anne u. white trail

My Best Boulder Region Hiking Trails (by Bette Erickson) book says, “Access to the short and easy Anne Underwood White Trail in Fourmile Canyon Creek Park is easy to miss because of its tucked-away location.” Very true. Finding the trailhead is more difficult than the hike.

The Anne U. White Trail is located in the Front Range foothills northwest of Boulder. To get to it, take Broadway north to Lee Hill Road. Take a left and in just a tick over a mile, watch for Wagonwheel Gap Road on your left. (If you go to where the road Y’s with Old Stage Road, you’ve gone too far. This is what I did.) Once you are on Wagonwheel Gap Rd, go exactly one mile and watch for a dirt road on your left. This is the road back to the trailhead, but it isn’t marked as such in any way, shape, or form. The short dirt road dead-ends at the trailhead. There are only three parking spaces at the trailhead, and there are NO PARKING signs every ten feet along the dirt road, so you’ll either have to get there early, be lucky, or park out on Wagonwheel Gap Rd.

The trailhead lies at 6,040 feet and the highest point on the trail is 6,600 feet, so there’s minimal elevation gain. The trail twists and turns, following Fourmile Canyon Creek for 1.5 miles before dead-ending at private property. Out and back, you supposedly cross the creek a grand total of twenty-two times, but what with stopping often to take photos, I lost count. Don’t worry about wearing your waterproof boots, though, as there are stepping stones at each crossing.

Although there are no grand vistas to behold along the Anne U. White Trail (since you stay down in the canyon, following the creek), this is a surprisingly lush, forested area and you’ll be treated to much more green than you’ll find on most trails around Boulder. It actually reminded me of hiking back home in Pennsylvania.

There are many small cascades & waterfalls along the trail. Near the end of the trail, there’s a lovely little set of falls and a large pool that is kind of a zen spot & a nice photo op. It’s the spot pictured below.

All in all, this is a pleasant trail and is a great, short hike if you have a family, or aren’t up to tackling trails with more dramatic elevation gain, or are just looking for something off-the-beaten-path but still close to Boulder.

Thanks for reading about stuff I’ve photographed. ~Rich