The Maroon Bells–Snowmass 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 Elk Mountains of 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 ...

. The wilderness was established in 1980 in the Gunnison and White River national forests. Within its boundaries are of trails, six of Colorado's

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 ...

and nine passes over . The wilderness is named after the two peaks known as the

Maroon Bells The Maroon Bells are two peaks in the Elk Mountains, Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak, separated by about half a kilometer (0.3 miles). The mountains are on the border between Pitkin County and Gunnison County, Colorado, United States, about s ...

, and the

Snowmass Mountain Snowmass Mountain is a mountain in the U.S. state of Colorado, and the thirty-fourth highest mountain peak in the state. Located in the Elk Mountains within the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of the White River National Forest, it lies along ...

References

Wilderness areas of Colorado Protected areas of Pitkin County, Colorado Protected areas of Gunnison County, Colorado Protected areas established in 1980 Gunnison National Forest White River National Forest 1980 establishments in Colorado {{Colorado-protected-area-stub