Meeting 8:00 am at Denver’s Union rail station, the full day trip to Red Rocks and Echo Lake took about 5 hours. It is a 2,700 m high paved road to the summit. The walk around the frozen lake was not strenuous or slippery on gravel. If you’re lucky there are mountain goats to be seen. The view of Squaw Pass may be lovely, but it’s named after a derogatory gendered term that is reminiscent of the Indigenous women and girls; in Nov 29-Dec 1, 1864, Governor John Evans instigated the military massacre of their peaceful encampment at Sand Creek, CO. Buffalo hunters returned to the scene of slaughter, and later, became the hunted. (Hence, the movement to change the name from Mount Evans.) The generations of Native American children who survived Colonel Chivington’s army were sent to Carlisle Indian boarding school or Catholic St Francis. The van tour included a stop at the little town of Evergreen before old gold mine trails. It costs $90 and I recommend travelling to the historic park in spring.