Hiking – Homestead Meadows

Meet in Coors Tek parking lot, across the street from the CMC building at 7:00 a.m. for a 7:10 a.m. sharp departure .

We will drive to Hermit Park Open Space at 17 Hermit Park Road, Estes Park. The park is 2.5 miles SE of Estes Park on US Hwy 36.

A $ 10 vehicle daily park permit or a Larimer County Parks Pass is necessary to enter park.  Leader has a park pass, but we will stop at entrance kiosk to purchase additional pass. Machine takes credit cards.

Vault toilet at TH.

Driving distance is 52 miles or 104 miles RT, which is $35 per vehicle, divided by the number of people in the car. Rounded to $9 for 4 people, $12 for 3 people. Bring small bills to pay your driver. Don’t expect the driver to make change for you.

Drive time to get there is about 1.5 hours. From meeting place, take Hwy 93, 17 miles to Boulder. Take Baseline to US36W toward Estes Park. After about 43 miles, passing through Lyons, turn left onto Hermit Park Rd. 

All participants must be vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19.

From the Homestead Meadows TH parking lot in Hermit Park, we will hike the Moose Meadows Trail , then FS Rd. 120 toward Irwin Homestead.  The Moose Meadows Trail meets Forest Service Trail 971, which we will follow to the Irwin Homestead. Homestead Meadows is on Roosevelt NF land. We will continue toward two other homesteads, taking the Meadow Loop Trail, passing Brown Homestead on our way back to the Moose Meadows trail. 
Interesting interpretive signage provides information about the pioneers who homesteaded this place from 1889 through the 1920s.

We should see flowers and nice views of surrounding mountains.

Moose Meadows Trail is partially shaded. Homestead Meadows is mostly unshaded.

Optional stop in Lyons after the hike for refreshments and flush toilets.