Monument Creek Trail 715

Pristine Back Country Jaunt Monument Creek flows north through the Front Range, around the north side of Raspberry Mtn, and down into the town of Monument, where it turns south, paralleling I-25. Then it runs down through Colorado Springs, where it finally joins Fountain Creek on its way to become part of the Arkansas River on the south side of Pueblo, CO. This guide begins at a small trailhead just west of the town of Monument, leads you up and over the ridge that zig-zags behind Mt Herman, and drops you down into the Monument Creek Valley about two miles east of its inception. The trail for this hike is a multi-use trail; so expect to encounter bicycles occasionally (known to bikers as the "Stooopid Trail" because its curves and dips often launch them into the bushes, making them feel "dumb"). I'm only providing a guide for a 3 mile, out and back, hike. Should you have more time and/or energy, you could push on down the valley, all the way into the town of Palmer Lake (another 3 miles) - just remember, the return journey would be almost all up hill.