On Walkabout On: The Seven Bridges Trail to Mt. Buckhorn Trail Loop – Part 2

Prior Posting: The Seven Bridges Trail to Mt. Buckhorn Trail Loop – Part 1

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From the Seven Bridges the Mt. Buckhorn Trail Loop proceeds steeply up a hill side and deeper into the mountains outside of Colorado Springs:

Above the seventh bridge the trail became much steeper until I came to this beautiful waterfall:

This waterfall is named Undine Falls and would probably be much more impressive after a heavy rainfall.  From the waterfall the trail then follows high above the creek flowing swiftly down below:

The trail then crossed over a very steep section of the mountain that was composed of eroded granite that was similar to walking through sand:

Here was the view from this section of the trail looking down North Cheyenne Canyon that I had hiked up:

Here was the view looking further up the canyon that I still needed to walk up to:

Across the canyon to the south I could see the 11499 ft (3505 meter) summit of Mt. Rosa:

Mt. Rosa is one of the more challenging hikes in the region. You can read more about my prior hikes up Mt. Rosa at the below links:

• On Walkabout On: The Mt. Rosa Trail
• On Walkabout On: The Mt. Rosa Trail (winter)

On the Mt. Buckhorn Trail Loop I continued to follow it further into the mountains:

At about 9,000 feet in altitude the trail then entered into this beautiful aspen grove:

This pleasant creek flowed right through the middle of the aspen trees:

As I walked through the aspen grove I couldn’t help but think how stunning this area must look in the summer when the trees have leaves and the grass is green:

Even in the fall time this grove must be quite beautiful when the aspen leaves have changed to their bright yellow colors:

I will have to definitely hike up here again in order to take some pictures of these beautiful trees during the summer and fall months.

From the aspen grove I continued to follow the trail west and higher up into the mountains.  Along the way I saw plenty of aspen trees:

Eventually the trail took a turn towards the north which meant I was crossing over the ridgeline from Kineo Mountain to connect to Bear Creek Trail.  This was the highest part of the hike where the maximum altitude I reached was 9,534 feet.  It didn’t seem like I was that high considering I was surrounded by think vegetation:

Since I was so high in elevation I also had to deal with much more snow on the trail then on any other portion of the hike:

I continued on for about a mile in the thick vegetation and snow until I came to this open meadow:

This meadow was at about 9,000 feet in elevation and was just a beautiful site to see.  At this meadow the trail intersected with another trail that according to my hiking book I was not supposed to take though it appeared it was going in the general direction to connect to Bear Creek Trail:

The next time I am at the REI store I will need to buy a detailed map of these mountains because there are trails running all over the place that it would be nice to know where they go instead of just being depended on the map in my guide book.  As I followed the route in my guidebook I entered back into the thick vegetation which meant once again walking through some snow:

Here is a picture of another creek I passed over:

I did come to a section of the trail that for some reason had numerous trees broken to bits and scattered everywhere:

I figured that maybe a large wind gust in recent months shattered all these trees.  Since they covered the trail I had to work my way around the mess in order to find the trail again.  I followed the trail until it eventually came to another creek with yet another bridge across it:

This bridge however meant that I had now found Bear Creek and I would need to take a right on this trail and head east down the valley.  By this time the sun had risen high into the morning sky and it was actually quite warm out with temperatures in the 70’s F:

The trail then came to a big clearing where I saw yet another bridge across Bear Creek:

However, this bridge I didn’t need to cross and the trail across the bridge appeared to go in the general direction of the trail I saw earlier in the hike. Instead of crossing the bridge I continued to follow the Bear Creek Trail that followed the creek to the east.  Along the trail was yet more aspen trees:

It was now about 10:30 AM and on this portion of the hike I encountered my first motorbike of the day.  I heard a lawnmower noise coming up the road and wasn’t sure what it was.  Then a motorbike came screaming around the corner and I jumped to the side of the trail to get out of the way.  I would end up having to do this multiple times because so many people were using the Bear Creek Trail to ride motorbikes on which is legal to do on this trail.  I would also begin encountering a number of mountain bikers which I had no issues with because they move so slow it is easy to get out of their way compared to the motorbikes.

Anyway when I wasn’t dodging motorbikes I was able to take time to enjoy the scenery along the creek such as of this waterfall:

I also took a few moments to take a look inside this old mine shaft:

Considering how the Pikes Peak region is famous for its goldfields around Cripple Creek, this shaft made me wonder if some prospectors long ago may have found some gold here along Bear Creek as well?  Speaking of Bear Creek here is another nice picture of this creek:

As I continued to ascend down the Bear Creek Canyon I eventually came to another trail intersection with one fork of the trail heading over this bridge and on to the Mt. Buckhorn Trail:

I took the trail that crossed over the bridge because it leads over a large ridgeline running from Kineo Mountain and back to North Cheyenne Canyon where I started my hike.  Before heading off I took a minute to read this sign and ponder how any fish large enough to bother using a fishing line to catch could possibly be living in the shallow waters of this creek?:

