If hiking or trail running is the reason you’re coming to Boulder, where you stay matters.

A-Lodge Boulder isn’t a downtown hotel that happens to be near the mountains. We’re tucked into Fourmile Canyon at the edge of Boulder’s foothills, surrounded by trees, trails and open space—yet only about two miles from downtown Boulder.

That location makes A-Lodge a natural basecamp for hikers and trail runners. Start right outside the lodge. Explore Boulder’s legendary foothill trails. Head higher toward Nederland when you want cooler temperatures and a more remote mountain experience. And when you’re ready for a really big day, the Indian Peaks and Rocky Mountain National Park put true Colorado high-country adventures within reach.

Then come home to Fourmile Canyon, soak in the hot tub, warm up in the creekside sauna and start thinking about tomorrow.

This is Boulder lodging for people who came here to get outside.

Start Closer to the Trails

You don’t come to Boulder to spend your mornings navigating traffic from a downtown hotel to a trailhead.

A-Lodge sits in Fourmile Canyon on the mountain side of Boulder, with nearby trail access and quick connections to an extraordinary range of hiking and trail-running terrain.

Go down the canyon and you’re minutes from Boulder’s classic foothill trails. Go up and you’re heading toward higher elevations, cooler forests and eventually the Continental Divide.

Whether you’re heading out for an easy morning run or planning a full day in the mountains, you’re already where you want to be.

Run & Hike From Your Basecamp

For trail runners especially, this is one of the biggest differences between staying at A-Lodge and staying downtown.
Some days don’t need to begin with a drive.

Wake up, put on your shoes and start moving. Explore Boulder Canyon, climb into the foothills or connect toward the Betasso trail system.

Come back when you’re finished, grab some breakfast or coffee, and you’ve already gotten your morning miles in.

Wake up. Put on your shoes. Start running.

Choose Your Elevation

Boulder’s location gives hikers and runners an unusual advantage: dramatically different terrain and temperatures within a relatively small area.
On a cool spring or fall morning, head toward the sunny trails beneath the Flatirons. When Boulder heats up in July and August, go uphill toward Nederland and trade the foothills for cooler forests and higher elevations.

Want an even bigger mountain day? Continue toward the Indian Peaks or Rocky Mountain National Park.

Staying at A-Lodge puts you between all of it.

Boulder isn’t simply a great place to trail run. For decades, athletes have come here specifically to train.

A-Lodge gives you an unusually good home base for building your own multi-day trail-running training camp because you can vary your mileage, vertical, terrain and elevation without continually relocating.

Your week might include:

• Recovery miles: Boulder Canyon Trail
• Rolling singletrack: Betasso Preserve
• Vertical: Mount Sanitas
• Long foothill miles: Mesa Trail and the Flatirons
• Higher, cooler running: Nederland and West Magnolia
• Mountain endurance: Walker Ranch or the Indian Peaks
• The big day: Rocky Mountain National Park

Then come back to A-Lodge and recover before doing it again tomorrow.

Bring a few friends for a long weekend, build a week around mileage and vertical, or use Boulder as part of your preparation for an upcoming trail race or mountain objective.

And because A-Lodge offers different lodging options and outdoor gathering spaces, your training camp doesn’t have to end when the day’s run does.

Train in Boulder. Recover in the canyon. Sleep at the basecamp for tomorrow’s adventure.

One of the biggest advantages of staying at A-Lodge is that every trail day doesn’t have to begin with packing the car and driving across Boulder.

Fourmile Canyon and Boulder Canyon are surrounded by foothills, forest and an interconnected network of trails. Head out for an easy recovery run along Boulder Creek, climb toward Betasso Preserve or build a longer outing through the hills above the canyon.

For guests at A-Lodge, this is the backyard.

Betasso Preserve

Betasso is the centerpiece of A-Lodge’s backyard trail system.

Rolling singletrack winds through ponderosa pine forest, open meadows and classic Boulder foothill terrain. Canyon Loop and Benjamin Loop can be combined with connecting trails to create outings of different lengths and difficulty.

