Hello to all,
Each year we go on a 7 - 10 day backpacking trip in Colorado. For the last three years we have gone to the Never Summer Mountain Range in Rocky Mountain National Park. See my Gather article or Associated Content one to see what we like.
A hike of 5 - 8 miles to get there. A good halfway camping spot is nice because sometimes we like to stop on the way in or out. Wilderness where few dayhikers end up. Great scenery (hard NOT to find in Colorado), chances to see lots of critters, and a water source (lake, stream, river, creek) is our goal.
We'd appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks in advance.
Namaste, Wayne
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Mt Zirkel wilderness area. North of Steamboat Springs. Access either from the south by Strawberry Park and Buffalo Pass, or head north towards Clark (24mi) and Steamboat Lake, you could enter halfway up to Clark at Mad Creek or just past Clark turn right on Seed House Rd. Lots of creeks and small alpine lakes, worth the price of a visitors 10 day fishing permit if you like to flyfish. Big cutthroat trout in the Mad Creek lakes, smaller ones and brookies in the streams. The area is full of wildlife - deer, elk, beer, mountain lion, beaver, otters, coyotes, wolves, lots birds - varied subalpine and alpine ecosytems, high meadows and thick pine, spruce and fir forests. Terrain can be challenging but plenty of areas to stop and camp. You might want to go in far north and hike your way down the continental divide back towards civilization.
Another area south of Steamboat and west of the small town of Yampa, would be the Williams Fork of the Roaring Fork river around Pyramid Mountain. I believe this area is now the eastern realm of the Flat Tops Wilderness Area. Not as spectacular for fishing as Zirkel, this area still has plenty of streams, plus the Williams Fork river. This area has very abundant wildlife and has long had a couple large protected areas for elk calving. Outside of the town herd in Este Park, the herds in the Pyramid area are the biggest I have seen and are just incredible to see as you are so removed from anything that even smells like civilization.
Both of these areas are beyond most daytrippers. They are places to get away and enjoy nature and the mountains. Unless you want to scale a peak, neither area would require climbing equipment, just strong legs and sturdy backpacks.