Mount Zion, Elevation: 7,059 feet Trailhead Elevation: 6,900 feet Elevation Gain: 480+ feet (round trip) Distance: 1.2 miles (round trip) Difficulty: Class 1 hiking USGS Quad: Morrison 7.5 minute Trip Date: July 7, 1999 Participants: Gary Swing, Makenna Berry
Mount Zion is a distinctive summit largely due to the giant letter M emblazoned on its eastern flank. The M stands for the Colorado School of Mines which is situated at the base of this foothill in Golden.
In his book, "Colorado Mountain Hikes for Everyone," Dave Muller describes a short walk up Mt. Zion. (He underestimates the elevation gain slightly at 459 feet.) My wife Kenna and I decided to do this hike one evening after work. We took I-70 west from Denver to the Colfax Avenue exit near Golden, then Colfax Avenue (U.S. 40) west to U.S. 6, also westbound. From U.S. 6, we turned left on 19th Street (which becomes Lariat Loop Road) and drove 3.5 miles up this road to the trailhead. This is a narrow, winding two lane road with many bicyclists and no shoulder, so be patient and careful if you drive there. The parking area at Windy Saddle is on the right side of the road by a sign for the Beaver Brook Trail.
The Beaver Brook Trail is a long footpath going to the west. This is not the way to Mount Zion. However, Muller also describes a hike of Lookout Mountain (7,560 feet) from Windy Saddle using Beaver Brook Trail and Lookout Mountain Trail. That round trip hike is 2.6 miles with 660 feet of elevation gain.
The Windy Saddle Trailhead is near the top of Mount Zion. A more substantial hike of Zion and/or Lookout could be made by walking up the Chimney Gulch Trail from U.S. 6 to Windy Saddle, adding more than 1,000 feet of elevation gain.
From Windy Saddle, the route to the top of Mount Zion goes north on a rough old dirt road to the 7,160+ foot high point of the ridge. This is not the point designated as Mount Zion. This moderately steep old road is littered with small loose rocks and dirt, which makes for some tricky footing. We continued northeast on a narrower trail along the ridge losing more than 160 feet of elevation before ascending a small rocky knob. A small circular metal USGS benchmark designating Mt. Zion is on the ground a few steps short of this point. We spent a few minutes on the summit before returning by the same route. Our actual hiking time round trip was 40 minutes.
There are abundant wildflowers of many different varieties along this trail, especially on the second half. Mount Zion has few trees, but some low brush and a few cactus plants near the summit. Lookout Mountain is more wooded. Zion's summit ridge provides an extensive panorama of Golden and the Denver metropolitan area to the east when the visibility is good, as it was when we went. If you like cityscapes, this can be a good place for a short stroll. In the foreground, you can see the Coors factory, a site of dubious ascetic value. To the left of the Coors plant are the Golden Cliffs on North Table Mountain, a local hot spot for rock climbers. Lakewood's Green Mountain is visible to the southeast. Looking west from the summit, there is a steep, dramatic view down into Clear Creek Canyon, where U.S. 6 winds up towards Central City, Black Hawk, and Idaho Springs. James Peak can be seen further to the west.
Gary Swing