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    Herman Gulch Trail Head

    4.7 (12 reviews)

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    Herman Gulch Trail
    Matt C.

    Right off I-70 at exit 218 is the Herman Gulch Trailhead. Literally. You start the trail with the sound of speeding cars whizzing by. This was a first for me. Interesting to say the least when considering your end destination deep in the wilderness! That good ole Rocky Mountain elevation hits you at the very beginning. Five minutes in you're hitting your first significant incline. After a night on the town, this trail was a brutal wake up call to start my Sunday morning. **I SAW TWO MOOSE RIGHT WHEN I GOT INTO THE MEADOW** It took over a year being a Colorado resident to see my first moose while hiking. These majestic beasts were taking their sweet time crossing the meadow and eventually disappeared into the woods. It was awesome! There's a final push to Herman Lake. You'll know it when you're in the thick of it. However, the beautiful mountain peaks foreshadow how close you are. And just like that, you're there. I have to say, this trail is popular and the lake was pretty crowded around 8:45am on a Sunday morning. Great views along all sides of the lake. The sun was shining bright yesterday, so I found a patch of grass, tipped my cap over my eyes and basked in a little cat nap. Damnit, it was delightful. I flew back on the way down. Overall a three and a half hour day. Started at 7am to a fairly full parking lot and a crisp 45 degree moring. Would recommend to someone looking for a moderate difficulty hike and great views an hour away from Denver!

    Brenda L.

    This trail right off the highway and is more intended for cross country skiers or snowshoers (if you're going in the snow months). I came today with just hiking boots and sank into the snow pretty deep as the trails are heavy with fluffy snow and was less trodden. There is a lake @ some point past marker 98 but we weren't able to make it. We hiked about an hour and a half in and probably got close to the lake but had to turn around because we were often knee deep in snow. The beginning of the trail starts with a good incline but mellows out for the majority of the latter parts of the trail. There are chipmunks and birds and supposedly lynx and other wildlife (we saw the first two). There is a small peep of a creek viewable at this time of the year. I imagine that it's much more beautiful as the snow melts and the creek becomes more visible. A fellow hiker told us that there are pretty flowers there come warmer seasons. I anticipate on returning during a time when I either have snowshoes or when the snow is less fluffy.

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    22 days ago

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    1 month ago

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    3 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Great little hike. It was so much fun!! I will definitely be going there again !! Somewhere to go if you want a quick little hike

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    6 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    5 years ago

    If you are a climber, continue up from the lake, there is a double summit peak known as "The Citadel" which is a great scramble

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    13 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    Ask the Community - Herman Gulch Trail Head

    Review Highlights - Herman Gulch Trail Head

    I was surprised that's in Idaho Springs because we passed the city coming here but I guess it reaches over?

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    Liquid Descent - Hank raft guide was the best

    Liquid Descent

    4.9(649 reviews)
    15.7 mi

    Amazing 11/10! Kathleen was my guide and she kept us nice and safe while having lots of fun!read more

    We had such an amazing time white water rafting with Liquid Descent! Our guide, Kayla, was…read morefantastic. She made us feel safe and comfortable from the very beginning, and gave clear instructions so we always knew what to do. She tailored our ride to how "spicy" we wanted to make it, so since it was our first time rafting, that made us feel great. The trip was the perfect level of excitement for us as beginners. It was fun, thrilling, and adventurous without ever feeling overwhelming. My sons, ages 10 and 13, had an absolute blast and want to plan another trip back. We even got to see a bald eagle along the river, it was phenomenal. The weather was perfect, and the whole experience was incredibly well organized. It's also just under two hours from Denver, making it a great day trip. We really appreciated the free parking, and they kept our car keys safely in the office while we were out on the river. We felt completely comfortable leaving everything else locked in our car. We couldn't have asked for a better first rafting experience. We would absolutely recommend them to anyone, especially families and first-time rafters. Definitely opt for the photo package too - the pictures we received were stunning and memorable. Huge thanks to Kayla and the Liquid Descent team!

