Hiking: Devil’s Backbone Open Space

A simple introductory hike with great friends, our furry children, and a sense of what lies before us.

Mary here!

Finally, after a month of living in Colorado (how the time flies!) we got out on our first actual hike in Loveland, CO. Kevin, Otto, and I met up with my dear college roommate Stephanie, her husband Tyler, and their pup Ellie. I’m so glad Kevin finally got to meet them. Stephanie and Tyler are seriously such a dream power couple- they are so inspiring, cheerful, and overall just cool people. Like I hope one day I can be as cool as them.

So we meet up in Loveland for the Devil’s Backbone Open Space Trail. The first thing I realized was that the parking situation was a bit rough (although we got there pretty late at about 10:30AM) We circled around for a little while before finding a spot. There are bathrooms and water located at the start of the hike though, which is appreciated. Speaking of bathrooms, poor Otto had some nervous poops as soon as we got out of the car. I think all the new smells and people made him too nervous at first, but he adjusted well and had a blast.

The walk overall was pretty easy. I lost my breath a couple times going uphill. I’ll blame the altitude for it, but in reality I’m just painfully out of shape. We stayed on the bottom trail at first, choosing to swing around to the keyhole on the way out. Plus, since it was a pretty busy day, getting further out and higher up saved us from too much congestion. What really excited me was the option to bring a a bike and ride separate trails. Kevin and I will definitely have to do this once we buy new bikes.

After about an hour and a half we made it back to the keyhole. Keyholes like this typically get me so excited for photos, but unfortunately I was a little disappointed to witness the newer homes being built so close to the land. The mountain views are still beautiful, but one can only imagine how much more spectacular it looked without the massive homes and fancy cars in the proximity.

If you want more information on the actual history and geological aspect of the area, visit this site: http://www.coloradolifemagazine.com/Heaven-on-the-Devils-Backbone/. I wish I would have researched more before the walk so I could have appreciated it even more. (Note to self for every future hike!) Like most nature areas, it has a history of the community fighting for its preservation. Slowly, but surely, it saved this wide stretch of land (seriously Stephanie and Tyler could hike it back home if they wanted to commit all day to it).

This was a great afternoon hike with unusually warm (but perfect) temperatures! Spending our first outing with these incredible people just made it even more special. I’m looking forward to the next one!

Cheers, friends! Until next time!

-Mary