NCAR Trailhead

By signing up for this hike you acknowledge that hiking includes inherent risks. You also agree that you participate at your own risk and are solely responsible for your safety.

Meeting Place: The parking lot at the NCAR lab in Boulder, 1850 Table Mesa Dr, Boulder, CO 80305.

For this hike, we're going to venture up into the Boulder area. It starts at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. If you have never been to the lab before, part of the lab is open to the public and has exhibits (some are interactive) regarding their research, weather, climate and the atmosphere in general. I think it's a fun thing to do before or after the hike, but I'm kind of a weather nerd. It's open 8am to 5pm on weekdays.

Behind the lab, there are trails that link to trails throughout the Flatirons and foothills. We will take a loop with an additional out-and-back spur, for a total hike of 3.5 miles. This doesn't sound long, but there is an elevation gain of 1,200 feet, increasing the difficulty and making it a 2.5 to 3 hour hike. It winds around in the Flatirons, the iconic rock formation west of Boulder.

I plan to be in the parking area at 9:15 and begin hiking at 9:30. Look for my gold Toyota Corolla.

The web page regarding visiting NCAR, directions, hours, etc. is at https://scied.ucar.edu/visit/plan-trip

The general NCAR web site is at https://ncar.ucar.edu/