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White River National Forest
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White River National Forest includes some of the biggest and best of the Rocky Mountain designated wilderness areas. My list below may seem repetitive in spots (the Regulations, in particular) because each wilderness area has slight variations in what is required of we who wish to go there. Some wilderness areas require self-issued permits so that the Forest Service can keep track of how many people are in the woods and where they might be going. These records are also helpful when search and rescue needs arise. But check out the list below, then head for the woods. You'll soon see why I live in Colorado... |
| Collegiate Peaks Wilderness |
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Location: White River, San Isabel and Gunnison National Forests. Neighboring towns: Buena Vista, Crested Butte, Aspen, Twin Lakes, Taylor Park, Tin Cup, Pitkin, Ohio, White Pine, Garfield, Gunnison, Almont. Size: 166,938 acres Elevation: 8,500 to 14,420 feet Miles of trail: 105 Year designated: 1980 Game Management Units: 471, 48, 481, 55 Collegiate Peaks Wilderness has the highest average elevation of any Wilderness in the lower 48 states. You can climb Mount Yale, Oxford, Columbia, and Harvard (the state's third highest point), as well as Huron Peak, Missouri Mountain, Mount Belford, and La Plata Peak (the state's fifth highest point). Climbing 14ers is a very popular activity, making opportunities for solitude on them very elusive. As you travel through the area, you might notice unusual and deep indentations in the boundary line of the Wilderness. These are a legacy of man's hunt for gold and other valuable metals that are still sought just outside the wilderness area. More than a dozen trailheads create a situation where no one is ever more than five miles from a travelled 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 guarantee lots of visitors, especially on weekends. Regulations:
For More Information: Aspen Ranger District - 806 West Halam, Aspen, CO 81611 - 970-925-3445 |
 Looking into the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, below Independence Pass, east side  Looking into Eagles Nest Wilderness from the east |
| Eagles Nest Wilderness |
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Location: White River and Arapaho National Forests. Neighboring towns: Dillon, Frisco, Vail, Heeney, Avon, Wolcott, Bond, Kremmling. Size: 132,906 acres Elevation: 7,850 to 13,534 feet Miles of trail: 180 Year designated: 1978 Game Management Units: 36, 371, 45, 37 In the Gore Range, heavy snow accumulates on the heights of Eagles Nest Wilderness, providing a major contribution to the headwaters of the Colorado River. Melting snow in spring rushes down from the heights to feed into marshy meadows and sloughs, as well as turbulent thundering creeks when the temperature soars abruptly. This is an area more vertical than horizontal, with sheer rock faces, knife-edged ridges, deep valleys, jagged peaks, and dense forests lower down, and makes for some very strenuous foot travel. Approximately 180 miles of trail provide access to Eagles Nest, most of them dead-ending at one or another of many beautiful alpine lakes. Two trails, at the northern and southern extremes, cross entirely from one side of the Wilderness to the other side: Cataract Lake to Piney Lake across the north, a distance of 15 miles; and Gore Creek to Red Buffalo Pass to Uneva Pass across the south, a distance of about 19 miles. Off-trail hiking can be quite difficult, but several informal routes climb the steep passes in Eagle Nest's craggy center. Regulations:
For More Information: Holy Cross Ranger District - 24747 US Hwy 24, PO Box 190, Minturn, CO 81645 - 970-827-5715 |
| Flat Tops Wilderness |
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Location: White River & Routt National Forests. Neighboring towns: Meeker, Yampa, Steamboat Springs, Glenwood Springs, Buford, Toponas, Burns, New Castle, Craig, Hayden, Phippsburg, Oak Creek. Size: 235,406 acres Elevation: 7,600 to 12,994 feet Miles of trail: 300+ Year designated: 1975 Game Management Units: 24, 25, 12, 26, 33, 34 Arthur Carhart's 1919 visit to Trappers Lake in the Flat Tops prompted him to be the first U.S. Forest Service official to initiate a plea for Wilderness preservation. And it's no wonder he found the area so entrancing: behind Trappers Lake loom majestic volcanic cliffs, and beyond them a vast subalpine terrain that slowly yields to alpine tundra (part of the White River Plateau with an average elevation of about 10,000 feet). Approximately 110 lakes and ponds, most with no names, dot the country above and below numerous flat-topped cliffs. The Flat Tops Wilderness contains about 100 miles of fishing streams. The