For trail runners, that means everything from a shorter morning effort to a substantial run close to the lodge. For hikers, it’s a beautiful alternative to some of Boulder’s busier trailheads.

Fourmile Link

Fourmile Link is particularly relevant when A-Lodge is your basecamp because it connects the Betasso trail system toward Fourmile Canyon.

It’s a relatively small trail with a big role in the A-Lodge story: the foothills aren’t somewhere you have to drive to. They’re around you.

Boulder Canyon Trail

Not every day needs to involve thousands of feet of climbing.

The Boulder Canyon Trail follows Boulder Creek and makes a great option for an easier run, morning walk, shakeout or recovery outing.

Head east and you’re moving toward Boulder and the Boulder Creek Path. Head west and you’re going deeper into the canyon.

For runners stacking several hard days together, having easier terrain close to your lodging can be just as valuable as having access to the big stuff.

Chapman Drive & Flagstaff Mountain

Head farther into Boulder Canyon and Chapman Drive climbs toward Realization Point and the extensive trail network around Flagstaff Mountain.

From there, trails such as Tenderfoot open up additional possibilities through the forested foothills above Boulder.

It’s another example of what makes A-Lodge’s location different: go one direction for Boulder; go the other and you’re quickly disappearing into the mountains.

A-Lodge may feel tucked away in the mountains, but some of the trails that made Boulder famous are only minutes away.

This is where you can spend a morning beneath the Flatirons, squeeze in a steep Sanitas workout, or start linking trails together for a much bigger day.

Chautauqua & the Flatirons

If it’s your first trip to Boulder, you’re probably going to want to spend some time beneath the Flatirons.

Chautauqua provides access to Royal Arch, the First and Second Flatirons, Mesa Trail and an enormous network of surrounding foothill trails.

Expect steep climbing, huge views and the unmistakable sandstone formations that define Boulder.

Mount Sanitas

Want vertical without giving up your entire day?

Mount Sanitas is one of Boulder’s classic local workouts. The trails are steep, rocky and direct, making the area equally appealing to hikers and trail runners looking for a hard effort close to town.

It’s the kind of outing you can knock out in the morning and still have the rest of the day to enjoy Boulder—or recover back at A-Lodge.

Mesa Trail

Mesa Trail stretches beneath the Flatirons and serves as an artery connecting many of Boulder’s best-known foothill trail systems.

Run a section. Hike an out-and-back. Or start linking it with surrounding trails for a considerably bigger objective.

For trail runners in particular, Mesa opens up almost endless possibilities for creating routes of different lengths and difficulty.

South Boulder & Eldorado Springs

Continue south and another collection of excellent terrain opens around South Mesa, Doudy Draw, Marshall Mesa and Eldorado Canyon.

The variety is one of Boulder’s greatest strengths. You could stay at A-Lodge for several days and choose a completely different style of outing every morning.

When summer temperatures climb in Boulder, go up.

Nederland sits at roughly 8,200 feet and offers a completely different environment from the foothills below: cooler temperatures, dense forests, mountain lakes and a much more remote feeling.

And from A-Lodge, you’re already on the mountain side of Boulder and headed in the right direction.

Walker Ranch

Walker Ranch makes a natural transition between Boulder’s foothills and the higher country beyond.

The classic Walker Ranch Loop delivers substantial climbing and descending through forests and open hillsides, with Boulder Creek cutting through the landscape below.

For strong hikers and trail runners, it’s an outstanding half-day objective and a significant step up from an easy foothill outing.

West Magnolia

Just outside Nederland, West Magnolia offers miles of interconnected forest trails.

Trail runners can piece together routes of varying lengths, while hikers get a quieter, more remote-feeling experience than many of Boulder’s most popular trailheads.

On a hot summer day down in Boulder, the elevation alone can make heading toward Nederland especially appealing.

Mud Lake

Mud Lake offers a mellower alternative near Nederland, with forest, mountain scenery and shorter trails that work well for an easier hiking day or recovery outing.

