Friday Afternoon Hiking Adventure - Anne U White Trail

A summer break day with 3 kids at home.... a recipe for fighting and excessive screens or the chance to explore a very small piece of the beautiful state of Colorado that we live. We chose option #2.

Roughly 2.5 miles from the intersection of Hwy 36 and Lee Hill Road in Boulder, CO is the Anne U White Trailhead. This 1.7 mile in and out trail is part of the Boulder County Parks and Open Space trails and follows the Fourmile Canyon Creek. I would say compared to some of the other trails around the Boulder area, it wasn't super busy when we went, but it wasn't deserted by any means of the imagination. The parking lot is small, and I saw on a number of different sites, the recommendation to get there early to get a spot. We ended up pulling in right after lunch and had no problem finding a spot.

I would say the trail is fairly easy (although its listed as moderate) but does have a number of stair climbs, waterfalls and creek crossings, so littles may need some additional help. My boys are older and plowed their way through this trail with little to no struggle. The creek either runs along side the trail or crosses over in more spots than we could count. I think that's the part that my kids loved the most. It was fun hopping from one rock to another while looking for fish or other bugs in the water. We didn't find any, but it doesn't mean they weren't there. And the whole way hearing them say "its so peaceful and relaxing to hear the water running" and "this is a beautiful trail, lets hike it again." Makes my mama heart feel good to know that they had a great time and want to do it again.

Like with all Boulder areas, its mountain lion country and its always best to keep your head on a swivel, always looking around. With the large number of people on the trail, it wasn't something that we were worried about, but it's always a good reminder, and made for quite the conversation along the way. In typical Colorado fashion these days - the rain clouds came in, but thankfully we made it to the car before the skies opened. Its been a nice change this summer to have daily rain showers, just makes for creative and intentional planning of activities outside.

One of the boys decided to be the photographer along the way, constantly looking for picture worthy shots. Below are some of the best ones he got. Maybe one day, I'll get him a real camera and see what he can do with it.