Distance RT: 3.5 miles
Time: 1 hrs 40 min
Difficulty: Moderate
Permits required: None
Brief Description:
Royal Arch rock formation is perched high along a rugged fold within Boulder's Flatiron rock formations. The Royal Arch trail is only ~1 mile each way, however, it can only be accessed by taking the Bluebell Road trail from the Chautauqua Park Ranger Station TH near Baseline Road. Once you reach the Royal Arch formation, walk underneath to a set of rocky outcrops to witness sweeping views of the Boulder foothills and eastern plains. Adapted from Protrails website.
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| Full map can be downloaded here. |
Arch using the map above, you can see that the Royal Arch trail is only 1 mile each way. To get to the start of this trial, you first have to take other various trails to get there, which adds another ~1.25 miles each way. We parked on Baseline Road (the orange line marked as such in the upper right hand corner of the map) and found the Royal Arch trail by 1) taking the Chautauqua trail (stemming from the "P" marking the parking lot for Chautauqua Park), 2) hanging a left at the first fork, then 3) after we were up in the trees we took a left onto Bluebell trail towards the 3rd Flatiron. Once you get onto this Bluebell trail, the trail becomes pretty well marked with Royal Arch signs to direct you. Don't miss looking up at the actual Royal Arch formation. It literally marks the end of the trail!
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| Denver to the Chautauqua Park Parking on Baseline Rd. Thanks to Google maps here. |
Directions from Denver
-Take I-25 North to Highway 36 towards Boulder.
-From Highway 36, take the Baseline Road exit and turn left.
-Take Baseline Road west past 9th Street and Chautauqua Park is on the left hand side.
-Turn left into the Chautauqua Park and park in the parking lot or along Baseline Road.
Parking
No fees. Bathrooms are available at the Chautauqua Park Ranger Station, as well as "The Dining Hall" located to the north of the park nearby (walking distance). This parking lot fills up quickly and remains full most every time we have been there. Overflow parking is available on Baseline Road. Useful maps of the local Flatiron trails are available for free at the Ranger Station.
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| View of the Flatirons from Baseline Road. |
We parked our car in the overflow parking on Baseline Rd, laced up our hiking boots and make a short stop at the Chautauqua Park Ranger Station to grab a trail map. Using this map as our compass (as you can see from the map above, the trails are a bit confusing) we started up the wide gravel path of the Chautauqua trail towards the Flatirons. This trail takes you through sunny grasslands, increasing your basal temperature quickly as there is no protection from the sun until you reach the shade of the pines at the foothills of the Flatirons.
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| Ready to hike to the Royal Arch. Chautauqua trail. |
Being that we were starting out hike mid-morning, the trail was absolutely packed! There were people every age and dogs of every breed running, walking and admiring Boulder's outdoors. After our previous hike of 12 miles, we were feeling pretty confident that we could complete this relatively short trail in no time. The incline was very modest in the beginning, but it eventually turned quite steep once we began hiking the actual Royal Arch trail. It was an intense 1 mile up, up, up, up.... UP!!! Our legs were still, perhaps, a bit exhausted from only taking one day of recovery time since Wigwam. Regardless, however, climbing ~1000 feet in 1 mile could get anyone's lungs panting and leg muscles burning! Emily coped by not glancing up at the trail ahead, which never seemed to end. Instead, we both focused on the views of Boulder below us. At one point, every few feet included stepping off the path for people to pass us or cross by us on their decent (the path gets pretty narrow at times). Those that were returning from the Royal Arch were very encouraging! It kept us moving.
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| Royal Arch rock formation. Marking the end of a strenuous hike. Boulder Flatirons. |
After about 50 minutes, we had done it! We looked up and saw the Royal Arch stones welcoming us to the end of the strenuous hike. We climbed underneath its arms and onto some nearby stones to take a break admiring the sprawling city below and beyond. The University of Colorado is easily identifiable by the red tiled roof tops. There were a few brave souls that dared to go close to the edge of the rock's drop off. Among these were a young couple with a very timid yellow labrador and a father with his two young sons (and a very worried mother who stayed up by Joe and I)! After hydrating (with plenty of water this time!) we started on our way down.
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| Admiring a boulder's eye view of Boulder! Emily and Joe, Royal Arch, Boulder Flatirons. |
As we climbed back down the steep path that once took us up, we began contemplating which direction is easier. Surely it would be the downhill, however, after climbing up for so long, our legs were shaky and our minds had to work extra hard to make sure we didn't stumble to our death with one wrong foot placement! These situations are especially problematic for Emily, who is a bit clumsy at times. Plus, the incline is a bit hard on the knees. Emily had residual pain in her knee the next day that lasted a week. It was around noon when we returned to the car. We grabbed our picnic bag and found a nice shady spot to have a leisurely lunch at the Chautauqua Park. The Flatirons were still within our view and we watched college students playing frisbee and having lazy afternoon picnics of their own. We also got to see those two young boys (who were daring enough to venture out to the Royal Arch cliff edge) fall down in exhaustion as they attempted to cross the park to their car. They had to be carried the rest of the way! Talk about a great way to wear your kids out!
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| Joe with his "tasting cup" in the sample lounge. Celestial Seasonings, Boulder. |
After our picnic, we decided to drive about 20 minutes out of the way to take a Celestial Seasonings tea plant tour. It was founded in Boulder in the 1970's and the tours are free with lots of tea samples. We got to experiences the "peppermint room" where they store their supply of peppermint and spearmint leaves for their minty tea varieties (a full-body refreshing experience that awakens every part of you!) as well as the packaging area. Very neat! Next time we plant to spend more time on Old Pearl Street downtown.
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