That’s part of the advantage of this entire region: every day doesn’t have to be epic.

Hessie Trailhead & the Indian Peaks

Continue higher and the scale of the adventure changes.

The Hessie area provides access toward Lost Lake and deeper into the Indian Peaks, opening up alpine lakes, bigger elevation gains and longer mountain objectives.
You can spend one day running beneath the Flatirons and the next exploring Colorado’s high country—without changing basecamps.

And then there are the days you came to Colorado for.

Rocky Mountain National Park puts genuine alpine terrain within day-trip range of A-Lodge. Long approaches, high passes, alpine lakes and huge mountain scenery make this the place to go when you’re ready to turn a Boulder hiking or running trip into something bigger.

You don’t need to spend every day here. That’s the point.

Use A-Lodge for your Boulder foothill miles, head toward Nederland and the Indian Peaks when you want to go higher, and save a day for one of the classic big objectives in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Chasm Lake

Set beneath the massive east face of Longs Peak, Chasm Lake delivers the kind of big mountain scenery people come to Colorado hoping to experience.

The combination of distance, elevation and altitude makes it a substantial day for hikers and an excellent mountain objective for experienced trail runners.

Sky Pond

Sky Pond is another classic longer outing, passing waterfalls and alpine lakes before reaching a dramatic high basin surrounded by steep mountain walls.
It’s a serious step beyond a morning in the Boulder foothills and exactly the kind of objective that can become the centerpiece of a hiking trip.

Bear Lake & the Continental Divide Trail Network

The Bear Lake side of the park opens up numerous possibilities for longer hiking and trail-running linkups through forests, around alpine lakes and across higher terrain.

Strong runners can start connecting destinations rather than simply running an out-and-back, creating the kind of full mountain day that Boulder-area athletes travel here to experience.

Start the morning in Fourmile Canyon. Spend the day high in Rocky Mountain National Park. Come back to A-Lodge, hit the sauna and hot tub, and start planning tomorrow.

Boulder isn’t simply a great place to trail run. For decades, athletes have come here specifically to train.

A-Lodge gives you an unusually good home base for building your own multi-day trail-running training camp because you can vary your mileage, vertical, terrain and elevation without continually relocating.

Your week might include:

• Recovery miles: Boulder Canyon Trail
• Rolling singletrack: Betasso Preserve
• Vertical: Mount Sanitas
• Long foothill miles: Mesa Trail and the Flatirons
• Higher, cooler running: Nederland and West Magnolia
• Mountain endurance: Walker Ranch or the Indian Peaks
• The big day: Rocky Mountain National Park

Then come back to A-Lodge and recover before doing it again tomorrow.

Bring a few friends for a long weekend, build a week around mileage and vertical, or use Boulder as part of your preparation for an upcoming trail race or mountain objective.

And because A-Lodge offers different lodging options and outdoor gathering spaces, your training camp doesn’t have to end when the day’s run does.

Train in Boulder. Recover in the canyon. Sleep at the basecamp for tomorrow’s adventure.

A great basecamp isn’t just about what happens before you hit the trail.

It’s also about what you come back to.

After a long hike or trail run, return to A-Lodge and soak in the year-round hot tub, warm up in the creekside barrel sauna, cool off in Fourmile Creek or simply relax outside among the trees.

During the warmer months, take a dip in the seasonal pool. Spend the evening around the fire. Grill dinner outside. Or put your feet up and listen to the creek.

For anyone stacking several days of hiking or running together, those aren’t just nice hotel amenities.

They’re part of the adventure—and part of getting ready to do it again tomorrow.

There’s a lot to like about staying in downtown Boulder.

But if the main reason you’re visiting is to hike, run and spend time in the mountains, you may not want your home base to feel like you’ve returned to the city every evening.

A-Lodge gives you something different.

You’re staying on seven wooded acres in Fourmile Canyon with outdoor gathering spaces, fire pits and the foothills surrounding you.

You’ll share the property with climbers, mountain bikers, hikers, runners and travelers who came to Boulder for many of the same reasons you did.

