#SummerBikeChallenge

It’s perhaps no secret anymore that Denver’s best kept secret is that we get 300 days of sunshine. That’s what is so great about the Mile High City; more time to be outside and be active! Things may look a little… or a lot different this year (looking at you Covid) but that doesn’t mean we can’t be outside and still practice social distancing! One of my favorite activities this summer has been to bike ride around town, so you can imagine my excitement when I learned about Way to Go’s 2020 Summer Bike Challenge that is running from June to September.

In case you don’t know, Way to Go is a program of the Denver Regional Council of Governments and their mission is simple: Improve Denver’s air quality through decreased traffic congestion. I think we can all get behind that! You likely know them from the popular Bike To Work Day, which is always so fun to take part in! The 2020 Bike Challenge is encouraging us Coloradans to swap our cars for our bikes for many of our day to day tasks. Running to the store? Going to meet a friend for a drink? Headed to the park? Leave the car at home and take out your bike instead! This simple act will help eliminate our footprint and get us in a better habit of taking our bike on these short trips rather than the car. I have been loving biking to the park, biking to friend’s houses, and even to local restaurants to grab a bite outside and enjoy the summer!

As you guys probably already know, I am a Colorado native and a total fan girl when it comes to our city. DENVER IS THE BEST! Sorry, not sorry. There’s no other place like it in my opinion. Where else can you hop on multiple bike paths and be in so many awesome locations from your two-wheel transportation so quickly! Denver is such a biker friendly city! I love hopping on the Cherry Creek trail and cruising from downtown to Wash Park to Cherry Creek and more! A typical Sunday for us means biking to the farmers market and loading up on fresh produce for the week (and then my husband giving me a hard time for buying too much and making the backpack too heavy yet again, but that’s neither here nor there).

If you’re looking for some inspo on where to bike, then another fun aspect of the 2020 Bike Challenge is the Pedal Pursuit Scavenger Hunt, which is a fun way to explore new areas and win prizes! All you must do is bike to five or more locations and then you are entered to win! You can track your trips here and find additional rules and regulations by clicking here. I mean, who doesn’t want to win a REI prize pack valued at over $500… am I right?! I downloaded the locations checklist here and my husband and I did it last week. We had so much fun exploring places that we normally wouldn’t think to go to. Went biked to Dairy Block, Mile High Stadium, the Molly Brown House, the City Park Pavilion and more! It’s such a fun way to spend a Saturday or Sunday and another great excuse to get outside and take advantage of our amazing city!

Since many of us are working from home this year, Way to Go also decided to change Bike to Work Day to Bike to Wherever Week where you can pledge to ride to, you guessed it… wherever! This will be occurring September 21st through the 25th and you can get more details by clicking here.

Hope to see you all out there on your bikes! If you spot me on my pink cruiser, be sure to say hi! Post your summer bike pictures and use hashtag #SummerBikeChallenge to be entered for more sweet prizes! Let’s do our part, in a fun way nonetheless, to keep our city and state clean and beautiful!

Happy cruising!

Top Things to do in Vail

I always get a lot of questions asking for recommendations in Vail. To make it easy for you (and for me) I’ve compiled a list of some of my Vail musts. Don’t agree or have others you think should be on the list? Message me! I’d love your input!

Mountain Standard

Restaurants:

• Mountain Standard

• Sweet Basil

• Matsuhisa

• Bully Ranch

• Fall Line

• Ludwigs

• Big Bear

• Los Amingos

• Elways

• Minturn Country Club

Bars:

• The George

• King’s Club (if you’re feeling bougie)

• Shakedown

• Minturn Saloon

Garfinkles

Après:

• Garfinkles

• Red Lion

• Vendettas

• Pepis

Booth Falls

Hikes:

• Booth Falls

• Piney River Falls

• Berrypicker Trail

• Lost Lake

• Deluge Lake

• Beaver Lake

• Turquoise Lake

Other Activities:

• Snowmobiling

• Sage Outdoor Adventures

• Turtle Tubing

• Shopping in Vail Village

• Minturn Mile

• Farmers Market

Sky Pond Lake Hike

One of the best parts of living in Colorado is all of the beautiful hikes that are only a short distance away. Sure I have my favorites that I love to do every summer, but every once in awhile, I am introduced to a new one, which simply takes my breath away and forces it's way into my Top 5. That is is exactly what happened last weekend. One of my best friends since 6th grade asked if I wanted to do Sky Pond with her, and after Googling the hike, I was immediately sold.

