Spruce Mountain can be seen from I 25 at the Greenland exit between Monument and Larkspur, Colorado. There is an old ranch house, an Open Space area (good in the winter for snowshoeing), set off the gravel road over a couple of old sets of railroad tracks. Spruce Mountain has a large parking area and porta-potties at the base of the mountain and is maintained by Douglas County parks.
Spruce Mountain 
Parking Lot from top 
Estate
Each year, I return to my favorite hikes, but this year in the time of a pandemic, thank goodness for these favorites. There was a group of ladies in their 80s hiking with masks. A sign of 2020.
The first few minutes you will climb. And climb. And traverse small switchbacks. At the top of the mesa shaped mountain, you have six miles of trekking with views in 360-degrees. Hoodoos, fancy houses, even a few benches as well as a connection to a forest service road make for a nice, if busy hike.
View East 
View South 
View North 
View West
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
able to tread upon the heights. Habbakuk 3:18-19
On a late June morning it was cool and cloudy with a threat of rain. We saw the sun for thirty seconds when we stumbled on a couple of roaming deer. It is a great easy forest hike within view of a major interstate.
Deer in Distance 
Young deer 
Older deer
Where are you favorite hikes to return to over and over? What are the things you look for in scheduling a group hike?