gentle land above the cliffs offers over 160 miles of relatively easy hiking trails. This is ideal country for horse-packers, and, off the trails, the hiking is inviting and limitless. As many as 20,000 summer elk also seem to enjoy living in this area. A skeletal forest of dead spruce and fir stretches across the higher slopes below the tundra, the legacy of a 1940's epidemic of bark beetles. In 2002 more than 17,000 acres burned around Trappers Lake and another 5,500+ acres burned in the vicinity of Lost Lakes in the East Fork of the Williams Fork drainage, amounting to almost 10% of the area of the Flat Tops Wilderness. The Flat Tops is Colorado's second largest Wilderness, a precious expanse of simply gorgeous open and untouched countryside. Regulations:
For more informatrion: Blanco Ranger District, 317 E. Market Street, Meeker, CO 81641 |
| Holy Cross Wilderness |
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Location: San Isabel and White River National Forests. Neighboring towns: Redcliff, Gilman, Minturn, Vail, Leadville, Twin Lakes, Aspen, Norrie, Meredith, Ruedi, Basalt. Size: 122,797 acres Elevation: 8,000 to 14,005 feet Miles of trail: 164 Year designated: 1980 Game Management Units: 44, 45, 444, 48 Cascading streams, dozens of emerald green lakes and wide valleys watered by snow runoff make Holy Cross an alpine Wilderness of tremendous beauty. Dominated by 14,005-foot Mount of the Holy Cross, this Wilderness also has 25 or so peaks that rise above 13,000 feet, incredible ridges that rise above glacier-carved, U-shaped valleys, and numerous aspen groves that glisten with gold in September and October. Wildlife, including deer, elk, black bears, bobcats, and lynx, find good homes in Holy Cross, and its streams are full of several species of trout. About 164 miles of trail lead into the area, several of them joining to form loops requiring a short shuttle to connect at the trailheads. The Cross Creek Trail - up the fabulous glacial valley across Fancy Pass past spectacular high lakes and down the valley of the Fall Creek Trail - may be Colorado's most glorious short backpacking trip (about 28 miles). The cross-state Colorado Trail passes through the southeastern corner, where the Continental Divide marks the boundary. Cross-country skiers also flock to this area in winter. Regulations:
There is no fee for registration but permits are self issue. Permits are required in order to measure the number of visitors in the wilderness and also to educate wilderness visitors about minimizing their impact on the land. For More Information: Holy Cross Ranger District - 24747 US Hwy 24, PO Box 190, Minturn, CO 81645 - 970-827-5715 |
| Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness |
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Location: White River National Forest. Neighboring towns: Aspen, Woody Creek, Leadville, Twin Lakes, Norrie, Meredith. Size: 81,866 acres Elevation: 9,000 to 13,000 feet Miles of trail: 50 Year designated: 1978 Game Management Units: 47,48 Between the more spectacular Wildernesses of Holy Cross on the north, Maroon Bells-Snowmass on the west, and Collegiate Peaks on the south, Hunter-Fryingpan is almost forgotten. It rises eastward to the Continental Divide, sharing its eastern border and the divide with the Mount Massive Wilderness. The two wilderness areas are one geographically speaking, and almost became one legislatively. Holding the headwaters of Hunter Creek and the Fryingpan River, many streams in this area provide excellent habitat for large numbers of several different species of trout. Here you'll find many of the unnamed peaks of the Williams Mountains. Aspen forests in the lower elevations, as well as spruce and fir higher up, are thick and dark, and open on alpine tundra, colorfully sprinkled with summer wildflowers. In the silence of this Wilderness, you'll probably see wildlife that includes elk, mule deer and many secretive, smaller, fur-bearing animals. A rich forest of 8,300 acres along Spruce Creek on the northwest side was added to the original Wilderness in 1993. About 50 miles of trail cross the area, climbing up different drainages into the Williams Mountains. The Lost Man Trail up Lost Man Creek crosses South Fork Pass and continues down the South Fork of the Fryingpan River (about 10 miles distance), providing access to the heart of the Wilderness. Regulations:
For More Information: Sopris Ranger District - 620 Main St., PO Box 309, Carbondale, CO 81623 - 970-963-2266 |
| Maroon Bells - Snowmass Wilderness |
