Not only is Denver's closest Fourteener located at the end of North America's highest paved road — which means if you're nervous about your kids' first time, you can drive nearly all the way to the summit and check out their high-altitude reaction not far from the car — but the 14,264-footer is ideal for all first-timers, with routes rated as easy as Class 1. The shortest and easiest is the 2.9-mile trek from Summit Lake, or you can take more motivated tykes to Echo Lake for the fourteen-mile Class 2 Chicago Creek Route. Make a game of counting the bighorn sheep, mountain goats and marmots, and be sure to check out the 1,700-year-old bristlecone pines at the alpine garden, where your young'uns can make jokes about how they're almost as old as you.
14ers.com