Susan Joy Paul's Colorado Adventure along Poudre Canyon Highway

Colorado Springs local and well-known author, Susan Joy Paul's traveled all over our beautiful backyard, that is Colorado.  

At Mountain Chalet, we wondered if she had a favorite from her travels far and wide, and well, we learned of one...sort of.  One favorite place is actually a week's worth of wonderful sites along a length of a Colorado state highway. With Susan as our extraordinary tour guide, take a week and take them all in...or pick and choose from the bounty of Colorado outdoors.  

"One of my favorite places to explore is the stretch of CO-14 between Ted's Place west of Fort Collins, over Cameron Pass to Colorado State Forest State Park near Gould. This 69-mile stretch of the Poudre Canyon Highway accesses peaks, lakes, a cascading waterfall, and many campgrounds. Book your campsites and choose your adventures:

- Eight miles west of Ted's Place, start with a hike up Greyrock Mountain. 

- Then continue on for fifteen miles to Mountain Park Campground, get some sleep, and get up early to hike to the top of Mount McConnel.

- Pack up, drive another thirty-two miles west, and pull over at the signed overlook and enjoy views of Poudre Falls. 

- Continue for another three miles and turn right to parking on Cameron Pass and access to hiking trails and easy class-2 hikes up the Diamond Peaks.

- Two more miles west on the highway, take a hard left to enter Colorado State Forest State Park. Hike to Lake Agnes.

- If you're an experienced mountaineer, pack your helmet and hike past the lake to climb Mount Richthofen, the high point of the Never Summer Range. 

- Camp here or go another nine miles up the road and turn right into Colorado State Forest State Park and more camping. From here, hike to Ruby Jewel Lake. 

- If you have anything left, hike up Clark Peak, located just past the lake. It's the high point of the Rawah Range.

There you have it! A week's worth of adventure packed into a single stretch of highway."

For more details on Poudre Canyon Highway adventures, check out Falcon Guides books by Susan Joy Paul and Stewart M. Green:

- Greyrock Mountain and Mount McConnell: "Trails to the Top" by Paul and Green

- Poudre Falls: "Hiking Waterfalls Colorado" by Paul and Green

- North and South Diamond Peaks, Mount Richthofen, and Clark Peak: "Climbing Colorado's Mountains" by Paul

- Lake Agnes and Ruby Jewel Lake: "Best Lake Hikes Colorado" by Paul and Green

Come on in to Mountain Chalet to visit our Discovery Center that houses lots of guide books and maps for adventures in Colorado and beyond.