![View towards Boulder and the mountains from the Wapiti Trail at Heil Valley Ranch.](https://laurahofford.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_20200717_110231_2-1024x768.jpg)
Today’s excursion: hiking the Wapiti Trail at Heil Valley Ranch in Boulder, CO. I don’t get out to this part of Heil Valley Ranch as often as some of our other local hikes, but there are some nice views of the mountains early on into the trail, as seen in the photo above. If you’re short on time, the first look-out is easy to reach with a rewarding vantage point.
![Bridge on the Wapiti Trail, covered in grape vines, in Boulder, CO.](https://laurahofford.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_20200717_103624_2-1024x768.jpg)
I’ve crossed this bridge on the Wapiti Trail multiple times over the past few years, but never paid too much attention to the vines growing around the railings. Today I realized that they’re grape vines – if you look closely, you can see the small, green grapes are starting to grow.
![A blooming cactus along the Wapiti Trail at Heil Valley Ranch in Boulder, CO.](https://laurahofford.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_20200717_105004_2-1024x768.jpg)
As I headed up into the forest, I had a lot of shade on the trail – which is very helpful on hotter Colorado days like today. I came across this lonely cactus on my way up. The view on the way down is just as pretty as the ascent – you get a decent view of the mountains a majority of the time as you’re hiking down the Wapiti Trail, as seen below.
Today’s hike count: 85.
AllTrails difficulty rating: moderate.
![View descending the Wapiti Trail at Heil Valley Ranch.](https://laurahofford.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_20200717_110538_2-1024x768.jpg)
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