The La Garita Wilderness is a

U.S. Wilderness Area The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the Na ...

located in the

La Garita Mountains The La Garita Mountains are a high mountain range in the San Juan Mountains, a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains. The mountains are located in Saguache and Mineral counties in southwestern Colorado and are almost entirely managed as public land ...

of southern

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 ...

. The wilderness established in 1964 in Gunnison and

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

National Forests includes segments of 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 ...

and 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 a ...

. At , San Luis Peak is the highest point in the wilderness area. One entrance to the wilderness area is via Forest Road 787 from Saguache Park and Cochetopa Park off State Highway 114 west of

Saguache, Colorado Saguache (suh-WATCH ) is a Statutory Town in and the county seat of Saguache County, Colorado, United States. The population was 493 at the U.S. Census 2010. History Saguache is a small historical village in an agricultural area in southern Co ...

. There is a parking lot for visitors to the wilderness area at the south end of FS 787. Cochetopa Park may also be entered from the east over Cochetopa Pass via Saguache County Road NN14.

References

Wilderness areas of Colorado Gunnison National Forest Rio Grande National Forest San Juan Mountains (Colorado) Protected areas of Hinsdale County, Colorado Protected areas of Saguache County, Colorado Protected areas of Mineral County, Colorado Protected areas established in 1964 1964 establishments in Colorado {{Colorado-protected-area-stub