Benefits of Hiking the Colorado National Monument

By J. Elizabeth Bennett

Coke Ovens Rock Formation at Colorado National Monument

NPS photo

I don’t know about you, but my life is busy. There’s always something electronic beeping and no end to the list of things ready to fill the mornings, and the afternoons, and the evenings.

Recently, I was lucky enough to be able to make some time to take a hike on Serpents Trail in the Colorado National Monument, and my family and I were able to experience some of the greatest parts of taking a walk in the national parks. Actually, there’s a lot of benefits to spending just 10 to 30 minutes a day walking outdoors, and there’s no better place than your own local national park.

Why’s it called Serpents Trail?

Some people call Serpents Trail "the crookedest road in the world," and the 16 switchbacks snaking through the Colorado National Monument certainly earned the name even if I’ve never spotted any scaly friends on the hike. Built in the early 1900s, this route was part of the main road through the Colorado National Monument until 1950. At that time, it was converted into a hiking and walking trail for people seeking to enjoy the intense beauty of the Colorado National Monument.

This historic trail climbs steadily from east to west through Wingate Sandstone, which is plentiful throughout the Colorado National Monument and has the world’s prettiest shades of orange and red. Now, maybe I have a bias for panoramic views and stunning landscapes, but the dizzyingly sheer cliff faces carved into the landscape always take my breath away.

Most people traveling the trail up to the top and back down find the 3.5 mile round trip takes about an hour to finish. With a steep incline, rising from 5,060 to 5,760 feet above sea level, it’s a physically rewarding trail. However, its historic use as a road has left the trail smooth and provides easy footing. That flat, gravel surface is one of the reasons my family loves this trail, because it keeps us stable and our ankles safe from unfortunate injuries.

A view of the Grand Valley beyond Monument Canyon.

NPS photo

Bye Bye stress

Halfway through this hike, we took a break to admire the scenery, and, wow, Serpents Trail has some spectacular views! Everytime we topped a switchback there was another reward in the form of picture-perfect scenery just waiting for us to turn around and take it in for a minute.

It felt like the view started to settle into us the further up we went, and it brought with it a lot of peace. Whatever had been bothering us at the beginning of that hike was now 700 feet down and too small to see. Maybe it was the extra oxygen from the nearby pinyon-juniper woodland, the lovely scenery of those gorgeous rock formations, or just the ability to disconnect from our everyday stress, but walking through nature did us all some good.

Got my 10,000 steps

While walking can burn just as many calories as running, it turns out that it does a lot more. As we found on our way up Serpents Trail, humans burn the most calories by varying our heart rate between fast and slow. This works really well on a trail with a varied incline, like Serpents Trail and many other trails in our national parks.

Now, my family has a collection of several knee injuries and generally bad joints thanks to a love of sports and a lack of self preservation instincts. That means walking has the added bonus of raising our heart rates without extreme joint strain. Even better, because of the incline and our slower pace we were able to exercise small muscle groups that are important to keeping ourselves balanced and upright. In short, my physical therapist would be very pleased, and my fitness tracker app didn’t have any complaints either.

Gorgeous views are common throughout Colorado National Monument.

NPS photo

Laughing like fools

Maybe the best part of my hike along Serpents Trail was spending time with my family, who I rarely get to see these days. We got to talk to each other and laugh like fools.

It was also great to say hello to all the other people enjoying Serpents Trail. It’s a common experience when you go in the national park, but it might be one of the most underrated. Being able to feel connected to our community, with all the users at their numerous levels of outdoor experience, was a wonderful way to spend a sunny Saturday.

So, next time you find yourself in the neighborhood around Serpents Trail, or anywhere near one of our many national parks, come say “Hello” and make a new acquaintance or two. The parks love visitors.

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J. Elizabeth Bennett
Elizabeth Bennett is an intern with the National Park Service who is studying Journalism and Ecosystem Science at Colorado State University. During her time traveling to more than half of the United States, she’s developed a deep love for the national parks and monuments across the country.