Leadville, Colorado

Follow Colorado Highway 24 South from Leadville for 14 miles, then turn right onto Colorado 82 towards Aspen. Turn left onto County Road 25, then follow the road for 1 mile to a small parking area for the Colorado Trail. You have arrived!This trail starts near 9,200 feet of elevation and while yo...

The Fancy Pass Trail near Red Cliff is an excellent option for those looking to experience hiking in the rugged and pristine conditions of a wilderness area. This 6 mile roundtrip trail will take you into the Holy Cross Wilderness and up close and personal with towering peaks, verdant meadows, an...

Getting to the Mayflower Gulch is pretty easy, you can either hike an easy 2 mile forest road or drive all the way to end (you need decent clearance for the drive). At the end of the hike you are greeted with a stunning view of the Old Boston mining site. During the summer, wildflowers are abunda...

Hope Pass is accessed from the Willis Gulch trailhead about 25 miles outside of Leadville, Colorado. To get to the trail head, follow Highway 24 East for about 16 miles until you arrive at the junction for Highway 82. Turn right and follow Highway 82 for about 8.3 miles. You will see a sign on th...

From the west parking lot at the top of Hoosier Pass, take the 4x4 road as it climbs through a forest west of the pass. Before long, the trees thin and you'll stay on the road through treeline and reach a gate at just over 12,000 feet.Stay right at the gate and continue on this old mining road as...

Directions:  Heading south from Leadville from U.S. 24: West on CO 82 for 10.5 miles to a hidden right turn that leads to a trail head. If you make it to the Mt. Elbert Lodge, you have gone just a bit too far. The parking lot (aka: dirt access) should be relatively empty as everyone tends to hik...

This lake chain is in a spectacular, undeveloped bowl of jagged and rugged mountain goodness located in the Holy Cross Wilderness Area. This hidden gem is easily accessible and, to my amazement, it is relatively unheard of even among many locals. More wonderful perks included in this backpacking ...

The majority of this hike traverses through the beautiful forest that is part of the Holy Cross Wilderness. No significant views are to be had until you've climbed 1,300 ft over 2. miles and reach lower Savage Lake. The trail is easy enough to follow with no junctions along the way, and is adjace...

Quandary Peak is a popular winter 14er because of its easy access near Breckenridge, its Class 1 designation, and its low avalanche risk. While the access roads to many 14ers are closed in winter, adding extra mileage to an already grueling hike, Quandary Peak’s access is just off Hwy. 9, and the...

If the snow is not coming to you, you go where the snow is. Breckenridge is a good place to start; this beautiful ski area gets more than its fair share of snow, and is full of stunning trails. Why pay big bucks at one of the Nordic centers, when you can access acres and acres of the White River ...

The trail first takes you to Upper Blue Reservoir, about 1.4 miles in. Past this point, it can be somewhat tricky to find the trail, but for experienced hikers, the upper valley holds a number of lakes, a waterfall, and open tundra for exploring. Mountain goat sightings are also common in this ar...

Start from the McCullough gulch trailhead. If possible it would be worth having 2 cars and leaving one at the main McCullough trailhead so you don't have to walk the road on your way down. Bushwack through trees and willows up the ridge directly to the north of the trailhead. You might be lucky a...

Starting at the Rich Creek Campground this wonderful moderate hike forms a loop by connecting the Rich Creek Trail and the Tumble Creek trail. in the Buffalo Peaks wilderness. Flanked by the Collegiate Peaks, in Spring and Summer the area is awash with rushing creeks, lush wet lowlands & deep...

Once you turn off of Colorado hwy 9 onto dirt, your GPS will lead you to a gravel lot. At the end of that lot there's a pretty steep gravel road that heads NNW (GPS coords:  39°25'43.01"N 106° 4'11.30"W | Map Link if you want to plug that into your GPS for parking). From this lot you'll walk up t...

The Northwest Ridge is the most easily accessible and popular route, and for good reasons. The trailhead is on the side of Hwy 82, otherwise known as Independence Pass, about 14.5 miles from the Hwy 24 junction, or about 10 miles from Twin Lakes to the east. The trailhead is hard to miss, and you...

Twining Peak is a ranked 13er located 2 miles north of Independence Pass. The hike involves around 1700 feet of elevation and is mostly off-trail with some class 2 scrambling (class 3 can be had if you look hard enough). Independence Pass is a prominent and popular pass on Highway 82 between Twin...