Once across the bridge the Mt. Buckhorn Trail began to ascend steeply to include having to walk through some more snow:

Below is a picture that shows the view looking back up Bear Creek Canyon that I had just descended down:

Here is a view of the trail as it ascends up the ridgeline:

Along the Mt. Buckhorn Trail there is a side trail that allows hikers to walk to the top of the ridgeline.  This side trail is steep, but very easy to follow:

After a few minutes of ascending up the mountain I eventually reached its summit which stood at about 9,000 feet in altitude:

Looking at Google Terrain map of this ridgeline, this summit is not named, but it is part of Kineo Mountain.  From this summit I had some incredible views of the surrounding area.  Starting from the south here is the view of the backside of Cheyenne Mountain:

Regular readers of On-Walkabout may remember that I did a prior posting about the mountain that can be read at the below link:

• On Walkabout On: Talon Trail at Cheyenne Mountain State Park

Almagre Mountain is another incredible, but challenging hike in the Colorado Springs region.  You can read about my hike up this mountain at the below link:

• On Walkabout On: Almagre Mountain via the Frosty Park Trailhead

Here is the view as I continued to pan towards the northwest:

Here is the view looking towards the north where down below Bear Creek flows:

Here is the view looking towards the entrance of North Cheyenne Canyon to the southeast:

Here is a closer look at the impressive rock formations at the entrance to the canyon as well as the nearby Broadmoor Hotel:

Here also is a close up look at Mt. Cutler which I had recently climbed as well:

You can read more about my hike up Mt. Cutler at the below link:

• On Walkabout On: The Mt. Cutler Trail

Also from the summit I could see the “Hub” where I parked my truck at to begin this hike, which by now was filled with cars:

Here is the view looking directly east towards Colorado Springs:

Looking towards the northeast I could see the Garden of the Gods located out in the distance:

Also the ridgeline in the center of the above photograph is the Section 16 area that I hiked along the Palmer Red Rock Loop Trail.  You can read more about the Garden of the Gods and the Palmer Red Rock Trail Loop at the below links:

• On Walkabout At: Winter Time In the Garden of the Gods
• On Walkabout On: The Palmer Red Rock Trail Loop

Here is a closer look at the Garden of the Gods:

Here is the view from Mt. Buckhorn looking down into the section of North Cheyenne Canyon where the Seven Bridges Trail is located which I had already traversed earlier in the day:

After spending about a half hour on top of the Kineo Mountain ridgeline, I then proceeded to hike back down the steep trail that brought me to its summit and reconnected to the trail that would take me back to North Cheyenne Canyon:

As I walked down the trail I noticed the Sentinel Rocks I had saw during my hike along the Palmer Red Rock Trail Loop were now located directly parallel to me on the Mt. Buckhorn Trail:

As I crossed over the ridgeline North Cheyenne Canyon and Gold Camp Road came into view:

I also once again had some nice views of southeastern Colorado Springs:

I also had another view of Mt. Cutler:

The trail continue to descend steeply down the mountain until it flattened out and reached this intersection:

At this trail intersection I took a right which put me on the trail that would take me back down to Gold Camp Road.  If I stayed on the Mt. Buckhorn Trail it would have took me to the nearby summit of Mt. Buckhorn which was lower in elevation than the Kineo Mountain ridgeline summit I had just been on.  Happy with the views I had already had from that summit I continued down the trail that would take me back to the parking lot:

As I continued down the trail the “Hub” appeared to be getting closer and closer:

Eventually the steeply descending trail emptied out onto Gold Camp Road where there was no sign that would indicate that this trail leads up to some great views that I had just seen:

Just a short walk up Gold Camp Road from where I had exited from trail I was just on is where the Seven Bridges Trail began:

As I walked down Gold Camp Road back to the parking lot, I saw a flood of people walking along it which was a big difference compared to earlier in the morning where I saw only two joggers:

Another big difference is when I got back to the “Hub” parking lot it was now over filled with cars with many people parking further down the road:

As soon as I got back to my truck I had two cars waiting for me like vultures to pull out so they can take my prime parking space.  I didn’t see who took my spot but I bet someone was pretty pissed off to have lost that prime parking spot. The lesson learned here is that if you are thinking of going on a hike from the “Hub” arrive early so you don’t have to deal with the parking nightmare.

Conclusion

This is my favorite hike so far that I have taken in the Colorado Springs area.  The trail has a little bit of everything, challenging distance for a day hike, lush vegetation, waterfalls, over a 2,000 foot gain in altitude, and awesome views.  The only down side to this hike is the motorbike riders.  Some of these guys are dangerous and I nearly got hit by one of the riders.  I am glad I started the hike early in the morning because it was just after 10 AM when I came across the first motorbike rider.  If I had to put up with these guys longer than that this hike would have been much less enjoyable.  All in all it was a great day out and this is definitely a hike I plan to repeat in the future.

Find more great trails by checking out the Colorado Springs Regional Trail Finder below: