Columbine - Bear Creek Loop

Begin hiking straight up the Columbine trail, which departs directly from the Columbine trailhead. Columbine climbs consistently for 2.2 miles, gaining about 950 feet of vert before reaching the Rainbow Trail. For a great moto-free out-and-back, you could just opt to turn around at the top of Columbine.That said, despite possible moto traffic on the Rainbow Trail, this section of the trail is an absolute gem, with beautiful views from the meadows and a deep, dark forest. The forest is now somewhat less beautiful after a wildfire burned most of it, but life will always persevere, and you can observe the local flora making its comeback. While the Rainbow Trail undulates up and down, it follows a mostly flat bench to the Bear Creek trailhead.To complete the loop, hike the Rainbow Trail all the way east to the Bear Creek trailhead, then turn left to descend Bear Creek road back to the Columbine trailhead. Be sure to stay on the main Bear Creek road by staying left and downhill at the fork.Alternatively, if you don't want to hike the road, you could always do a long out-and-back by turning around at the Bear Creek trailhead, retracing your steps to Columbine, and following Columbine downhill. However, that would create an ~11.5-mile out-and-back instead of the 8-mile loop shown here.