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Chickarees chattered. Crows caw-cussed. And as the fog lifted, we saw a tiny pond below a craggy outcrop. It was Dude’s Fishing Hole in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. This 12,119-acre park (only about a 40-minute drive from Boulder) is our favorite near-by place to hike in golden aspen in late September.

August monsoons meant we had a good mushroom season, and many were still scattered about the conifer forest in mid-September, though they were now too dry for harvesting. Instead, we feasted on ripe raspberries and feasted our eyes on aspen just beginning to turn color. Red paintbrush, yellow and white asters, lavender harebells, and goldenrod continued to bloom in the meadows.

The easy half-mile trail to Dude’s Fishing Hole is part of the strenuous three-mile Snowshoe Hare Loop. Starting in Aspen Meadows Campground, the trail drops to an old service road and soon opens out into a meadow where the historic Belcher cabin ruin sits beside an ephemeral stream. Tom Belcher applied for his citizenship and homestead on the same day in 1893.

Dude’s Fishing Hole is just beyond the ruins and is stocked with rainbow and brown trout. Grass carp, which were stocked in the past to help reduce vegetation in the pond, should be released back into the pond if caught.

From here, you have several choices. You can continue on the Snowshoe Hare Loop, which is marked as difficult on the park brochure. Or, you can retrace your route back to the campground. Or, you can retrace your route a short distance and turn left on the Mule Deer Trail, which later forks with one branch leading to Panorama Point and the other to Frazer Meadow and beyond. One thing we like about this park is that many connecting trails make possible a variety of loops.

We saw lots of moose, elk, and deer droppings but missed the animals themselves. Instead we ate breakfast watching a golden-mantled ground squirrel nibble on a pine cone while hoping futilely for one of our muffins. Other critters you might see include snowshoe hares, bears, weasels, chipmunks, and more that are listed in the park brochure.

Pick up a brochure and map at the Visitors Center on the southeast entrance of the park or get them online. The Visitors Center exhibits are worth a stop as is the short nature trail that circles a small pond where you can feed the trout.

To reach the north end of the park, take Colo. 93 south from Boulder to the Coal Creek intersection and turn right onto Colo. 72 (Coal Creek Canyon Road). In about 7 miles turn left onto Twin Spruce Road, which becomes Gap Road. Continue to the park entrance where you can buy a day pass if you don’t have an annual pass sticker. Turn left at the sign for Aspen Meadows Campground and follow the road to a small parking spot for non-campers where the trail begins. When the campground is closed for winter, park at the campground entrance and hike down to the trailhead. Remember to park only in designated areas and display a park pass.

An alternative route is to continue on Colo. 93 to Golden Gate Canyon Road and go 13 miles to the southeast park entrance and skirt the west and north side of the park to Aspen Meadows Campground.

Ruth Carol and Glenn Cushman are the authors of “Boulder Hiking Trails,” published by West Margin Press.

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