Kaitlyn Janak

While making your way to the parking area, you'll keep right for the most part. You'll also need a high clearance vehicle or the patience to drive very slowly. The dirt road to the trailhead is full of dips, holes, rocks, and essentially could be a close relative of off roading. If you do not have an SUV or pickup - that's fine, just do NOT and I repeat, do NOT, attempt to make it to the actual...

This was my first ever backpacking adventure and I couldn't recommend a better first timer trip. It's only a little over 8 miles so can easily be done as a full day hike, or backpacking for beginners! To get to the trailhead, you'll take Hwy 16 west from Buffalo, WY to Forest Service Road 20. You'll turn right onto Circle Park Rd. (FSR 20), continue for 2 miles, turn left at the fork and you sh...

Drive into Keystone, take a right on Old Hill City Road, drive for a little over two miles, you'll pass both Kemp's Kamp and the K Bar S Lodge, and look for Echo Valley Dr. on your left. As soon as you pass Echo Valley Dr, keep your eyes out for a pull off on the right. Once you get to the trailhead take the trail, which is the road used when the mines and mill were still in operation to haul m...

After reaching the trailhead, the first couple miles are forest service road. You'll want to follow the main FSR, do not branch off onto any of the smaller dirt roads. The turn off to go down into the canyon is very easy to miss. It will be on your right hand side after a small patch of trees, there are also some fairly large boulders at the turning point, so keep your eye out!  Once you start ...

The hike into Hunters Canyon is extremely easy going. You can do the hike year round, but the further into summer you are, the hotter the canyon will be.  This is a great beginner hike as it has very little elevation gain. It's also perfect for dogs, thanks to the stream that allows for frequent pit stops for water and playing.  The trail itself is 3 miles, but you can continue into the canyon ...

Before you start this adventure, make sure you're wearing shoes that will not be ruined by crossing creeks. There are several stream crossings so wear waterproof boots or sturdy hiking sandals (I prefer my Original Universal Tevas or my KEEN Whisper Sandal).  The pull off to start the hike is about 10-15 minutes from the Spearfish Canyon stoplight, in between Bridal Veil Falls and the pull off ...

When you start the hike to Loch Lomond, you'll have a few options for parking. The further up the road you go the trickier it's going to be to get back out. I parked at the bottom of the road and hiked my way up. The first mile or two is mostly elevation gain and to be quite honest I thought I was going to die a few times. Still getting used to the elevation of CO is something I hope to someday...

Spokane will always be one of my favorite locations in the hills. The town was founded in 1890 and features 3 intact structures from that time. The most intact structure is the manager's house which you can find up on a hill behind the other buildings. A few years ago the old school house finally gave in and collapsed but the remains are still around. You also can find remains of other building...

The trailhead is located at the Willow Creek Horse Camp. This trail doesn't allow motorized vehicles but you may share it with some horses depending on when you venture onto the trail. The trail itself is pretty easy, it will take about 1.5-2 hours depending on your pace and is shaded for about half of the hike.  You'll get to Willow Creek about a third of the way through the hike where you can...