Editor Pick
Alderfer/Three Sisters Park
- January 9, 2006
- Rated 5 of 5 by
mplunkert from Centennial, Colorado
One of the things I miss about not living in Evergreen anymore is being able to relieve my stress by pulling on my hiking boots and heading to a nearby trail. Only a couple of miles from my home, The Three Sisters was one of my favorite places to unload and was ideal for a short outing when my time was limited.
Alderfer/Three Sisters Park consists of 770 acres of open space. The defining feature of this park is four massive rock formations known as “The Three Sisters” and “The Brother.” While there are over 12 miles of trail that will lead you to The Three Sisters and over to The Brother, the round trip hike to The Sisters is about 4.9 miles. A round trip hike to Brother’s Lookout only is about ½ mile shorter. The scenes from atop these rock outcrops are vast and spectacular. You will enjoy a birds-eye view of the town of Evergreen with the 14, 260 foot summit of Mount Evans reigning over all. Although there are a couple of places along the trails that get fairly steep and where you are hiking through large boulders, the hike, for the most part, is fairly easy and hiking boots are optional. Wildflowers and stands of mature pine trees will decorate your way (pretty to look at, but picking wildflowers is prohibited), and abert squirrels (as well as squirrels of the regular variety) will chatter at you to keep you company. .
To reach the trailhead, turn south off of Highway 74 onto Highway 73. (This intersection is at the light on Highway 74, just after you have passed Evergreen Lake if you are heading toward downtown Evergreen.) After 0.6 miles, at the first light (Evergreen Public Library will be on your left), turn right onto Buffalo Park Road. After approximately one mile, you will see the east parking lot for the park on your right. (There is a second parking lot ½ mile further along Buffalo Park Road.)
After following the trail about 0.1 mile from the parking lot, you can choose to head west (left) onto the 2.0-mile Ponderosa Trail, which will lead you to Brother’s Lookout before joining up with the 1.6-mile long Sisters Trail, or you can choose to take the Hidden Fawn Trail (right), which will link with Sisters Trail in about 0.8 mile. The trails are well-marked, and trail maps are provided at the trail head. The trails in this park have been designated “multi-use,” so mountain bikers and equestrians share the paths with hikers. Hikers are required to yield to equestrians and bikers are required to yield to all other users. Dogs must be on leashes. The park is open one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset.
From journal Day Trips from Denver: Evergreen, CO