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Location: Gunnison and White River National Forests. Neighboring towns: Aspen, Snowmass, Woody Creek, Basalt, El Jebel, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs. Size: 183,500 acres Elevation: 7,500 to 14,265 feet Miles of trail: 100 Year designated: 1980 Game Management Units: 43, 55 You'll have plenty of human company in Colorado's fourth largest Wilderness, whether you want it or not. People come here because this area exemplifies true Rocky Mountain splendor better than any other Wilderness: 100 miles of trail lead over nine passes above 12,000 feet; vast regions lie above the tree line; long U-shaped glacial valleys point the way to beautiful alpine lakes. With six peaks rising above 14,000 feet, this area draws thousands of mountaineers every year. The awesome, stark symmetry of the Maroon Bells, reflected in Maroon Lake, is probably Colorado's most often photographed mountain scene. A non-Wilderness road is tunnelled into the Wilderness to Maroon Lake, creating traffic jams in summer. Climbers come in herds, despite the fact that these vertical, shale peaks are among the most difficult to climb in the state. Caution and skill are advised, but the rewards are great. The Snowmass Creek Trail travels 16 miles to Maroon Lake and provides some of the best views of the Wilderness. Many hikers are attracted to the hot springs steaming at the head of Conundrum Creek. In midsummer, the wildflower displays are among the best anywhere. Although elk and deer still abound in the Elk Mountains, their habitat is severely threatened by development around Aspen and Snowmass. The impact of masses of people is very hard on this area, especially the more accessible northern trails. The Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness was established with the 1964 Wilderness Act and its total size now is approximately 183,500 acres. Due to the popularity of recreation in the Maroon Valley, shuttle buses operate during the summer months (approximately mid-June through Labor Day, plus weekends in September) to the Maroon Lake Wilderness Portal. Regulations:
For More Information: Sopris Ranger District - 620 Main Street - Carbondale, CO 81623 - 970-963-2266. Gunnison Ranger District - 216 North Colorado - Gunnison, CO 81230 - 970-641-0471. |
| Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness |
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Location: White River & Routt National Forests. Neighboring towns: Dillon, Breckenridge, Vail. Size: 12,594 acres Elevation: 8,800 to 12,800 feet Miles of trail: 41 Year designated: 1993 Game Management Units:37, 371 The Williams Fork Mountains rise into Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness from just below the western entrance to the Eisenhower Tunnel on Interstate 70, almost completely unnoticed in winter as skiers rush to the many nearby developed ski areas. Dominated by Ptarmigan Peak (12,458 feet), the south slope of the mountains is where you'll find the Wilderness Area. A typical lodgepole-pine forest rises to Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir and then on to alpine tundra at the highest elevations. From the boundary along the top of the mountain ridgeline, the terrain drops into the wet and lush drainages of the South and Middle Forks of the Williams Fork River. You will not find many miles of trails in this Wilderness. The Ptarmigan Peak Trail, just outside Silverthorne, crosses Ptarmigan Pass into the drainages to the northeast, a seven mile journey one-way. The Ute Pass Trail follows the ridgeline boundary from Ptarmigan Pass north to Ute Peak (12,303 feet) and on to Ute Pass, a total distance of about 10 miles. Regulations:
For More Information: Dillon Ranger District - 680 River Parkway, PO Box 620, Silverthorne, CO 80498 - 970-468-5400 |
| Raggeds Wilderness |
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Location: White River & Gunnison National Forests. Neighboring towns: Marble, Crested Butte, Aspen. Size: 64,992 acres Elevation: 7,000 to 13,462 feet Miles of trail: 49 Year designated: 1980 Game Management Units: 43,521 Prominent rocky slopes rising to a serrated ridge give Raggeds Wilderness its well-deserved name. Ragged Mountain in the northern half rises to 12,094 feet, but other wonderfully scenic peaks crest higher. Anthracite Creek passes through the deep Dark Canyon in the heart of a Wilderness that contains numerous other creeks and small lakes. Oh-Be-Joyful Pass (11,740 feet), with the long sweep of Oh-Be-Joyful Creek Valley below it, was added to the area in 1993. You'll have to ford the Slate River to access the seven miles of the Oh-Be-Joyful Pass Trail. A dense coniferous forest covers the creek bottoms. Every fall, you'll see great unbroken expanses of aspens blazing in shimmering yellow and rock bands of red, gray, and black rising above a patchwork quilt of gold and green. About 50 miles of trail are located in this Wilderness. Regulations:
For More Information: Sopris Ranger District - 620 Main St., PO Box 309, Carbondale, CO 81623 - 970-963-2266 |
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