Mount Morrison

Elevation: 2403 m (7884 feet)
Elevation Gain: 614 m (1014 feet)
Located in Red Rocks Park, immediately to the west of Denver, CO, Mount Morrison is a front range peak whose east flank is the site of the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The mountain and the nearby town of Morrison, CO were both named for George Morrison. Originally from Canada, Morrison immigrated to the Denver area in 1859. After helping to found the town of Mt. Vernon, he moved south and platted the town that came to bear his name. Morrison was a businessman and a builder and several of his stone structures still stand in Morrison. Stone from Morrison’s quarry was also sent to Denver, where it is part of a number of landmarks, including Union Station.
My Ascents:
June 26 2023
Trailhead: Mount Morrison South Ridge Parking

After a whirlwind hike up Mount Flora the day prior, Monday June 26 found me confined to a conference room for business meetings while my wife Brianne and youngest daughter Lillian explored downtown Denver. After a day in a windowless room at the Sheraton, I was ready to rock and roll 🎸 to the nearby mountains 🏔️ when my meetings adjourned. Since the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in nearby Morrison is the area’s best venue for rock and roll, we decided to venture that way for an afterwork hike (and maybe even some tunes). 🎶

Arriving at the trailhead after a 30 minute commute, we were immediately treated to a fine view of Mount Morrison overhead (left) and the red rocks, for which the area is famous, at its base.

The beautiful formations in Red Rock Park were one of the main reasons that we decided to spend our late afternoon/early evening hiking up Mount Morrison.

LEFT: Brianne leaves the road behind and embarks on the STEEP trail up Mount Morrison. The initial bit of the trail was very steep, hard-packed clay. We both worried that descending it with 9-month-old Lillian in her carrier might be dangerous but found that the terrain soon mellowed and decided to continue on.
RIGHT: Above the hard-pack clay, the slope relented (only a little) and a well-travelled trail followed power lines up towards Mount Morrison’s south ridge.

LEFT and RIGHT: The arid hillside was home to some very different flora than yesterday’s, much higher but surprisingly greener, hike on Mount Flora.

Brianne and Lillian stop to enjoy the beautiful views towards the area’s famous red rocks.

The aforementioned red rocks without the wife and baby in the foreground.

LEFT and RIGHT: Steep going on the bone-dry east-facing ascent slopes. From the trailhead, Mount Morrison’s summit is only 2.9 km away but over 600 m above. This makes Morrison a great afterwork option but it also means that it’s a grind! 🥵

LEFT and RIGHT: “Stairmaster” Brianne tackles a never-ending series of awkwardly high stone steps, which replaced the steep dirt trail from time to time.

After cresting the first hill and stepping over the power lines ⚡ (!), the trail mellowed for a moment before tackling the final, steep slope to Morrison’s south ridge.

LEFT: A dramatically dead tree was a highlight on the upper slopes below the ridge.
RIGHT: A sleeping baby, a hot momma and the previously discussed dramatically dead tree.

Apparently, I just couldn’t get enough of that dead tree! ☠️

LEFT and RIGHT: After gaining the south ridge, Brianne and her sleepy training weight started up towards the summit on more rugged terrain.

The ridge offered the day’s first, colorful, views beyond Front Range foothills towards more substantive, snowier peaks to the west.

The ridge also offered great views towards the famous Red Rock Amphitheatre at the peak’s base.

LEFT and RIGHT: About 100 vertical meters below the summit, we found the only shade on the route beneath some (living) trees and took advantage. This was a great place to enjoy a late lunch/early dinner and to let Lillian enjoy some free time.

LEFT: After a hearty repast in the shade, we realized that the mountain would not climb itself and started up the final bit to the summit. This section of the south ridge grew more and more rugged and Brianne had to step quite carefully with our precious cargo strapped to her frontside!
RIGHT: The crux of the route: a steep section of moderate (class 3) hands-on scrambling…

Since moderate scrambling with a baby on your frontside is less than ideal (for both the hiker and the baby), we elected to bypass the crux to the east (climber’s right) on blockier, but less technical, terrain. This bypass was definitely harder than “hiking,” but Brianne is a sure-footed momma Goat 🐐 and she skillfully and safely delivered little Lilly up and through the worst of it.