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    Liquid Descent - People rafting

    People rafting

    Liquid Descent - Our group of 17 ready to conquer the rapids.

    Our group of 17 ready to conquer the rapids.

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    Royal Gorge Rafting And Zip Line Tours

    Royal Gorge Rafting And Zip Line Tours

    4.8(555 reviews)
    88.1 mi

    Great trip down the Arkansas. Great views and an awesome guide. Would love to see it when the…read morewater is a little higher. GO DIEGO GO!

    Rafting::: Had an…read moreabsolute blast with Luke on our half-day gorge extravaganza! ‍ Starting with safety first, Luke quickly realized we were ready for not just a family adventure, but the paddle of a lifetime! From history lessons to hilarious jokes and endless encouragement, Luke felt like just one more member of our crazy family! Even the ride in the van was a hoot, thanks to Josie! He made going over the safety rules checklist fun and easy to remember. Also, Hank, Henry, or was it Harry? Who knows! But the photographer captured all our fun and chaos along the way. This adventure is definitely saved to the top of my list for my next trip out! Zipline::: 1-2-3, ready, zip! Today's afternoon adventure was packed with excitement, featuring hikes with no cactus grabs, Bob's wonderful splits, and Zoe's tree touches, all with a side of zipping through Mongoose Valley! If it weren't for Gabe, we wouldn't have any evidence of our epic adventure! This is a fantastic first-time course, complete with a practice round before you tackle the real deal. And get your bets ready because you'll have the chance to battle it out on the zip line with a person of your choosing. May the odds be ever in your favor! What else can I say but just do it! Take the leap off a wooden stand, soak in the stunning views of the gorge and valley, and enjoy the camaraderie of the zip-on!

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    Royal Gorge Rafting And Zip Line Tours
    Royal Gorge Rafting And Zip Line Tours
    Royal Gorge Rafting And Zip Line Tours

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    AVA Rafting & Zipline - Mom zip lining at 69 years young !! And loving every minute of it !!

    AVA Rafting & Zipline

    4.7(62 reviews)
    17.7 mi

    Obviously everyone's trip experience is going to be in different. But ours was fantastic. We are a…read morefamily of 4, a 10yo Bo with lots of energy and a 12 yo girl with not so much. It's definitely a large operation. Check in for us involved a 100 people or so. But they've got it down. Don't plan to bring much/anything with you honestly. You can choose wet suits, dry jackets etc... It was 75 degrees in July here so our family split between wet suits and dry jackets. The latter was the better choice. You take a 30 minute school bus ride and some quick safety instructions (thanks Erico!) And then get assigned to your boat. Ours included 8 of us and a guide. Honestly that was too much but okay. Our guide was Tristan who was fantastic. Funny and engaging with fun facts along the way. But more importantly you could tell he was taking safety seriously. We did the browns canyon ride and it was a good mix of slightly challenging for the kids and fun for the adults. All in all it was a great way to spend half a day!

