South Valley Park

By the time church and errands were complete, most of our Sunday had passed. So we decided our weekly hike had to be someplace local. We decided on South Valley Park about 15 minutes from our house. Located adjacent to Deer Creek Canyon, the JeffCo open space area featured meadows, red-rock formations, and views of evergreen-filled foothills.

We hiked two trails totaling 3 miles -- the Shallow and Coyote Song trails. The panoramic views along the Shallow trail were unexpected. A little less protected, the girls got pretty hot and we had to stop a few times for them to lap up some water. Sequoia learned quickly how to drink from my CamelBak. I think she enjoyed this more than their hiking water-bowl (perhaps because the water was so cold?).

After we reached the north parking lot, we stopped to let the girls experience the doggy drinking fountain. Who knew there was such a thing? Belle was so thirsty I think she drank upwards of a gallon from that fountain!

We picked up the Coyote Song trail from here and took that back to the car. This trail took us closer up against the sandstone formations and at this point, the sun had gone behind the foothills, so we stayed much cooler.

This park surpassed our expectations and provided a nice local hike for the girls. As you can tell, they are now pretty exhausted!

Sequoia on the drive home -- exhausted.