Have you ever walked up 2,744 stairs for fun? Yea, me either…
The incline is only a mile long and gains 2,000 feet in elevation. That’s a lot of feet. To give you some perspective: my forearms were sore from pushing on my thighs to gain momentum. That will either tell you that I am pretty weak or that this was a pretty massive undertaking.
It was tiring and definitely rewarding. Would I do it again? Only if someone that hasn’t gone wanted to go. That is usually my reasoning for most strenuous hikes. I love accomplishing them, but once I’m finished, I don’t have a desire to skin that cat again (or Peta Appropriate: Peel that potato again). However, there are many people that do. We had a guy pass us that was on his third trip up for the day. We arrived at the trail head around 8:30am, so that is pretty impressive.
We decided to take the trail down and not go back down the steps. The trail is really stunning and well kept. It looks like that $10 to park is being put to good use. The trail and incline are free to use. You can walk from other parts in town (most of the parking in town requires a fee as well). There is also a shuttle from one of the hotel parking lots. I’m always willing to pay park fees, if the trails are in good shape.
No dogs are allowed on the incline. I don’t think Ohso’s hip could’ve handled it either. The shaded spots were covered with ice and snow. We put on our spikes for the last quarter of the incline. It got steep and the ice was not our friend. There were people that didn’t have any traction on, but I highly recommend wearing them. Slipping on your face will be just one less thing you have to worry about.
DOGS ALLOWED: NO
TRASH AND RESTROOMS: YES
DRIVE TIME: 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES FROM DENVER