Colorado

Collegiate Peaks Wilderness was designated by the United States Congress in 1980 and it now has a total of 167,584 acres. Located in Colorado this Wilderness spans the Gunnison, White River, and Pike & San Isabel National Forests.

With eight "fourteeners" (peaks exceeding 14,000 feet in elevation), Collegiate Peaks Wilderness probably possesses the highest average elevation of any Wilderness in the Lower 48. The peaks include Huron Peak (14,005ft), Missouri Mountain (14,067ft), Mt. Columbia (14,073ft), Mt. Oxford (14,153ft), Mt Yale (14,196ft), Mt Belford (14,197ft), La Plata (14,340ft, the state's fifth highest point), and Mt Harvard (14,420ft, the state's third highest point).

Climbing these peaks is a very popular activity, making opportunities for solitude very elusive. Expect to be inundated by people and their dogs on any fourteener trail. As you travel through the area, you might notice unusual and deep indentations in the boundary line. These are a legacy of man's hunt for gold and other valuable metals that are still sought just outside. More than a dozen trailheads create a situation in which no one ever stands more than five miles from a road.

About 40 miles of the serpentine Continental Divide snake across the area, and this expansive Wilderness lies in parts of three national forests. The beauty of this place and its ease of access ensure torrents of visitors, especially on weekends. Timberline lakes and high mountain streams offer excellent fishing and scenery. Browns Pass, Red Mountain Creek, Texas Creek and Magdalena trails are in this Wilderness.

Please help keep Wilderness wild by following Leave No Trace practices. In particular, please refrain from having camp fires near treeline. The dwarfed Krummholtz trees that grow there are taking a beating from insensitive campers.

Collegiate Peaks Wilderness - West Apostle Peak from Huron Peak
jokermanj, West Apostle from Huron Peak, CC BY 2.0
When Open? Area Acres Operated By
Year-round; 24 hours a day 167,584 acres US Forest Service:
Leadville Ranger District
Gunnison Ranger District
Salida Ranger District
Aspen Ranger District
Dogs Allowed? Miles of Trail Max/Min Elev (ft)
Dogs allowed on leash 239 8,080ft - 14,410ft

