Easy-effort trails around Boulder
Trails our model puts in the lowest effort band: about an hour or less one way with little climbing.
Effort here is computed from a trail's length and its climb using a standard walking-time rule. It is not an official difficulty rating, and it knows nothing about footing, exposure or weather.
Use it to find trails that are short and gentle on paper, then check the trail page for surface and the land manager for conditions.
By the numbers
Numbers describe the 20 longest trails listed below, not every trail with the feature. Climb is known for 20 of them.
The trails, longest first
High Plains Trail
2.68 miDirt144 ft gainWiniger Ridge Trail
2.65 miGround65 ft gainMeyer's Homestead Trail
2.59 miGround65 ft gainPonderosa Loop Trail
2.59 miLoopDirt233 ft gainNiwot Ridge Trail
2.52 miGravel65 ft gainWalker Mountain
2.36 miDirt0 ft gainIsabell Glacier Trail
2.32 miGround80 ft gainMeadowlark Trail
2.31 miGravel185 ft gainBenjamin Trail Loop
2.26 miLoopDirt244 ft gainElk Trail
2.25 mi11 ft gainOh Danny Boy Loop
2.24 miLoopGround328 ft gainBear Canyon
2.22 miDirt32 ft gainWaldrop Trail
2.21 miGround118 ft gainNelson Loop
2.21 miLoopDirt324 ft gainOverland Loop Trail
2.20 miLoopDirt186 ft gainSheep's Way
2.20 mi386 ft gainHobbit
2.19 miDirt133 ft gainSpring Brook Loop North Trail
2.19 miDirt183 ft gainButton Rock Mountain Loop
2.18 miLoopGround235 ft gainDoudy Draw Trail
2.18 miDirt10 ft gain
Good to know
- Trails with unknown climb are left out rather than guessed.
- Easy on paper can still mean rocky or steep in places: look at the elevation profile.
How this list is made
Computed from length and climb: about an hour or less one way with little climbing. This is not an official difficulty rating. The list is ordered by length (longest first), not by quality: we don't rank trails by opinion. Trails under a quarter mile are hidden.
Data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); elevation computed from the USGS 3DEP elevation model. Not safety advice: check the land manager for rules, closures and conditions.