Falcon Trail on the Air Force Academy

Yellow Wildflowers

We decided to hike a trail on the grounds of the Air Force Academy here in Colorado Springs. The Falcon Trail is a trail that we have never hiked before and it is a 13 mile loop, but we just did a few miles of it. Since we have had a rather wet summer, the wildflowers have been in full bloom and we enjoyed seeing quite a variety of them during our hike.

Beautiful Day
Many Different Wildflowers
Vibrant Colors
Crossing a Small Stream
Orange Wildflowers

The trail takes you through a variety of terrain from open fields to wooded hills. It was a warm day, so we enjoyed getting into the shade of the trees. The trail is considered to be a moderate trail, but the portion of the trail that we hiked was fairly easy. It is certainly a popular trail with mountain bikers, so you have to keep your eye out in order to avoid getting in their way.

Purple Wildflower
Walking along the Trail
So Many Different Types of Wildflowers
Walking Through the Wildflowers
The Beginning of the Hike

It is definitely a trail that we will likely hike again. Not a lot of people go onto the grounds of the Academy to go hiking, so it is nice way to get away from the crowds and get into nature without having to drive very far from the city.

Tall Wildflower
Stream along the Trail
Getting into the Trees
Solo Wildflower
Fuzzy Wildflower

Aa

Red Rock Canyon Open Space

The weather was absolutely beautiful this weekend so we took advantage of it to go on a short hike. This was our first time hiking the Red Rock Canyon Open Space, which is located between Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The scenery is very much like that of Garden of the Gods park and there are plenty of interesting rock formations to see as you stroll along the trails.

Walking One of the Trails
Beautiful Rock Formations
Diversity along the Trail
Not Just Red Rocks
Jutting Rocks

The trails are not particularly difficult and there are plenty of families and people with dogs, but the park is spread out enough that despite large crowds it is still a tranquil experience. As we walked along the trails, we came across a group of volunteers who were spending their Sunday repairing the trails and adding steps along a portion of one of the trails. We stopped to take their picture for them and took one of them ourselves and thanked them for their volunteerism and hard work.

Volunteers on the Trail
Wildflowers
Rocky Trail
Beautiful Day
Rugged Scenery

It is hard to believe that we have lived in Colorado Springs for over twenty years and yet had not gone hiking on these trails before. We will definitely return on future occasions to explore more of the open land space and enjoy all of the natural beauty. We live in such a beautiful place and are lucky to be able to go hiking in just a few minutes and be surrounded by such natural wonders.

Start of the Trail
Pikes Peak in the Distance
It was a Wonderful Hike
Clear Blue Skies
Garden of the Gods in the Distance

 

The Wildflowers of Colorado

Yellow Wildflowers

One of our favorite things about hiking during the summer in Colorado are all of the beautiful wildflowers. It doesn’t matter if we’re hiking in the mountains or just taking one of the various trails that run through the neighborhoods, there are wildflowers everywhere. There are so many different varieties and each are beautiful in their own ways. We especially like seeing them in the ruggedness of the mountains as it brings a splash of color to contrast all of the deep greens and browns.

Flowers on Boulders
Flowers by the Lake
Purple Flower
Red Bell Flower

Unfortunately, the growing season here is very short, so you can only find the wildflowers blooming from June through August. When they are blooming, though, they can be quite spectacular. They also bring with them some beautiful butterflies as well as bees. It is that time of year now when the nights start to get a little colder and there is a hint of autumn in the air already. Soon the wildflowers in the mountains will be covered with snow and go dormant until they return next summer.

Tiny Red Flowers
More Yellow Wildflowers
Pretty Blue Wildflower
By the Trail

We are hoping to get in a few more hikes before the wildflowers are gone and the scenery is replaced with changing of the leaves, which is also truly spectacular.

Rugged Beauty
Simply Wild
Purple Flowers