Round Trip Distance: 2.1 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 6050 - 6458 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 1 hr.
Trailhead: William Hayden
Fee: none
Attractions: Dakota Ridge connector
The Zorro trail is located in the Dinosaur Ridge area near Morrison, Colorado. The trail begins at the William F Hayden Green Mountain Park trailhead off of Rooney Road and climbs to a saddle where it joins with the Dakota Ridge trail.
The William Frederick Hayden trailhead is located at 1000 S. Rooney Road.
The Zorro trail begins across Rooney Road from the trailhead.
As the singletrack trail starts out it travels across the grassy base of Dakota Ridge.
The climb to the crest of the ridge is made easier by a series of long sweeping switchbacks.
The overall elevation gain is 595 feet with an average grade of 10 percent. Without the switchbacks to ease the way the grade would be more like 45% judging from this picture.
As the trail nears the top of the hill it becomes rocky. Numerous steps have been placed to make it much easier for hikers.
The Zorro trail comes to an end as it connects to the Dakota Ridge trail in a grassy saddle. A short walk away allows for a view over the west side of the ridge overlooking the Red Rocks Park area.
On the day that we hiked the trail there was a good mix of both hikers and mountain bikers.
The Zorro trail can be combined with the Dakota Ridge, Dinosaur Ridge trails and Rooney Road to make a big loop that would be suitable for mountain bikers. Another interesting option would be to incorporate the Red Rocks trail into the mix. If you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.
