distance: 6 miles (out and back) | elevation: 468’ (10,073’ starting) | difficulty: easy

Welcome to summer in Colorado, where the mountains are getting two feet of snow and ski resorts are looking to be open till the Fourth of July. Wait, what?! Yuppppp. Here in Colorado on the first day of summer, some towns were under winter weather adversaries. So yeah, looks like winter conditions aren’t going anywhere anytime too soon if you’re headed to higher elevations.

One of those places close to Denver? Brainard Lake Recreation Area. Basically, it is a winter playground and the gateway to the Indian Peaks Wilderness.