The front range is a place of transition, where the mountains meet the plains. Spring is a time of transition, easing winter into summer. Given that, it’s no surprise that spring on the Front Range can be a mixed bag – a time when one can find both blizzards and blooming flowers.

Some of the best places to experience the full spectrum of spring experiences are the many beautiful parks along the Front Range, from Colorado Springs’ city-owned park Garden of the Gods, to places like Lory and Roxborough state parks, to Rocky Mountain National Park.

There’s good hiking at Garden of the Gods no matter the weather. The park has more than 20 miles of interconnected hiking trails, allowing visitors to choose their own adventure. More than 3 miles of the trails are sidewalks that get plowed when it snows, making hiking an option even when the unpaved trails are impassable.

The paved, 1 ½-mile Central Garden Trail, which goes right through the heart of the park’s spectacular sandstone formations, is definitely worthwhile, Parks Operation Administrator Bret Tennis said. But when the park starts getting more crowded with an influx of spring breakers, he prefers hiking the less-traveled perimeter trails that go around the park’s boundaries.

Wildlife starts becoming more active when the weather warms up. Mule deer and bighorn sheep are present in the park, and when bobcats have kittens, the parents can be seen in the daytime gathering food for the young ones. The Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center hosts regular programs for people to learn about wildlife; Mondays are devoted to bighorn sheep, and Wednesdays’ program is about rattlesnakes. While there are rattlesnakes in the park, Tennis said that in his 17 years there, there have only been about four rattlesnake bites – which, considering 4.5 million people visit each year, is remarkably few.

In the foothills west of Fort Collins, Lory State Park comes to life in mid-April, when wildflowers start blooming: mariposa lilies, lupines, beebalm and many more. The flowers are visible from the 29 miles of trails in the park, many of which can be used for biking and horseback riding as well as hiking.

Highly variable spring weather can make for highly variable trail conditions. Some trails will close if they get too muddy. Visitors can check on trail closures beforehand by downloading Colorado Parks & Wildlife’s Colorado Trail Explorer (just look up “COTREX” in the app store).

Two well-loved Lory trails – Well Gulch Nature Trail and Arthur’s Rock Trail – have good enough drainage that they always
remain open, no matter the weather. Well Gulch is a 2.5-mile loop that goes through some prime wildflower territory. Arthur’s Rock, the park’s most popular trail, is a
3.4-mile out-and-back trail that gains 1,000 feet in elevation. At the very end of the trail, persevering hikers are rewarded with a breathtaking panoramic view that looks down on Fort Collins and Horsetooth Reservoir; on a clear day, the view extends north to Wyoming and south to Denver.

Near Littleton, Roxborough State Park is renowned for its massive red rock fins that jut out from the ground. When spring arrives in full swing, the contrast between the green leaves and the red rocks creates a scene of unforgettable beauty.

“When you’re looking through these giant, jagged red rocks at this 45-degree angle set against this bright green,” Park Manager Colin Chisholm said, “you kind of forget there’s a ton of development all around the area. It really takes on a more prehistoric kind of atmosphere.”

The park has a healthy herd of mule deer that are a regular sight. The resident black bears are more elusive, but as they wake from their winter hibernation, visitors sometimes catch a glimpse.

It should be noted that Roxborough is for hikers only – no dogs, no horses, no bikes.

Though “Front Range” is commonly used to refer to the urban corridor along the foothills, the term more accurately refers to an actual mountain range of the Rocky Mountains, and the 265,807 acres of Rocky Mountain national Park lie within that range.

Because it is at higher elevation than other Front Range parks, Rocky Mountain National Park remains covered in snow later into the season. However, visiting in spring has its advantages – namely, the park is not yet filled to capacity with visitors as it can get during the summer.

Snowshoes, available for rent in Estes Park, are advisable for those seeking to hike most trails in March or April. Still, trails in the lower-elevation parts of the valley can be relatively clear during this time. Sprague Lake Trail, a loop of a little under 1 mile, often has little enough snow or ice in the springtime that people can skip the snowshoes.

But no matter the weather, spring is a magical time to explore these and other parks all along the Front Range.