On our way from Rocky Mountain National Park to Boulder, Colorado, we want to do the Middle St. Vrain Road close to US 72 but, as so many trails, it is still closed for the season. So we venture along trail 115 right off the Pleasant Valley Campground just about half a mile away and climb up the mountain through public land. The terrain becomes rockier and looks promising.

The first part is rather easy although the rain, which has been on and off, makes the ground a bit more slippery. Further up the mountain we journey on one of the many spur roads and find an area which seems to be popular with ATVs. We actually run across a few ATVs on the trail. We choose a path and end up on a narrow road with small creek crossings, some mud and a few trees blocking the way. After getting over or by a couple of them we have to turn around because the next tree is way too big. So we explore some of the other possibilities and finally go back on trail 115 which continues pretty easily with some mud puddles about one foot deep and with occasional snow patches. We push on and ascent over loose gravel with more snow fields winding through a dense forest of pines - a truly beautiful tour. The terrain also features some boulders to make the drive more joyful and the rain renders this climb even more challenging. Every once in a while we see a circle of rocks - an obvious campsite of earlier guests. As we near the top of the mountain, the sun slowly starts to set and we consider turning around. The trail drops down the mountain and, after consulting our GPS, it seems that it should meet with the beginning of trail 115 again. So we give it a try and (luckily enough) we reach the trail about a mile or so from its start at the campground. Since it is getting dark and we don't feel like going to Boulder and looking for a place to spend the night, we decide to park on one of the 'wild campsites' (camping is permitted 0.7 miles away from the campground) to settle for the night at over 9,000 feet.

We use the 'Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails, Vol. 2' to find trails in Colorado; the Middle St. Vrain Road is mentioned in this book but trail 115 is not. We believe it is still worth mentioning as a moderate trail which might become difficult depending on rain and snow.

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Directions: From Boulder, take Boulder Canyon Rd 119 west to Nederland, go north on Route 72 to Peaceful Valley. Follow the signs to Peaceful Valley F.S. Campground. Immediately after the campground, just past the gate, make a sharp right. The trail is marked 115.

We'd encourage the use of the 'Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails, Vol. 2' for 4-wheel trips because it gives a good detailed description of the trails with difficulty rating and directions. We have used one of those guides for the Moab area before and are very satisfied.