Niwot Trail - Parking at Niwot High School
Maureen and I rode this trail on a Tuesday afternoon during the Coronavirus crisis of 2020. I thought the highschool lot would be empty but there were some students practicing track and the lot was moderately full. We still had room to park along the diagonal by the trees without blocking anyone. No-one seemed to mind that we had horses. The trail is directly south from the small parking lot across Niwot Road. You could also park in the larger lot across the lines.
The trail started directly south of the parking lot. I was able to maneuver out of this parking lot but the turns were a little sharp. If you have a bigger rig I would park in the bigger parking lot and walk to the trail.
Trail Map
Horse Hazards
Hardly any!! We did hand-walk across Niwot Road. After mounting the trail was wide, soft, easy to trot or canter with joggers, bikers and dogs on leash. There were two sets of electric boxes Sam looked at and some poles laid out on part of the trail for future fence construction after crossing Somerset Drive.
Chosen Trail
Parking at the high school was a game-changer! It made this trail super easy, beautiful and relaxing. We rode 4.9 miles in less than 2 hrs and trotted and cantered up the rolling hills. We ate a lot of grass and enjoyed a really nice ride. This is a 5 stars trail and a hidden gem in Boulder County! We saw several piles of manure so someone regularly rides this trail! The residents of the community were all really nice and seemed to like seeing horses.
Trail Experience
These trail narrative pictures are a combination of two rides, one after a snow and one in the spring. The difference in the landscape is pretty stunning, both really beautiful. We hand-walked our horses across Niwot Rd and mounted on the south side. There were housing developments on either side but far enough away to not spook our horses.
We went up a gentle hill and stopped frequently to chat and eat grass. There was a fenced off area we passed and some electric wires.
We continued up the hill to meet up with Legend Ridge Loop. We went right at the first fork to travel west on Legend Ridge Trail Loop.
We traveled west on the Legend Ridge Trail Loop heading toward Somerset Drive. As you ride south on Legend Ridge Loop Trail you do pass an electric box before crossing Somerset Drive. Sam did look at this electric box briefly before continuing.
We crossed Somerset Dr. and headed down-hill toward the Niwot Trailhead.
Going downhill on Somerset Trail with a clear sky and mountains in the distance. When you reach the end of the brick wall there is an electric box that startled Sam. There are also back yards on your right slightly above your eye line and you may see some barking dogs that can spook your horse.
After crossing two bridges you reach Niwot Trailhead. At this point we turned around, retraced our steps and went right at the fork for Legend Ridge Trail Loop to go a different way back to the fork that goes north to Niwot High School.
Recrossed 2nd bridge to join Somerset Trail. There is a fork that goes left where you have the option of adding time to the ride by adding another small loop to your trail or riding by the left-hand ditch. We continued right up the hill.
We went east on the Legend Ridge Loop Trail going right at the first fork after crossing Somerset Drive. Reaching the eastern part of the loop trail we crossed a small road, Legend Ridge Trail Road, then headed north along a fence-line to reach the fork that heads north to Niwot High School.
Please read the trail experience under Niwot Trail for more details about Somerset Trail and Legend Ridge Trail starting from the Monarch Trailhead. These pictures are on the way back after we started going north from the Legend Ridge Trail Loop to head back to the parking lot at Niwot High School.
Rating
Easy, amazing and stunning! Really a lovely trail! Maybe a little on the short side but you could ride around Legend Ridge Trail Loop multiple times. I would walk one loop then canter the next!