Sky Pond Lake is located in the Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park. The drive from Denver took about an hour and a half and I would recommend leaving early, as parking can be tricky! Entry into the park is $20. We arrived around 10 am (after a much necessary coffee and bagel stop), and there were no spots left! After circling the lot for a bit, we found the tiniest parallel parking spot that I somehow shimmied my way into. We asked a Park Ranger what time you need to arrive to ensure you get a spot and he said 7 am, so hope you're a morning person!

A 5 minute bus from the lot drops you at the Glacier Gorge trail head and then you are on your merry way! There are certain criteria that make any hike a great one in my opinion, and this one checks all of the boxes! Waterfalls, rivers, beautiful views, wildflowers, glaciers, lakes, and wildlife!

As you start the trail, a beautiful stream runs to the side of the trail and right around the one mile mark, you reach Alberta Falls, the first of many waterfalls to come. It seemed like this was a popular destination for families to hikea nd enjoy the 30 foot waterfall for the day, since it is an easy mile up !

After a quick picture, we kept on. For a 9 mile hike, this trail is really not too difficult. There are some uphill parts, but they level out eventually, so it's not like you're climbing the entire time. I would classify this hike as 'moderate'. After about 3 miles, you reach Loch Lake, which is so beautiful and it's not even the final destination! This  beautiful subalpine lake, situated at 10,190 feet, provides incredible scenery as you hike along the perimeter towards Sky Pond.

I am not going to lie, after this lake is where things start to get interesting! The hike becomes a bit more challenging as you start to gain more elevation. Around the 4 mile point, you reach an amazing 100 foot waterfall, Timberline Falls, which is a great opportunity for a photo-op (and to secretly catch your breath). Looking out are amazing valley views and you can hop from rock to rock to go under this powerful waterfall.

Now the question hits... where do we go from here? Like I said, this is when it gets interesting! To get to the second lake, you have to climb up a chute on the side of the waterfall. Warning, you literally climb 200 feet, in just 0.15 mile, and yes, the guy in front of me did fall into the waterfall, so focus is required here! You will be using all 4 limbs to manuever your way up, but you can do it! It's honestly not too bad if you strategically climb up and stay focused. This guy was just a show off!

After basically becoming a Mountaineer, you reach Glass Lake, just 0.1 miles from the top of the waterfall. Honestly, I was shocked that this lake wasn't even the final destination, because it was so gorgeous! This is what I picture when I think of a great Colorado hike. Glass Lake is a gorgeous alpine lake full of outstanding views and wild flowers. We explored around the lake and then enjoyed our lunch before continuing onto Sky Pond Lake, which is just .4 miles down the west side of Glass Lake.

Behold Sky Pond Lake! This lake sits at an impressive 10,900 ft elevation and is surrounded by three sides of pure cliff walls, which are unlike anything I have ever seen! Sky Pond is famous for the unique rock formations, which are granite spires called "The Sharktooth". To put it simply, this lake is dramatic and so worth the hike up!

Our time at Sky Pond was cut a bit short as weather moved in, and we did not want to be climbing back down that waterfall in the pouring rain! The descend did not disappoint though!  On the path down, we continued to run into packs of elk, with their babies. So cute! They would be 5 feet in front of us and completely unfazed, it was amazing! After finishing up the hike, I knew it was instantly one of my new favorites. But wait... there's more! To top it all off, we saw a grizzly bear right on the side of the road on the drive back. I mean, could it get any better? 

If you can, definitely take the time to try Sky Pond Lake trail this summer. You will not be disappointed!