Bergen Peak, Elevation 9,556

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Bergen Peak
Elevation: 9,708 feet
Round Trip Distance: 9.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,100 feet
Difficulty: Class 1, Easy hiking
Trip Date: Friday, April 2, 1999.

The phone rang at about 10:00 am. It was my boss Leif. He was calling to say that we wouldn't be working today due to the snow. By 11:00, I was out the door, ready to go hiking. It took more than two hours to drive 34 miles from my home in Denver to the trailhead for Bergen Peak. Westbound I-70 was closed and traffic was at a standstill. Eventually, I managed to get off the interstate and work my way down to state highway 74 instead. The temperature was 28 degrees when I passed through the town of Evergreen.

The trailhead for Bergen Peak is about 1.25 miles west of Highway 74 (Evergreen Parkway) on Stagecoach Blvd. I picked the hike from a Denver Metro Trails Guide published by the Colorado Lottery and Colorado State Parks. According to the guide, the route to this 9,708 foot suburban summit involves 2100 feet of elevation gain. The guide rates this as a "difficult" hike, which is rangerspeak for "easy."

The trail begins in Elk Meadow Park, a section of Jefferson County Open Space. It also passes through parts of the Bergen Peak Wildlife Area (Colorado Division of Wildlife) and Denver Mountain Park land. The most direct route to Bergen Peak from this trailhead is a 9.4 mile round trip hike. However, you can make a longer loop hike by connecting with other trails.

Elk Meadow Park offers 11.5 miles of trails on 1,280 acres. Park maps are available at the trailhead. The park is open from one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset.

I started my hike at 1:15 pm, heading northeast on the Meadow View Trail. There were some picnic tables and outhouses near the trailhead. I reached the first trail junction after 0.3 miles, where I stayed left to continue on the Meadow View Trail. After another 0.7 miles, I turned left on the Bergen Peak Trail. About a half mile up this trail, I met a couple from Utah, returning from the summit. They were the only other people I saw on this hike, but I doubt that a snowy Friday afternoon in early April would be the most popular time for hiking here. After 2.7 miles on the Bergen Peak Trail, I reached a junction with the Too Long Trail. Again, I stayed left to remain on the Bergen Peak Trail. The summit was one mile further.

The scenery on this hike was a winter wonderland. Everything was blanketed with a few inches of soft, fresh snow. Snow-covered trees, snow-covered rocks, and snow-covered ground. A light snow was falling during my hike up, and it started snowing more heavily during my descent. The park guide indicates that you can see Pikes Peak and Longs Peak from the summit, but the only view this afternoon was of trees, rocks, and snow. Ponderosa pines dominate the lower elevations, with Douglas fir and lodgepole pines up higher. There was a radio tower on the summit.

The trails were very easy to follow, even in the snow. There were good signs at each trail junction. The route was generally a gentle incline, with lots of switchbacks. There were many level stretches, and a few minor uphill sections on the return. This easy class 1 trail hike makes a good winter or spring training hike for Denver area mountaineers, and might be a good hike to take less-experienced friends on any time of the year. Please note, however, that these are multi-use trails open to mountain bikers and equestrians as well as hikers.

My hike up Bergen Peak took two hours and ten minutes. The hike down only took one hour and thirty minutes. By the time I passed through Evergreen again on my way home, the temperature had dropped to 19 degrees.

Gary Swing