LEFT: Brianne and Lilly stand proudly (?) atop their second Colorado Rocky in as many days! As you can see from the look on Brianne’s face, she was still a little uneasy about the crux terrain that we’d climbed just below the summit…
RIGHT: But, after taking Lillian out to play for a few minutes, her usual summit smile returned. 😁

Speaking of summit smiles, the panorama east towards the Red Rock Amphitheatre, the town of Morrison and nearby Denver had me smiling. Click to see larger.

Looking east over Green Mountain towards downtown Denver.

While the panorama to the east was mostly flat, that to the south offered much more topography. Most notably, nearby Mount Lindo’s green slopes and a series of lakes (Bear Creek and Soda) at its foot. Click to see larger.

And, finally, the panorama that was most ready to rock 🎸 – that to the west into the heart of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Click to see larger.

LEFT and RIGHT: Speaking of ready to rock 🤘, check out this little beauty! 😍

To the west, 14er Mount Evans stood out like a sore, snowy thumb.

Also visible to the west, the snowy group of 13ers we’d visited the day prior (beyond much greener, much lower Genesee Mountain.

A closer look at the site of yesterday’s adventure. From left to right: Breckinridge Peak, Mount Flora, Witter Peak, Mount Eva, Parry Peak, Mount Bancroft, James Peak and Kingston Peak.

To the north, 14er Longs Peak was also visible between Mount Tom (left), Blue Mountain (center right) and Crescent Mountain (right).

To the east of Crescent Mountain (left), I could also discern South Boulder Peak and Bear Peak, which were the first Colorado peaks I climbed back in 2019.

Nearby Red Rocks and Green Mountain both seem a little less impressive up here than they do from the town of Morrison below.

With daylight hours beginning to wane, we decided not to linger on top and, once Lillian had enjoyed some very fresh milk, we posed for our obligatory summit selfie and then started down.

LEFT: With some difficult terrain to negotiate just below the summit, Brianne decided to rock 🎸 a new way to wear our baby (on her back)! Clearly, Lillian didn’t mind! 🤘
RIGHT: By wearing Lilly on her back for the first time, Brianne was able to actually see 👀 where she was putting her feet while we descended the crux terrain. As you might guess, this proved to be very, very useful and helped us to make sure that we all got down safely.

LEFT: Easier terrain lower down the summit ridge but it’s all relative. Brianne still needed to be mindful of every step here!
RIGHT: While Brianne rocked a new way of wearing Lilly, I was tasked with finding a creative way to rock 🎸 her diaper bag (which had previously been on Brianne’s back).

After descending the worst of the south ridge’s steep terrain, we popped out immediately above the Red Rock Amphitheatre just in time to listen to that night’s act warming up. 🎶

Rocking and rolling in the Colorado Rockies! 🎸🏔️ The only thing better than an afterwork hike is an afterwork hike with a free concert! 🤘

With the crux ridge behind us, the remainder of our hike benefited from an easier road that was a little bit windy… 🎶

LEFT and RIGHT: A little bit windy but with a lot of stairs! Clearly, Lillian enjoyed going down these more than Brianne did…

After a toasty, tune-filled descent, Brianne and Lillian paused for one last view back towards Red Rocks before taking the final steps back down towards the trailhead. Funnily enough, the brief section of hard-pack clay at the bottom seemed trivial after we’d safely descended the south summit ridge! Guess we didn’t need to be so worried about the clay on our way up! 😂

Back at our rental car, we fired up the tunes 🎶 and the A/C ❄️ and decided to enjoy a quick scenic drive through the red rocks that we’d spent all afternoon/evening hiking above.

Final views towards Mount Morrison from the Red Rock Park scenic drive. Having had our fill of red rock and rock and roll, we decided to rock 🎸 a pint 🍺 at the nearby Green Mountain Beer Company before returning to our hotel and calling it a night!