Red Rock Canyon Park has a great variety of trails and connects to other trails in the area.

I have found myself in Red Rocks Canyon when hiking from a couple of trail heads in Crystal Hills and from Section 16.

And I have found myself on those trails when starting at one of the other trail heads at Red Rocks Canyon.

We could have connected to Section 16 if we had wanted a longer hike today, but as mentioned, I had some time constraints, so we were happy to just take Lions Trail back to the parking area.

I always count my blessings when I think about how many beautiful trails I can hike upon within less than 20 minutes from my home. And this one is just 10 minutes away!

The maps almost always seem to be upside down when looking at them at different junctions of various trails.

But at the beginning of this trail it was perfectly aligned.

The arrow on the left lower area is where we started hiking.

It is just a small parking lot, and rarely full, but is one of the easiest accesses to the park.

Again, I think the dull and dusty looking beginning of the trail deters many people from starting a hike here.

But after cresting the first hill, soon the scenery begins to change and get much more interesting.

This rock formation with the looks like it has red tears flowing out of the holes in it.

I have always found this very fascinating every time I have hiked this trail.

I will forever wonder about what is the cause of these red tears?

And did I mention, the beginning of this trail is pretty much just uphill, with a couple of flat areas, but it takes one up fairly quickly.

Which is why it is one to take if you want to see an overview of the park from higher ground.

All around this park one sees trees growing out of pure rock.

How they get started and then grow through the years always amazes me.

My world has been a bit rocky the last few years, but keep on changing and growing and learning and hiking.

I always feel inspired by them and know that if they can thrive in such a rocky environment, then so can I.

Hiking is my favorite past time, but learning and growing come in a close second.