
  • Type: Technical

Between Fort Collins and Loveland, this trail climbs about 1,700ft. There are some technical areas but overall, a great trail for beginners. The trail is mostly single track so you’ll need to keep an eye out for mountain bikers.


Want to learn more about Rosa? Get to know her here.