Type: Trail, Loop
Difficulty: 5 / 10
Altitude: 5,696 ft
Elev. Gain/Loss: 748 ft / 748 ft
Dog Friendly: Yes, with leash
Jog-Stroller Friendly: No
Filed Under: Hiking, Running
This scenic trail starts at the edge of the neighborhoods of South Boulder and runs up and down the mesas that lie at the foot of the flatirons. Deer (and sometimes bear) can often be seen in Skunk Canyon and around NCAR. So if you bring a dog, please remember to bring a leash.
This loop can be started from a variety of locations, however I will list the two most logical starting places: at the base of NCAR where the residential area ends on Table Mesa Drive and a trailhead at the end of Kohler Drive.
To start on Table Mesa Drive, park your car and start running on the asphalt path that runs northwest at the end of the neighborhood. You will pass several monsterous houses, and the path will soon change to gravel and then to dirt. Continue running west for approximately .5 miles.
Here you will intersect the trail coming from Kohler Mesa (and the other optional start on Kohler Drive). Continue west on Skunk Canyon Trail for another .8 miles until you reach the Mesa Trail. Turn left (south) and run approximately .5 miles until you get to another trail junction. Take the left trail towards NCAR. You will run back uphill and past a water tank. Just after the water tank, take a right and follow this trail all the way to the NCAR parking lot.
Once in the NCAR parking lot, look for a trail that splits off on the north end of the parking lot (just past a small building). Take this trail downhill all the way back to your car. If you started at the Kohler Trailhead, continue running on the asphalt path northwest (past several monsterous houses) for .5 miles to reach your car.
Start 1: From Hwy. 93 in South Boulder, turn west on Table Mesa Drive. Follow this until the end of the residential area. If you get to the big open space, you have gone too far. Find a place to park (any of the side streets like Vassar Drive or Emporia Road are fine). The trail starts on a asphalt path at the edge of the big open space.
Start 2: From Hwy. 93 in South Boulder, turn west on Dartmouth Ave. (one stop light north of Table Mesa Drive) and drive towards the mountains. Take a left on Kohler Drive. After approximately .25 miles bear right at the intersection. After another .5 miles turn right again at the next intersection. The trailhead is located another .25 miles further in a big curve in the road. Park here and start the run on the trail the heads directly west towards the mountains.
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