    Guides: Tim & Colleen *We went in August*…read more - W H A T T O E X P E C T - We booked ahead of time, online, for the "Cliffside Zipline Half Day" in Idaho Springs. They have multiple locations and have similar and different activities that you can do at each location. When we arrived we walked in through the building on the right (it looks like a store), and checked in. After checking in, we had to wait for a bit until our guides were ready. Once they were, we went into the building to the left and received our gear. For the ziplining portion, our equipment was a harness and a helmet. *Each of the helmets has cute and/or funny names, definitely spend the time and look through the names. For example: They have an adult one that says: Potato and a child one that says: Little Tater Once we were all put on our equipment, our guides, Tim & Colleen, double-checked to make sure we each had our equipment on correctly and securely. Snug, but not too snug. After checking our equipment, Tim started to read a disclaimer and some rules to follow while we were up on the zipline. Heads up: - NOTHING IN YOUR POCKETS IS SAFE - If you have any glasses or hats, leave them in your car. Wear contacts if you have to, or put the little ropes that can be connected to your glasses to catch them in case they fall off your face. - There is a wooden board with hooks to hang your car keys. They assured us that hanging the keys there are safe. There is only one road, and anyone that tries to steal a vehicle won't get very far down the one road before a police officer stops them. :) You are ziplining on the cliffside of the mountain. If you do not have pockets that zip/button closed, don't put anything in them. If anything falls down the cliff, no one is going to go and get it. It's too dangerous. Personally, I had prepared and worn my contacts - but I will probably wear glasses with the ropes next time. We went in August, and it was still chilly in the mountains. Some of the ziplines go pretty fast, so my eyes would water. I had a jacket with zipper pockets, so I was the designated picture taker in my group. I was able to keep my phone safe by putting it in my zipper pocket. After going through safety and the disclaimer, we jumped onto the bed of a truck, clipped ourselves in, and road all the way up to the mountain. After you get off the truck, there is a narrow trail you have to take to get to the first platform. It is a dirt trail, and it's on the side of the mountain. Important... don't be stupid. :) I'm personally terrified of falling from tall heights, so I had to take my time and not look down to my right. It was fine, it wasn't dangerous. It's just one of my greatest fears. (Hence facing them by ziplining!) - E X P E R I E N C E - If you can request two guides... Request Tim & Colleen! It is very apparent how much they love their job. Tim was the main guide, he has been doing this job for a very long time. They both made the whole experience so much fun. Their excitement, personalities, and overall energy made this a very unique and memorable experience. They were silly and fun, while still making sure we all were and felt safe. We are hoping to come back and be able to ask for both of them again. :) - P A R K I N G - They have plenty of parking spaces in their lot, the parking is a bit rough though - so be careful when driving in and out of the parking lot. - O V E R A L L - We all had a great experience, Colleen & Tim We had 5 people in our group, two of us had ziplined before, and three of us were doing it for the first time. It was an absolutely amazing time and I can't wait to do it again.

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    AVA Rafting & Zipline - Niece zip lining !!

    Niece zip lining !!

    AVA Rafting & Zipline - Nephew zip lining

    Nephew zip lining

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    AVA Rafting & Zipline - Upper Clear Creek

    AVA Rafting & Zipline

    4.6(449 reviews)
    17.6 mi

    The zip lines at AVA were super fun and the people are really nice. We had Megan and Blake as our…read moreinstructors, they were so funny and helped us have lots of fun on the zip lines. We rode on top of a truck up a mountain to the first line. AVA is so funny and I would definitely recommend doing it if you have time!

    My group and I had a disappointing and confusing experience with a zip-line instructor. We had…read morebarely left the first tutorial line when one of our instructors began acting rude and short with us. We only made it halfway through our group before one of us got stuck on the second line. It took a few minutes to get them unstuck and over to the other side. After that, with no warning, the instructor told us to follow him and said we were going to hike back to the rest of the group. When I asked if something was wrong, he gave me no response. Once we rejoined the other half of our group, our other guide explained that our trip was being cancelled and that we'd need to hike back down. This was shocking and disappointing to all of us--especially the children in our party, who had travelled from out of state and specifically picked this zip-line as the thing they most wanted to do in Colorado. It wasn't worth the long drive just to get up there and have the plug pulled on us with no explanation. I will say the front desk was very kind and helpful. After hearing our account of what happened, they issued us a full refund. Overall, it was a disappointing trip that left all of us confused about what went wrong.

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    AVA Rafting & Zipline
    AVA Rafting & Zipline - Upper Clear Creek

    Upper Clear Creek

    AVA Rafting & Zipline - Blue River

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    Blue River

    Herman Gulch Trail Head - hiking - Updated September 2026

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