Most hikes near Denver are very exposed to the sun. In fact, less than 10% of the hikes on our site offer any real significant escape from the sun. This leaves you with just a couple options: 1) Hike early in the morning to escape the heat, or 2) Try out out some of the hikes from this list below.
All of these hikes offer a considerable amount of shade, but none of them keep you entirely out of the sun. So be sure to still wear your sunscreen! All of these shady hikes are within 90 minutes of Denver. Explore the individual trail profiles to get a sense of difficulty level and distance. We’ll keep adding to this set as we find more hikes near Denver that offer a significant amount of shade.
Forsythe Canyon to Waterfall and Gross Reservoir
High Line Canal Hike – County Line to Fly’n B Park
Jasper Lake Hike in Indian Peaks
Lost Lake Hike Near Nederland
Mallory Cave Hike in Boulder
Meadow & Forest Loop Trails at Lookout Mountain Nature Center
Mesa Trail to Bear Canyon Creek
Mt. Galbraith Loop via the Cedar Gulch Trail
Ouzel Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park
Raccoon Loop Hike in Golden Gate Canyon State Park
Silver Dollar and Murray Lakes Trail
Soldier Canyon Falls Hike in Lory State Park
Aaron Johnson has been hiking in Colorado for over 20 years. The owner and editor of Dayhikes Near Denver, Aaron writes every trail profile as a local guide who has hiked hundreds of miles of trails along the Front Range and deep in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.