Trails
Summary
Difficulty
Distance
Willow Lake Trail
Spectacular Beauty in the Heart of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains
Spectacular Beauty in the Heart of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains
Moderate
9.0 mi
14.5 km
14.5 km
Humboldt - Colorado 14er Overnight
This 14er as unbelievable views of alpine lakes and the neighboring Crestone Needles
This 14er as unbelievable views of alpine lakes and the neighboring Crestone Needles
Difficult
10.6 mi
17.1 km
17.1 km
Guides
Spectacular Beauty in the Heart of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains
This 14er as unbelievable views of alpine lakes and the neighboring Crestone Needles
Community Trips
Prior to our climb of Kit Carson Peak and Challenger Point, we took some time off to explore the upper reaches of Willow Creek. You'll discover a tarn at the base of Kit Carson Mountain, and you'll be rewarded with views of the drainage, as well as an abundance of wildflowers, rich in the water-soaked tundra.You'll stumble through the willows, and climb a few shelves before reaching the upper Willow Creek lake. ...
Kit Carson Peak (14,165') Challenger Point (14,081'), Willow Lake TH (sd route)
Westcliffe, Colorado, United States
5.3 miles
5.3 miles
Our climb of the two the 14ers in the Sangre de Cristo Mtns, named after famous explorers began with a warmup climb of Mt Yale (14,196') in Buena Vista. Kit Carson offered his services as a guide to John Fremont, and his 5-month journey of exploration, paving the way for westward expansion.The space shuttle "Challenger", the namesake of the 14er on the same ridge, flew 85% of NASA's space shuttle's missions of...
Earlier in the year, I visited the trailhead east of Crestone, CO, to climb Kit Carson Peak...a Sangre de Cristo fourteener....and wanted to come back to relax in Crestone. And I wanted to enjoy another smoked BBQ yak sandwich at the Bliss Cafe, without thinking about the challenge of the climb. Crestone is a small mountain town that lies at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. It hosts over...
There are only two passes that cross the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. Hayden Pass to the north traverses between Coaldale on the east to Villa Grove on the west. The other is Medano Pass. It goes between CO 69 on the east and Sand Dunes National Park on the west. With and early start it is possible to do both passes in a loop using either Salida or Alamosa as a...
Reviews
