The Collegiate Peaks Wilderness is a area located in central

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

between

Leadville The City of Leadville is a statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,602 at the 2010 census and an estimated ...

and

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

to the east and

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

to the west and

Crested Butte Crested Butte is a prominent mountain summit in the Elk Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The peak is in Gunnison National Forest, northeast by east ( bearing 59°) of the Town of Crested Butte in Gunnison County, Col ...

to the southwest. Most of the area is in the San Isabel and

Gunnison National Forest The Gunnison National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering 1,672,136 acres (2,612.71 sq mi, or 6,766.89 km²) White River National Forest White River National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest in northwest Colorado. It is named after the White River (Green River), White River that passes through its northern section. It is the most visited National Forest ...

southeast of Aspen. Most of the area is in northwest Chaffee County with smaller portions in Gunnison, Pitkin, and

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

counties.

Geography

The Collegiate Peaks area includes much of the

Sawatch Range The Sawatch Range or Saguache RangeThe place name "Saguache” is pronounced “Sawatch” . This name derives from the Ute language noun "''sawup''" meaning "sand dunes" and is spelled using the Spanish language version of this name "Saguach ...

and has the highest average elevation of any wilderness area in the United States. Five of the area's peaks are named for famous universities and colleges, including Mt. Harvard, Mt. Oxford, Mt. Yale, Mt. Princeton and Mt. Columbia. These peaks are the source of the name for the wilderness area, which includes them all but Mt. Princeton. Other

fourteeners In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least . The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado has the most (53) of any single ...

in the area include

La Plata Peak La Plata Peak is the fifth-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent fourteener is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, northwest by west ( be ...

Mount Belford Mount Belford is a high mountain summit of the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, northwest by west ( bear ...

Huron Peak Huron Peak is a high mountain summit of the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, west-northwest ( bearing ...

, and

Missouri Mountain Missouri Mountain is a high mountain summit in the Collegiate Peaks of the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, northwest by west ...

. The Collegiate Peaks also includes several notable peaks including the Three Apostles, a chain of three mountains about six miles (10 km) south of the ghost town of Winfield. The middle peak of the Three Apostles is also referred to as Ice Mountain and is generally recognized as one of the most difficult peaks to climb in the Sawatch Range. Notably, the Collegiate Peaks also has two peaks named Grizzly Peak. One is south of Independence Pass at 13,988, and the other is north of

Taylor Reservoir Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) **List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Plac ...

on the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

at 13,281. The area is an important watershed for three rivers on both sides of the Continental Divide: the upper

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

, the

Gunnison River The Gunnison River is located in western Colorado, United States and is one of the largest tributaries of the Colorado River. Description The river flows east to west and has a drainage area of according to the USGS. The drainage basin of ...

, and the

Roaring Fork River Roaring Fork River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in west central Colorado in the United States. The river drains a populated and economically vital area of the Colorado Western Slope called the Roaring Fork Valley or ...

. There are numerous alpine creeks in the area's wide valleys and these are all quite marshy. Snow does not usually begin to melt until May or June and it remains year-round in places on some of the high peaks. Both the

Continental Divide Trail The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (in short Continental Divide Trail (CDT)) is a United States National Scenic Trail with a length measured by the Continental Divide Trail Coalition of between the U.S. border with Chihuahua, Mexico ...

and the

Colorado Trail The Colorado Trail is a long-distance trail running for from the mouth of Waterton Canyon southwest of Denver to Durango in Colorado, United States. Its highest point is above sea level, and most of the trail is above . Despite its high elevat ...

cross the area. The Continental Divide Trail follows the course of the Continental Divide itself with several side spurs. The Colorado Trail passes through the lower eastern portion of the area and crosses Pine Creek, Frenchman Creek and Three Elk Creek all of which drain into the Arkansas River north of Buena Vista.

History

In earlier times the area was inhabited by various people. There are groves of old growth

Ponderosa Pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

on the eastern side which bear evidence of stripping by bands of native Utes who inhabited the area and used the bark from living trees for clothing and food. The area is also dotted with the evidence of mining operations from the last century. In the Pine Creek valley - one of the central valleys between Mounts Oxford, Belford and Missouri to the north and Mt. Harvard and Columbia to the south, there is evidence of an earlier settlement on both sides of the stream comprising four cabins and a horse corral. South of the town of Winfield are the spare remains of the town of Harrison at the base of Mt. Huron. Collegiate Peaks Wilderness sign

The Collegiate Peaks borders several other Colorado wilderness areas including: Buffalo Peaks, Maroon Bells-Snowmass, Hunter-Fryingpan, and

Mount Massive Mount Massive is the second-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent fourteener of the Sawatch Range is located in the Mount Massive Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, west ...

. It was designated by congress as a wilderness area in 1980 in accordance with the provisions of the

Wilderness Act The Wilderness Act of 1964 () was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a lon ...

of 1964.

Regulations/Prohibitions

* Having more than 15 persons in any one group. * Having more than a combination of 25 people and pack or saddle animals in any one stock group. * Possessing dogs, except for working stock dogs, or dogs used for legal hunting purposes, unless under physical restraint of a leash. * Camping within one hundred feet of developed trails. * Building, maintaining, attending, or using a campfire, within 100 feet of lakes, streams and forest development trails. * Hitching, hobbling or tethering any pack or saddle animal within one hundred (100) feet of lakes, streams and forest development trails. * Short-cutting a switchback on a forest development trail.

References

{{Authority control Protected areas of Chaffee County, Colorado Protected areas of Gunnison County, Colorado IUCN Category Ib Protected areas of Lake County, Colorado Protected areas of Pitkin County, Colorado Wilderness areas of Colorado Protected areas established in 1980 San Isabel National Forest Gunnison National Forest White River National Forest 1980 establishments in Colorado