Royal Arch

FIELD TRIP

I come home to wander along the paths

tree to tree, my nose in the pine bark

bringing back that day on the ridge 

in fifth grade, all of us in a line

dusting up dried red clay with shoe tips

while learning sap from ponderosa pines

smells exactly like butterscotch

  

 

 
Hike level: Moderate 

Location: Boulder, CO 

Cost: FREE to hike 

Description: Royal Arch is a natural rock formation that has been hiked to for over 100 years. It is 3.2 miles, out and back. Begin at Chautauqua Trailhead. Just past Bluebell Shelter you'll see the sign for Royal Arch trail.  Follow the trail through a picnic area and into a ponderosa pine forest. The trail dead ends at the arch.