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The Lizard Head Wilderness is a 
wilderness area
Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
in southwest 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 ...
. It contains and is jointly managed by the Uncompahgre and San Juan National Forest
The San Juan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering over 1,878,846 acres (2,935.7 sq mi, or 7,603.42 km²) in western Colorado. The forest occupies land in Archuleta, Conejos, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, Montezuma ...
s. It is southwest of the town of Telluride and is named for a prominent rock formation that is said to look like a lizard's head. Lizard Head
Lizard Head is a mountain summit in the San Miguel Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The thirteener is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness, west by south ( bearing 258°) of the Town of Ophir, Colorado, United Stat ...
itself is and is a volcanic spire of crumbling rock. Due to the steepness of the cliffs and the poor quality of the rock for fixing ropes, only experienced mountaineers
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...
should attempt to summit the spire. Another of trails in this infrequently visited wilderness, are also strenuous and should be attempted by more advanced backpack
A backpack—also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders ...
ers.
The area includes three prominent 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 ...
: El Diente Peak
El Diente Peak is a high summit in the San Miguel Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The peak is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness of San Juan National Forest, north by east ( bearing 8°) of the Town of Rico in D ...
(), Wilson Peak
Wilson Peak is a mountain peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness of the Uncompahgre National Forest, in the northwestern San Juan Mountains. It is the highest point in San Miguel County.
The mountain ...
(), and Mount Wilson (). The area includes the headwaters of the west fork of the Dolores River
The Dolores River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Colorado and Utah. The river drains a rugged and arid region of the Colorado Plateau west of the San Juan Mountains. Its name derives from the S ...
.
References
Protected areas of Dolores County, Colorado Protected areas of San Miguel County, Colorado Wilderness areas of Colorado Protected areas established in 1980 Uncompahgre National Forest San Juan National Forest {{Colorado-protected-area-stub