Alderfer/Three Sisters Park

Alderfer/Three Sisters Park

Went up to Evergreen to check out Alderfer/Three Sisters Park and it was nice. I went on a Sunday so it was really busy. When I got to the East Trail parking lot I got the last parking spot and it was only 7:08 am. When we got back the road was lined about as far as you could see with cars parked so I would strongly recommend getting there early. Or super late because I like to hike early and would hate for you to take my spot.

The park is a series of intertwined trails and I can tell you for the first time I actually got a little turned around. Luckily I had my new hiking friend Alex with me and she took over the maps. I can tell you we started on the sisters trail, I think we took Silver Fox, then got onto Evergreen trail and ended up heading to the top of Evergreen Mountain. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more specific on this one.

The Sisters Trail

The Sisters trail was a combination of dirt and rock and had some areas of elevation gain but nothing that lasted for too long. It was more of a climb up, flatten out, climb up flatten out pattern. For most of the trail you are walking through a forest of lodge pole pines with some rock formations scattered throughout. The trail is pretty easy to negotiate but there were quite a few people and bikers on this Sunday morning. While the woods were nice my favorite area was when you came out to a large clearing on the Silver Fox trail.

Evergreen Mountain

Following Silver Fox this took us to the west parking area and then around another field and then we started our ascent up Evergreen mountain. While it is not too much of an incline, just over 1200 feet, the trail became very loose here and was also peppered with rocks. There were several times with slipping or stumbling a bit over a few rocks in the path. About 80% up the Evergreen West trail there is a little off shoot to get to a scenic overlook. It is only .1 miles and is worth it.

After the scenic view, it is just a little ways up until you get to the peak. There is a loop that wraps around the peak and you can go either direction. The southwest side will give you the best views of Mount Evans and the high country.

Overall this is a good hike. The views are nice and elevation gains, while steep in some places, are more spread out and of shorter duration than a lot of hikes. Granted I went on a Sunday morning but the amount of bikers on this trail really took some of the enjoyment out of it for me.

It seemed we would have to stop every 50 yards to let some bikers pass through. There were also a lot of hikers so this may have been an example of being a nice Sunday morning. I think it would be a good hike for lower level people and people just trying start out because of the amount of options that are available. You can get nice views without too much effort. Or you can work a lot harder and get some better views. Everyone should be able to enjoy at least a part of this park.

Elevation and Distance

If you don’t have the AllTrails app you might want to check it out, I really love mine. It records your progress and is a great way to search for hikes that are nearby and gives you difficulty measurements. According to AllTrails today’s hike was around 7.7 miles and had a total elevation gain of over 1200 feet.

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Effort

While this hike wasn’t as long as the Staunton hike I did earlier in the week it still took some effort. The elevation gains are spread out and not overwhelmingly steep. There are still a lot of times where you will be going uphill especially if you do the Evergreen mountain part of the hike. Here are my stats according to Fitbit.com

Terrain

The Sisters trail and most parts on the north side of the park are a solid packed dirt trail with occasional rocks. The south side of the park by Evergreen mountain was a loose sandy trail. Also, more rocks that became slippery in many places and also was a bit of a trip hazard at times.

Access

There is an East and West parking area and each of these have pit toilet facilities. The East lot I parked at filled up at 7 am on a Sunday morning. Both Trail heads are off of Buffalo Park Road.

Here are the rest of the pictures from today’s hike at Alderfer/3 Sisters park.

After the hike I had a very enjoyable lunch at the Bait Shack in Evergreen. If you have a chance check them out.