Who We Are

Welcome to Colorado Hikes and Hops! We are Tanya and Melody, two Colorado moms who love the great outdoors. We are thrilled to share our adventuring on hiking trails, favorite brews and spots, and gear recommendations with you. 

Melody grew up in Africa, tackling mountain climbing in East Africa including Mt. Kilimanjaro before she turned 18. Over the past 22 years, she has hiked many of Colorado’s 14ers, completed the Pikes Peak Ascent race up Colorado Spring’s famous mountain, ran a few marathons and explored nearly every national forest in the state. Pre pandemic she traveled the world for Compassion International, bringing together her love of diverse cultures with the mission to release children from poverty. As a certified 200 hour Yoga Alliance teacher, you might see her flowing on hiking trails. Her staple is a weekly hike with Tanya that ends in a beer.

Tanya grew up in Missouri where her love for the outdoors grew with family camping and Young Life experiences. In their second year of marriage, she and her husband backpacked across Europe, then promptly moved to Germany for six years. Their family grew as they led groups of teenagers to ski the Alps, hop trains and jump cliffs off the coast of Italy, and build school playgrounds in the Czech Republic, all while pointing them to Jesus. Fast forward to 2016, after a decade back in Kansas City and many Colorado backpacking adventures with YL teens, Tanya’s fam moved to Colorado Springs and met Melody’s fam via their two oldest. Thanks Caroline and Jackson!

We, Tanya and Melody, became fast friends as moms of tweens and teens with a shared passion for hiking in Colorado, topped off with a cold one. We adventure with our husbands and kids every chance we get.

Each week, we pick a new hiking trail and brew to try.  We talk about our favorite gear, our parenting challenges, and the joys of living in the most beautiful place on earth.  We look forward to sharing with you what we’ve learned.

Grab your hiking gear, go solo or find a hiking buddy, and join us for a hike and a brew.