Explore the most popular trails in Carver Park with hand-curated trail maps and driving directions as well as detailed reviews and photos from hikers, campers and nature lovers like you.
This trail is a steep set of stairs at the beginning, unless you take to the mountain bike switchbacks. The trail "peaks" (aesthetically) at the clearing about halfway up the trail, where there is a lovely view of Peaks 7, 8, 9, 10 and the town of Brackenridge. After that, continue only for exercise, as it ends at a road-crossing only and has very little scenery other than the alpine forest in between. As the day progressed, we experienced more frequent and aggressive bikers. This caused multiple starts and stops and one near-death encounter with one of our dogs. Recommend early AM hiking.
20 July 2019. Nice easy hike, shaded most of the way except for one clearing. Beautiful views of the Breck ski area.
Solid views/hike. Forest trek for most part. Lots of mountain bikers. There are other hikes in the area that offer much more as far as scenery, views, etc
Beautiful views, a little muddy in places but lovely
This trail is easy to access, clearly marked and has stunning views. You won’t even realize you are just beyond the road. We hiked it this morning and are headed back to ride our mountain bikes down. Not muddy.
Mid, june hike. Trail wasn't too difficult and easy to follow. Hardest part was the nature stairs at the start. Very family friendly trail. there's a nice clearing about 1/3 the way up, where you can see the 10 mile range. The trail kind of dead ends into another trail. There really isn't anything at the end, just another trail. Be cautious, as a lot of mountain bikers use this trail. its definitely not the trail of the year, but its a nice hike in the woods if that's what you are looking for.
Fun trail for snowshoeing in winter, barely saw another person. Beautiful snow covered trees and expansive views once you reach the meadow.
Great morning hike. The views are great. There is still a little snow in places but not unmanageable. Hiking boots are all you need. I did think that the top of the trail was a little anti-climatic. Not very many people.
June 9 hiked this trail. The first few hundred yards are up nature steps to get your heart and respiration rates going. Then the trail is gradual switchbacks through a wooded area, slowly gaining elevation. After a while we crossed a road and connected to other trails. We took the fork left to the Barney Ford trail. The trail later led through an open area and there were spectacular views of the snow-covered Breckenridge ski mountains behind us. Then the trail went into another wooded area, and shortly thereafter we encountered snow on the trail at about 10,200’ elevation. We returned the same way and enjoyed the spectacular views yet again. We only encountered a few bikes, several couples with dogs, and a family or two. Just muddy in a few spots but generally dry. The trail is well-maintained.
Given that northeast part of this loop this trail is not open in winter, and that the Summit County Map of the Barney Ford trail positions the Barney Ford Trail one mile north - north (other) side of Boreas Pass Road. See http://www.co.summit.co.us/1131/Maps going from CR 503 to CR 565. Both AllTrails and Summit County can't put Barney Ford in different locales and be correct.
Stupendous views! Lotsa bikers!
250 stairs up so be prepared for that before you get to the trailhead. Lots of dead downed trees and bikers. Did I say bikers? It’s a bikers haven and they come up fast. Had to jump off the trail so that one didn’t miss us today. Did not enjoy this hike due to bikers and not much solitude
Nice shaded trail
Beautiful views but the trail as marked on All trails is not correct. We followed it exactly and ended up hiking on the back side where a rock slide occurred making it difficult. We’re pretty seasoned hikers but if you’re not used to hiking where the footing isn’t sure- be careful!! We also ended up in someone’s back yard. If you follow the summit county trail map the trail goes on the other side of Boreas Pass Rd. For this hike- grab a trail map. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Gorgeous views.
This view was breath taking! My kids loved and got some great pictures! Beautiful! Only tip I have is don’t forget to cross the road after you take Moonstone Trail to get to Barney Ford had to backtrack a little to figure out that the trail continued on the other side of the road. You must see this though!
Had a great hike with our friends. Beautiful views, and the most difficult part was the initial stair climb. We went to Barney Ford then Juanita trail before circling back to Barney Ford then finished with Moonstone again.
Good hike for family. Great for those looking for a close location hike you can walk to from town.
We hiked Moonstone - a few comments and advice: - this app refers to location as “Carver Park” (it’s Carter Park) - the first .25 up steep stairs- that is the sharpest elevation gain. Just get past that! - as far as we could tell, Moonstone ended around 1mile; then you cross a road and choose Barney Ford or Juniata. - we did BF for awhile and then took a fork to Juniata- that was the best part of the day! Gorgeous mountain views, lovely foliage. -After taking Juniata up for awhile and turning back, crossed a bridge and then looped back across the street back to Moonstone and Carter Park. If you’re hiking, be on the lookout and be considerate of the many mountain bikers.
Great mix of forest, meadow, etc. Beautiful hike through the mountains
Fun hike. Most of elevation gain is the first 1/2 mike. Lots of steps. Lots of shade and well marked trails.
The trail was not very clear in some spots and we ended up in someone’s backyard!
The hike really was beautiful and not too difficult at all. The views are best once you hit the big open prairie area, I didn't take much interest in the remainder of the hike. I didn't find it to be out and back, there were many other connections to bring it around as a loop. I'm not sure why, but the app took me to the ice rink parking lot as the start- there are several trails that start from there but THIS IS NOT ONE. I started near the intersection of Mt Baldy Road and Boreas Pass Road. There are lots of trails near here, well marked too. I actually hiked from downtown and it was ~30-40 minutes to the start of the trail. A decent amount of mountain bikers use the trail. I didn't notice traffic noise at all like the other review mentioned
Enjoyed an evening hike on Moonstone Trail. Trail was well marked by following the blue diamonds pinned to trees. Shared the trail with several cyclists.
It was ok. Most interesting thing was the log poles. You can hear lots of traffic.
Nice hike at the edge of town. Little use with only one other person encountered.
We started at the Carter Park trailhead in town. It's a pleasant 4.8 mile round trip, and a good hike to acclimate to the altitude. Beautiful today on a warm afternoon after a light snow. It's a popular trail - Watch out for mountain bikes.
