Chautauqua Park Morning Hikes – Trail Dogs Welcome!

Chautauqua Park is a classic Boulder trailhead, but it’s especially magical early in the morning before most hikers arrive. With multiple loop options, it’s easy to adjust the hike to your time and energy level. Plus, it’s dog-friendly, making it perfect for your four-legged adventure buddies. Bring plenty of water for both you and your pup, especially in the summer heat! This is a crushed gravel and dirt trail, if you venture onto the Flat Irons Loop, this gets rocky and dogs can suffer cut pads. I've seen plenty of dogs being carried or their guardians turn around on that trail due to potential or actual pad injuries.

The easy Chautauqua Trail is an EXTREMELY high-trafficked attraction, used by both tourists and locals to hike through the heart of the Chautauqua Meadow and view the iconic Flatirons. Know before you go! The City of Boulder offers cameras at multiple trails and parking lots so check out the trail cam to make sure it’s not too busy. In Boulder there’s always another trail option if one trail area is too busy, so check out the trail Cams and plan your trip accordingly.

While this trail is easy-to-moderate this trail is not shaded and can get extremely hot so make sure to pack extra water for you and your four-legged friends. Remember Boulder is at 5,330 feet of altitude so the sun is stronger year-round, wear sunscreen, a hat, and always have extra water. If you're from sea level, take your time, stop if you get winded, get a headache, or feel dizzy. Just because it's cool in the morning doesn't mean it will stay that way, our temperatures heat up quickly, and weather can change quickly with afternoon thunderstorms throughout June-July-and August.

One BIG note, parking is very limited and there is a fee to park at Chautauqua so carpool, walk, or bike. Overflow parking is allowed on Baseline Road but be very careful with the traffic on Baseline and the cyclists zipping down from their earlier climb up Flagstaff Mountain. If you choose to park nearby in the neighborhoods, please respect private residents who live along these public streets. All parked vehicles should be 5 feet from a driveway, 15 feet from a fire hydrant, 20 feet from an unmarked intersection, and 30 feet from a stop sign. Please carry out all of your trash, and dog waste, use trash and recycling bins at Chautauqua Park. There is a free Park to Park shuttle bus that runs weekends and holidays from Memorial Day to Labor Day 8 am – 8 pm. You can find out more info here: https://bouldercolorado.gov/services/park-to-park-shuttle

Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) recognizes the importance of providing a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities for people of all abilities. The Chautauqua Trail is designated as an Accessible Trail. Additional information on other trails and a guidebook is available at Boulder OSMP Accessible Trails and Sites PDF.

Also, check out the Accessibility Trail Rankings which shows accessibility ratings for OSMP and Boulder County Parks & Open Space trails and includes ease of use, scenery, shade access, mileage and more.

Trail Difficulty: Easy-Medium

Length: 1.2 miles

Elevation Gain: 459 feet

Trail Width: 6+ feet

Dogs on leash only, horses allowed on most Chautauqua trails.