Nature Sprites

Directions:
Depending on where you would like to explore on this trail you can park at three different places
*Boulder Public Library: 1001 Arapahoe Avenue, Main entrance and extensive FREE parking located at 11th & Arapahoe.
This area is great in the summer and fall. On this part the trail children can play in the water and build sand castles at “Library Beach”.

This area is located just Southwest of the library overpass. Don’t forget to bring buckets, shovels, and water shoes. In the spring the Boulder Creek can get high and strong currents may exist. Caution and common sense is advised.
*Across from the justice center: large parking area at 6th and Canyon
If you take the bike path next to the creek you will find a magical dirt trail that runs parallel to the bike path. Follow this under the 9th street Bridge. Just a little while further on there is a little stone island the kids LOVE to play on. And a huge open grassy field to play games in.

There are also children fishing ponds just west of this area. The ponds are filled with fish and crawfish, ducks and geese!
Tip: Crawdads will often grab onto a piece of meat attached to a stick or a line. After studying in a Tupperware of water make sure you put them back in the water.

*Eben G. Fine Park: 3rd and Arapahoe

Also further onto Eben G. Park provides fun views of the creek and a playground. Past the park you can follow the trail west as it chases the creek. After a while you will come to a “junction” and a bench. Continue to follow the dirt trail west and you will be rewarded with hidden play spaces that become magic houses and horsetail forests (or “puzzle pieces” as some of the kids have called them). The creek here is slow and shallow in the summer. The perfect place to cool off!
Careful:
Watch out for bikes and glass.

Directions:
West end of Pearl St. at its junction with Canyon Blvd

The Trail:

Kids LOVE this trail!!!!

This trail is like being in the high mountains while remaining in Boulder. There is a wonderful “mountain goat” loop that challenges kids of all ages. In this pic you can see the some of the Mountain goat rocks in the back…

There is also a “secret river”! GO up the main trail, take a right at the upper creek crossing, this trail will continue through the trees, over a bridge and up to the top where you can climb through, over, and around all the amazing Red Rocks and loop down into the little valley or around the rocks.

One place we like the best on hot summer days is a lower portion of the creek. Start on the trail and take a left at the first fork rather than go straight up. Follow this trail up a gravely (and sometimes steep) trail until you get to a bridge and a creek. The creek is wonderful to wade in, build sand castles near, and perfect for a tiny boat race. Enjoy!

*Look for LIZARDS. They are everywhere on this trail and a delight to spot!

Careful: Can be very windy at top in spring and little (and big) shoes can catch on rocks and slip on gravel on the way down. Tell the kiddos to take “baby steps” to get back down again. They think this is hilarious and it also serves its purpose by ensuring gravel induced slips are as few as possible.

Nature Sprites: Boulder, CO Connecting Children With the Magic of Nature
through inspiring in-home childcare and nature camps.

Wonderland Lake

Directions:
4201 North Broadway at Wonderland Lake. North of Sumac and south of Utica on the west side of Broadway

The Trail:

This trail is flat and easy; a favorite for young children. Here the kiddos are able to see lots of wildlife like birds, insects, deer, and fish. We have also seen coyote, deer, pelicans, cormorants, geese, and ducks here, so keep your eyes peeled!! About half way around the lake on the NW side there is a wonderful pipe to climb in and through. I have spent countless good times watching the children play all kinds of games here from yelling to each other through the pipe to trolls and Billy Goats Gruff.
There is also a park on the S side of the lake which can be a nice piece of motivation to get around the whole lake :-). Next to the park is a huge emerald green field fit for races, crawls, and games or for just sitting and havin’ a wonder.

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At one side of the field there is a wonderful pine tree hut that is fabulous to sit inside of!

Careful:
There is not much shade here so in the summer it can get HOT!

Nature Sprites, Boulder, Colorado: Connecting Children With the Magic of Nature
through inspiring in-home childcare and nature camps.

Hiking with young children in nature and the HIKE OF THE WEEK

Each week this Fall  I will share the magic of one special hike in Boulder

Hiking with Young Children in Boulder

… a collection of hikes for kids ages 3-8 but interesting and challenging enough for older children and adults as well…

Here are some important things to consider when hiking with children in our wonderful open spaces:

• Children love to be out in nature.  They will amaze you with their endurance, wonderment, and eagerness.

• Young children who are not pushed will often suggest going on further or to the “top of the mountain”.  They can get down steep spots by using “baby” steps.  They find this hilarious.

• Take it slow…breathe and take it all in…remember kids don’t need a destination to have a magical, memorable time in the forest. Make frequent stops to look at something interesting on the trail and for drinks of water.  Don’t be in hurry.  Stop and smell the flowers or the Ponderosa Pines, check out that bear scat, or those tracks.  It’s ok to have a goal and you might even make it to that goal! But also be ok with being on the trail to enjoy the trail with your young explorers.  They already feel like they are “climbing a mountain” no matter if you are at the top or not.

• Check the weather and be prepared.  Nothing will make a hike less fun than being dressed improperly.  Therefore:  Dress for the weather!!  Have sturdy shoes to hike in, hats to protect from cold or sun, and layers.

Bring:

• Ø Extra clothes
• Ø snacks
• Ø water
• Ø wipes, tissues, plastic bags, shovel
• Ø emergency phone numbers
• Ø first aid kit that includes tweezers (or just bring tweezers, you will thank me for this suggestion at some point).  Be aware:  Almost all (but not all) trails in Boulder have cactus.  Even if you don’t go off trail children tend to be cactus magnets.
• Ø A sense of adventure!

Awareness:

When you hear something (birds, snake, coyote, etc) let the kids know it is time to use their deer ears and fox walk.

Their deer ears can be more easily “activated” by cupping hands behind their ears.  Fox walking is a special way of walking in that allows children to sneak quietly in the forest.  There is more to it but it mainly involves walking softly and focusing more on the front and sides of the feet more than the heels.  Tell them that we are going to walk like we are walking on something that is alive or that we are “kissing” the ground with our feet. You can also help them learn to use owl eyes to help us see all around us with our amazing peripheral vision, and use dog noses help us smell all the lovely smells around us better.  All of these awareness exercises encourage the children (and us adults) to be in the forest in a sacred way.

Also look around for signs of life like animal trail and scat.  Children love to stop and talk about what animal might have made that scat! A great book that is humorous and informative is Who Pooped in the Park the Rocky Mountains one.

Lastly take some quiet time to just sit and be while you are out on a hike…you’ll all get more out of the experience this way. J

Hike of the week

Ann U. White Trail

Directions:

North on Broadway, Left on Lee Hill, Left on Wagon wheel, Left on pinto (there are 5 designated spaces here, so you may have to park on the street)

The Trail:

Easy trail for kids though rocky parts at times (sometimes the kids catch a foot on a rock here and get a digger) so watch out!

There is something about the cooling shade of the pine trees and the rock formations that offer a mountain like feel to this gorgeous trail.

There is a creek the whole way which offers may places to play and build fairy houses.  The crossings at each creek bend are very exciting for the kids to cross and offer them a chance to problem solve and build confidence.  In the spring look for the fairy pond and waterfall and the sand beach.

Can be a bit of a drive from South Boulder or downtown.

Careful:

There are many creek crossings and sometimes in the spring the creek gets high making the trek across the creek more challenging and at times impassible.