This hike has been legend in our family for quite some time, and I am glad we finally conquered it. We parked at Steamboat Rock park and started at the bottom trailhead. I think there is another section you can drive to, but it doesn't save you much of the hike.
We did this hike with a small dog and a slightly experienced 6 year old. I am out of shape and so is my brother, though we like this kind of exercise. The roughly 1,000 foot increase is a combination of what feels like minor rock climbing, loose rock, and some dirt paths that are slippery on the way back down. I advise using hiking poles for balance or joint issues. It was a definite challenge to keep breathing and paying attention to my footing, and making sure my kid paid attention too. I ended up putting my small dog in our backpack to prevent any potential falls or issues with his little feet until we hit dirt again.
Once the climb is over, you have the option of going left or right to finish the whole loop. We went right, which felt like the smaller increase of the two options! Once we reached the final top, the views were breath taking and the whole loop was like a different world if you aren't used to hiking this area. Wild flowers were beginning to bloom, so you will see glimpses of yellow, purple, and blue through the grasses. We got to see parts of the lake we had never boated to. We saw lots of marmot holes and snake holes, but wildlife was hiding this day.
The loop on top is flat and very pleasant. Make sure kids and dogs stay on the trail because in many places it is a sheer drop off. I also recommend using the alltrails map since we lost our trail a couple times. It will also show you another smaller trail to save some miles/time that we took, which took us more through the middle of the field, which was awesome! Then you'll connect back with the mail looping trail.
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