A mesa hike or a canyon walk: choosing a Golden trail

Three trails leave from within a mile or two of downtown Golden, run by two governments. Jefferson County Parks & Open Space has the mesa north of town, North Table Mountain Park, and the paved Clear Creek Trail that runs west into Clear Creek Canyon. The City of Golden has the creek through downtown, with the kayak course and the parks along it. Which you want depends on how much climbing you want, whether you are bringing a dog, a bike or a stroller, and whether it is nesting season. Hours, distances and rules are as the County and the City posted them, read on October 7, 2026.

	North Table Mountain	Clear Creek Trail, canyon	Clear Creek through town
Who runs it	Jeffco Parks & Open Space	Jeffco Parks & Open Space	City of Golden
Surface	Natural, with a climb	Paved, 10 feet wide, ADA	Paved path and parks
Hours	1 hour before sunrise–1 hour after sunset	Same, with gates on the lots	Creek parks 1 hour before dawn–1 hour after dusk
Dogs	Leash of 10 feet or less	Same	Leash at all times
Bikes	Yes, except hike-only spurs	Yes	Yes on the trail; not in the creek

North Table Mountain: the climb and the loop

The mesa is a lava flow about 60 million years old; the County’s park page gives it 15-plus miles of trail and rock climbing, and its map, published in January 2026, counts 1,998 acres and 17.1 trail miles. The map’s elevation profile runs the North Table Loop clockwise from the West Trailhead at 6,018 feet, dips to 5,839 at the Lithic Trail and tops out at 6,489 feet above the Golden Cliffs, 7.4 miles in all.

Once you are up, the loops are short and flat. The Mesa Top Trail crosses the plateau in four legs of 0.8, 0.3, 0.3 and 0.2 miles; Tilting Mesa is 0.9 miles, Cottonwood Canyon 1.0 and Tablerock 0.6. The Rim Rock Trail, 1.7 miles around the north-east shoulder, is marked seasonally closed: the County’s closures page shuts it from February 1 through July 31 for ground-nesting birds and nesting birds of prey, and warns that opening dates can move with wildlife activity. The park’s east side is also subject to partial mud closures. Three trails are hike-only: the 0.2-mile Lichen Peak Trail to the viewpoint at 6,552 feet, the 0.5-mile Golden Cliffs Trail and the 0.5-mile Climbing Access. The rest are multi-use, so expect mountain bikes; under the County’s regulations Class 1 e-bikes may use them but Class 2 and 3 may not.

The West Trailhead at 4788 Highway 93 has parking, a restroom, a bike repair station and accessible facilities, with an RTD stop on the highway beside it. The Golden Cliffs Trailhead at 100 Peery Parkway, closest to town, has parking and a restroom, and the map marks an East Access from the City’s Tony Grampsas Memorial Sports Complex.

The Clear Creek Trail into the canyon

The County’s Clear Creek Trail is planned one day to run 65 miles from Denver to Loveland Pass. The 1.75-mile Gateway Segment, opened in August 2021, connects with downtown Golden along the creek and runs west beside US 6 to Tunnel 1; the CCR Trailhead segment, opened in November 2025, added 1.5 miles of fully ADA-accessible trail and five bridges. The trail is 10 feet wide and paved, and the park page says it let bicycles into the canyon for the first time. The map of Clear Creek Canyon Park labels a 3.2-mile stretch of trail and a 0.4-mile Welch Ditch Trail across the pedestrian-only suspension bridge near Tunnel 1 to the restored wooden flume.

This is the trail for strollers, wheelchairs, road bikes and anyone who wants the creek without the climb. The Gateway Trailhead at 21100 US 6 and the Tunnel 1 Trailhead at 22122 US 6 have more than 170 spaces between them, permanent restrooms and shade structures, and the Gateway lot has a bike repair station and a drinking fountain with a ground-level bowl for dogs. The CCR Trailhead at 23801 US 6 holds 42 cars. Electronic gates close the lots outside open-space hours. Construction on the Huntsman Segment west of Tunnel 1 continues through 2026, with weekday single-lane closures on US 6. Anglers need a Colorado fishing license with a habitat stamp, and climbing crags near Mile Marker 270 and Tunnel 2 are closed February 1 through July 31 for nesting eagles.

Clear Creek through town

East of the Gateway the trail is the City’s, running past Parfet Park at 725 10th Street, the City’s oldest, Lions Park at 1300 10th Street and Vanover Park at 1019 Ford Street, where tubers leave the water. Parfet and Lions have restrooms and dog-friendly hydration stations. Across from Lions Park is the Clear Creek Whitewater Park, about seven blocks of drops, pools and surf waves for paddlers the City says must be proficient in fast, cold water; it is free and unsupervised.

The Clear Creek corridor rules are stricter than the City’s general park hours of 5 am–11 pm: Lions, Parfet and Vanover close an hour after dusk, and along the creek there is no smoking of any kind, no alcohol or glass, no grills or fires beyond a propane camp stove with a tank of two pounds or less, and dogs stay leashed. Parking at Lions Park is paid; the City’s parking information is at parkgoldenco.com.

Which to choose

• A half-day hike with a climb, views and mountain bikes passing: North Table Mountain, from the West Trailhead for the long loop or Golden Cliffs for the short, steep way up. Check the closures page from February to July and after wet weather.
• A flat walk or ride beside the water, with a stroller, a wheelchair or small children: the Clear Creek Trail from the Gateway or Tunnel 1 lots.
• An hour in town, a playground and a look at the kayakers: the creek path between Parfet and Vanover.

On County land the rules are the same everywhere: a leash of 10 feet or less, bikes yield to walkers and everyone yields to horses, groups of 14 hikers or 8 riders at most, no drones, and violations go to Jeffco dispatch at 303-980-7300. County closures are posted on the Alerts & Closures page and the City’s rules on its Park Rules page.