Wake up surrounded by the mountains. Spend your day outside. Come back and recover by the creek.

And when you do want restaurants, breweries, shopping or an evening on Pearl Street, downtown Boulder is only about two miles away.

You get the mountain basecamp without giving up Boulder.

A-Lodge isn’t one-size-fits-all lodging.

Choose from private lodge rooms, cabins and other accommodations depending on how you like to travel and what kind of trip you’re planning.

Come solo for a trail-running weekend. Bring your partner for a few days of hiking. Meet friends for a training camp. Or make A-Lodge home for a longer Boulder adventure.

However you do it, you can build your stay around the trails instead of building your trail plans around your hotel.

Boulder offers hiking and trail running through much of the year, but every season has a different personality.

Spring brings longer days, warming temperatures and green foothills, although snow and mud can linger on higher and shaded trails.

Summer means early starts in the Boulder foothills. Mornings can be beautiful, while midday heat and afternoon thunderstorms make timing important. It’s also when A-Lodge’s access toward Nederland and higher elevations becomes especially valuable: when Boulder gets hot, head higher and cooler.

Fall may be the sweet spot. Cooler temperatures make longer efforts more comfortable, trails are often dry and fall color begins appearing in the foothills and higher country.

Winter can be surprisingly good for hiking and running on lower Boulder trails. Sunny Colorado days can quickly improve south-facing terrain even when snow remains higher in the mountains.

That’s another advantage of using A-Lodge as your basecamp: with so much terrain and elevation nearby, you can choose the day’s adventure based on the conditions.

Can I access trails directly from A-Lodge?
Yes. A-Lodge sits in Fourmile Canyon at the edge of Boulder’s foothills, with nearby trail access and connections toward the Betasso Preserve area. For trail runners especially, being able to begin some outings without first driving across town is a major advantage.

How far is A-Lodge from Boulder’s Flatirons?
The Chautauqua and Flatirons trail system is only a short drive from A-Lodge, giving you convenient access to Royal Arch, Mesa Trail, the Flatirons and many other classic Boulder hikes.

Is A-Lodge good for a trail-running trip or training camp?
Yes. Nearby trail access, Boulder’s enormous foothill trail network, higher terrain around Nederland and access to bigger mountain objectives make A-Lodge especially well positioned for a multi-day running trip. The hot tub, sauna, creek and outdoor spaces also give you somewhere to recover between efforts.

Where can I hike or run when Boulder gets hot?
Head higher. The Nederland area sits thousands of feet above Boulder and offers forested trails and generally cooler summer conditions. From there, you can also access higher terrain toward the Indian Peaks.

Can I use A-Lodge as a base for Rocky Mountain National Park?
Yes. Rocky Mountain National Park works well as a bigger day trip during a Boulder-based adventure, allowing you to combine Boulder’s foothill trails with genuine Colorado alpine terrain without relocating for your entire trip.

Can I stay at A-Lodge without a car?
It’s possible to enjoy nearby terrain and Boulder without driving everywhere, particularly if you’re comfortable walking, running or biking. If you’re planning to explore Nederland, the Indian Peaks, Rocky Mountain National Park or a wide variety of trailheads, having a vehicle gives you considerably more flexibility.

Is A-Lodge close to downtown Boulder?
Yes. A-Lodge feels like a mountain retreat in Fourmile Canyon but is only about two miles from downtown Boulder, making it easy to combine trail days with restaurants, breweries, shopping and Pearl Street.

Come to Boulder for the trails.

Wake up in the foothills. Run from the lodge. Hike beneath the Flatirons. Explore Betasso and Sanitas. Head higher toward Nederland when Boulder gets hot. Take on the Indian Peaks or save a day for a big adventure in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Then come back to Fourmile Canyon, soak in the hot tub, hit the sauna, relax by the creek and decide where you’re heading tomorrow.

Stay close to the trails without giving up everything you love about Boulder.

Book Your Boulder Basecamp at A-Lodge →