Collegiate Peaks Wilderness Trail and Map Finder

Area Hiking Trails:
1 - Anderson Lake Trail #116.1
2 - Bear Lake Spur Trail
3 - Blackbear Trail
4 - Bowman - New York Connector Trail - PRIMITIVE
5 - Bowman Creek Trail #9570
Area Hiking Trails:
1 - Anderson Lake Trail #116.1
2 - Bear Lake Spur Trail
3 - Blackbear Trail
4 - Bowman - New York Connector Trail - PRIMITIVE
5 - Bowman Creek Trail #9570
6 - Braille Trail
7 - Browns Pass Trail #1442
8 - CT Connector Trail - PRIMITIVE
9 - CT Spur Trail
10 - Colorado Trail #1776 - Segment 12
11 - Colorado Trail #1776 - Segment 13
12 - Cottonwood Pass Overlook Trail 1
13 - Cottonwood Pass Overlook Trail 2
14 - Difficult Creek Trail #2146.1
15 - Frenchman Creek - Mount Columbia Route
16 - Frenchman Creek Trail #1457
17 - Frenchman Creek Trail to Mount Columbia Route
18 - Graham Gulch Trail #1506
19 - Graham Gulch Trail #1506 - PRIMITIVE
20 - Grizzly Lake Trail #1990.1
21 - Grottos to Lincoln Gulch Trail
22 - Hartenstein Lake Trail #1443
23 - Henschel Lake Trail
24 - Henschel Lake Trail - PRIMITIVE
25 - Horn Fork Basin Trail #1449
26 - Independence Pass View Trail - Accessible
27 - Independence Ridge Trail
28 - Kroenke Lake Access Trail
29 - Kroenke Lake Trail #1448
30 - La Plata Peak Trail #1474
31 - La Plata Southwest Ridge Trail
32 - Lake Ann Access Trail
33 - Lake Ann Trail #1462
34 - Magdalene Trail #9542
35 - Missouri Gulch Trail #1469
36 - Missouri Mountain - Clohesey Lake Trail #1459
37 - Missouri Mountain - Missouri Gulch Trail
38 - Mount Belford Elkhead Pass Trail #1454
39 - Mount Belford Missouri Gulch Trail #1453
40 - Mount Harvard Frenchman Creek Trail #1501
41 - Mount Oxford - Mount Belford Trail #1456
42 - Mount Yale East Ridge Route
43 - Mount Yale Trail #1447
44 - New Mount Columbia Trail
45 - New York Creek Trail #2182.1
46 - North Fork Clear Creek Trail #1463
47 - North Huron Trail #1452
48 - Old Mount Columbia Route - PRIMITIVE
49 - Pear Lake - Clohesey Lake Trail #1461
50 - Peekaboo Gulch Trail #1476
51 - Petroleum Lake Trail #1991.1
52 - Pieplant Mine Trail
53 - Pine Creek Access Trail
54 - Pine Creek Trail East #1467
55 - Pine Creek Trail West #1467
56 - Ptarmigan Lake Trail
57 - Red Mountain Creek Trail #9534
58 - Rockdale Road Trail
59 - Sayres Gulch Trail #1465
60 - Silver Basin Trail North #1441
61 - Silver Basin Trail South #1441
62 - South Fork Lake Creek South Trail #1466 - PRIMITIVE
63 - South Fork Lake Mountain Trail #1466.A
64 - South Pine Creek Spur Trail - Primitive
65 - South Pine Creek Spur Trail East
66 - South Pine Creek Trail #1458
67 - South Pine Creek Trail #1458 - PRIMITIVE
68 - Tabor Creek Trail #2158.1
69 - Tabor Lake Trail - Primitive
70 - Texas Creek South Access Trail
71 - Texas Creek Trail #9416
72 - Texas Lakes Trail #589 - MOTORIZED
73 - Texas Ridge Trail #9571
74 - Three Apostles Trail #1445
75 - Three Elk Trail #1455
76 - Timberline Trail #414 Texas Lakes Spur - MOTORIZED
77 - Timberline Trail #9414
78 - Trail 414.1A - MOTORIZED
79 - Twin Lakes Trail - Primitive
80 - Unknown Name Trail 6
81 - Upper Lake Spur Trail
82 - Waterloo Gulch Trail #9541
83 - Weller Lake Trail
Area Trailheads:
1 - Anderson Lake Trail #116.1
2 - Blackbear Trail
3 - Bowman - New York Connector Trail - PRIMITIVE
4 - Bowman Creek Trail #9570
5 - Browns Pass Trail #1442
Area Trailheads:
1 - Anderson Lake Trail #116.1
2 - Blackbear Trail
3 - Bowman - New York Connector Trail - PRIMITIVE
4 - Bowman Creek Trail #9570
5 - Browns Pass Trail #1442
6 - CDT Cottonwood Pass Road to Sheep Gulch (CO Sec. 22)
7 - Clear Creek - South Winfield Trailhead
8 - Clohesey Lake Trailhead
9 - Colorado Trail #1776 - Segment 12
10 - Colorado Trail Trailhead
11 - Difficult Creek Trail #2146.1
12 - Frenchmans Trailhead
13 - Graham Gulch Trail #1506
14 - Grizzly Lake Trail #1990.1
15 - Grottos to Lincoln Gulch Trail
16 - Grottos to Lincoln Gulch Trail
17 - Horn Fork Basin Trail #1449
18 - Independence Pass Trailhead
19 - La Plata Peak Trail #1474
20 - Missouri Gulch Trail #1469
21 - New York Creek Trail #2182.1
22 - North Fork Clear Creek Trail #1463
23 - Peekaboo Gulch Trail #1476
24 - Pine Creek Trail #1467
25 - Rockdale Trailhead
26 - Sayres Gulch Trail #1465
27 - Silver Creek Trailhead
28 - South Fork Lake Mountain Trail #1466.A
29 - Tabor Creek Trail #2158.1
30 - Texas Lakes Trail
31 - Texas Ridge Trail #9571
32 - Three Elk Creek Trailhead
33 - Timberline Trail #9414
34 - Trailhead
35 - Weller Lake Trail
Area Campgrounds:
1 - Collegiate Peaks Campground
2 - Difficult Campground and Group Campground
3 - Dinner Station Campground - Gunnison RD
4 - Dorchester Campground - Gunnison RD
5 - Lincoln Creek Dispersed Campground
Area Campgrounds:
1 - Collegiate Peaks Campground
2 - Difficult Campground and Group Campground
3 - Dinner Station Campground - Gunnison RD
4 - Dorchester Campground - Gunnison RD
5 - Lincoln Creek Dispersed Campground
6 - Lincoln Gulch Campground
7 - Lost Man Campground
8 - Portal Campground
9 - Weller Campground