Looking for a great place to go hiking or backpacking? Located in northwestern Colorado, the Mount Zirkel Wilderness is a little known gem in the rockies with a beautiful network of trails. Established in 1980, this relatively new U.S. Wilderness area is named after Mount Zirkel, which reaches just over 12,000 feet. The Wilderness is home to several different habitats found in the rockies, but the most unique is the ribbon forest, an area where bands of spruce form alongside grassy meadows that fill with snow in the winter months. The heavy wind and snowfall scours the land, forcing the trees to form these unique groves, or ribbons.

Past Gold Creek Lake, hikers may choose to continue up the valley to Red Dirt Pass, or to head west, over Gilpin Ridge. Spring conditions aren't always the best, so sometimes a lunch break with a nice view is all you'll get.