Posts tagged San Juan Mountains

Over Labor Day weekend 2011, I had the chance to hike to the summit of one of Colorado’s more difficult-to-reach Fourteeners.  San Luis Peak (14,014′) stands in the La Garita Wilderness in the northern section of the San Juan Mountains.

Along the San Luis Peak Trail

What makes this peak hard to reach is that it’s in a large block of land that is far away from any major highways or towns.  The nearest paved road, Colorado 114, is 30 miles to the north via a rough, dirt road.

It’s a great mountain to hike though.  The scenery is spectacular, the forest has not been ravaged by beetles, and the trail has been re-constructed by the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative and is relatively easy to hike.

Hikers have two options for approaches to the peak:  you can start at the Stewart Creek trailhead and hike 5.5 miles to the summit via the most direct route.  This route follows the edge of the forest along Stewart Creek and skirts the edges of dozens of beaver ponds on its way up the valley.  Above treeline, the trail snakes its way up the southern slope to the brow of the ridge between San Luis and Organ Mountain. Look for an easy traverse of the scree slopes on the northeast side of San Luis Peak.

San Luis Peak Trail ascends scree below San Luis’ summit

Alternatively, you may start at the adjacent Eddiesville trailhead and hike along the Colorado Trail and then up the San Luis’ southern ridge to the summit.  This route is a couple miles longer, but may be done as part of a loop to add more variety to the hike.

If you’ve hiked this peak, let me know how your trip went.

Map of San Luis Peak Vicinity