If you love wildflowers, you have to hike the Upper Straight Creek Trail next to the Eisenhower Tunnels. The flowers along this trail put on a show every year.

The hike starts on the west side of the tunnels. You'll follow an old, paved road behind the CDOT buildings and vehicles, passing some cones with a chain, and then turning up the valley. Even before the road turns to dirt, you will see hillsides of flowers.

This seems like such an odd place to hike, but you quickly forget the sounds of I-70 as you marvel at all the flowers here.

Because you're right below the divide, you'll occasionally find yourself walking in water and mud created by snow melting on the hillside, but it's never very deep.

After about a mile of hiking, you may notice a trail split. While you can go straight, the trail actually turns here and heads up to the top of the divide. As you pass rocks on the cliffside in the next section, you may hear and even see marmots running through the flowers.

The trail climbs uphill with two switchbacks before arriving at the top. You may be surprised to see ski lifts and ski trail signs. This is the Loveland Ski Area. You can wander around up here and take in the views from both sides of the divide.

Now the question is: Do you want to keep exploring or head back down?

Details: The hike from the parking area to the top is about 5.5 miles with 1,400 feet of gain depending on where you park and how far you explore.

Directions: Heading west from the Denver metro, you'll need to turn right immediately after exiting the tunnel. Heading east from Summit County, just before the tunnel, pull off and take the access road around the back side of the tunnel.

If you have any questions, or hike suggestions, email me at HikingDebbie@gmail.com and find more great hikes by following me on Facebook at Facebook.com/DenverHikingExaminer.