Front range trail conditions

[jomagam]

Has anyone run recently at North Table or Green Mnt ? How muddy/snowy/icy are the trails ?

[goingup]

I have been trail running through the entire winter in just regular trail runners. A few times my feet have become soaking wet but it does not bother me. The past few days I have run Falcon, Lookout, and Dakota Ridge. HOLY MUD.... and I don't say that lightly. I seriously felt like I was in a tough mudder. It was so thick, so deep, and so slippery. One time my shoe was sucked off of my foot. There was still snow in shaded spots but even that was getting slushy. A mess I tell you. Between the falls and slips I had I was covered in mud by the end of my runs.

[jpenny]

I'd bring spikes just in case. With the temps lately I doubt you'll need them. Northern aspects of Bear and Green (boulder) can be icy in places and when running or hiking downhill it never hurts to have some traction. I'm going to North Table tomorrow and am not expecting any snow. Be prepared for mud as well.

[HuskyRunner]

Ran yesterday at 3 Sisters/Aldefer, trails were slushy by mid morning so didn't need any traction. My wife and sister-in-law ran from Mayhem gulch to Centennial Cone said conditions were similar, mostly clear with a few slushy sections. I would expect Green Mtn, assuming you meant the one in Lakewood, to be really muddy, I recall a few runs there that I was carrying several pounds of mud on my shoes running there in similar conditions.

[jomagam]

Thanks for the beta. I guess this will be a good time to run on the roads.

[SkaredShtles]

Please don't run the trails when they are muddy.

[flatlander23]

Please don't run the trails when they are muddy.

ditto

[jpenny]

Don't go off trail when the trails are muddy. If you are only supposed to get out when conditions are great then good luck if you have any sort of schedule. Never heard the don't go enjoy trails because of some mud before...

If it was that terrible they would close the trail.

[SkaredShtles]

If the trails are muddy go run something that isn't. This is common sense. Running on muddy trails damages the trails.

[jpenny]

Oh ok. I won't run the trails here in Boulder for the next week while they dry. So by the time they do, it will be just in time for the next snowstorm. In which case it will melt in 3 days and repeat. Also in the summer I won't run in the afternoon because it rains almost every day. Judging by the Sanitas trail which on Saturday I saw well over 75 people on it in extremely wet conditions at 10 am, everyone else feels the same. And the trail has been that populated for a long time. The trail is doing fine.

I have done trail work. This isn't coming from some take all, give nothing kind of guy. Simply walking along a dry trail erodes a trail as well. We have trail maintenance crews who get paid to fix this. If it was a big deal, the trails would be closed. In fact, some trails do close because of mud when they are built in unusual areas or have inadequate drainage or not enough trail crew members. Stay off those trails.

I don't run on pavement. Nothing against pavement runners but that is not what I do. When snow melts, it gets muddy. In Colorado, it snows a lot, melts a lot, snows a lot, melts a lot. I run 6 days a week along with many other people. I'm not taking months off due to weather, especially when I pay to get into half the parks I run in, and do trail maintenance myself. I would not think these parks would want people to not come into them either because of a muddy trail.

However, I know they would like to stay on trail when it is muddy. That is why there are multiple signs nearly everywhere I go that say, IF MUDDY, STAY ON TRAIL, not IF MUDDY, STAY OFF TRAIL.

I don't think the first four people who posted on this forum lack common sense. I am sure they have a sense of ethics and take care of the environment. At least I would hope so. They just like to get out and enjoy trails. I am sure the people who made the trails are happy for that.

If you ask me, the bigger problem is the bags of dog crap left all over the trail.

[justiner]

Here's what's currently listed as, "closed because it's muddy, dude":
https://bouldercolorado.gov/pages/temporary-closures" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Southern trailheads and trails temporarily closed for muddy conditions effective February 13, 2014
Three trailheads and trails in those areas are closed because of muddy conditions: Greenbelt Plateau Trailhead, Marshall Mesa Trailhead and Flatirons Vista Trailhead. The following trails are closed: Marshall Mesa, Marshall Valley, Coal Seam, High Plains, Greenbelt Plateau, Community Ditch, Cowdrey Draw, Doudy Draw, North & South Flatirons Vista, Prairie Vista and North & South Springbrook Loop. Goshawk Ridge Trail remains open and accessible from the Fowler Trail or County Road 67. Doudy Draw Trailhead remains open to provide parking for the South Mesa area.

From my experience, most any trails in the OSMP that go *up* something precipitous, or *into* say, a canyon rarely if ever get so muddy I think I'm causing undue damage - the trail surface is more rock and, uh, smaller rocks. I'd say (for example) start at the Gregory Canyon TH and go from there, but I believe that TH is... uh, closed. Maybe start at Chautauqua and just run the road to Gregory Canyon TH, and that should keep the mud off the feet, and the rubber side down - the mud is seriously slippery - I've done many a hilarious slip in that area.

There's been a ton of natural(?) erosion that has happened because of Thee Great Flood of '13, that maybe has gotten people agitated about conditions of some of the trails in the OSMP - many trails have certainly changed drastically in character.

[jpenny]

Exactly. That's a list of closed trails so don't get on them. But when trails are open and muddy, run them. That's all I'm saying. Not the all encompassing, if they are muddy, please stay off nonsense. I run Gregory up Green around three times a week. That or Fern Canyon and OSMP does not see fit to tell me not to. So when someone comes and tells others not to run any trails, I take issue with that. It sounds like OP is running road anyway regardless of what was said.

There is no unwritten rule stating, if the trail is open but muddy, stay off. There are plenty of open trails in the Front Range that if you are willing to deal with a little mud, are in fine condition.