Wilderness
The Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands is home to nine congressionally designated wilderness areas with over 385,000 acres of untrammeled opportunities for challenge, solitude, tranquility and personal growth. Wilderness areas provide critical habitat for a multitude of species and help to protect important natural resources, such as clean water.
There are regulations in place for each wilderness (e.g., group size, number of stock animals, type of stock feed, campfires, camping locations and dogs) to minimize human impacts to these unique and special areas. Some wildernesses require visitors to obtain self-issued permits that are available at each trailhead at no cost. Permits are required to measure the number of visitors using an area and educate visitors about the benefits of minimizing our collective impacts.
Many of the forest's popular climbing peaks over 14,000' (Fourteeners) are within designated wilderness where regulations apply. Please always use Leave No Trace techniques to help keep these areas wild, clean and pristine! Read the special considerations for Bear Country.
Buffalo Peaks Wilderness
Buffalo Peaks Wilderness, encompassing 41,232 acres, was congressionally designated in 1993. It get its name from the 13,000-foot Buffalo Peaks located 15 miles southwest of Fairplay, Colorado. Elevations range from 9,200 to 13,326 feet from sea level.
Collegiate Peaks Wilderness
Collegiate Peaks Wilderness was designated by the United States Congress in 1980, and it now has a total of 167,584 acres. Located in Colorado, this wilderness spans the Gunnison, White River and Pike & San Isabel National Forests.
Greenhorn Mountain Wilderness
The Greenhorn Mountain Wilderness was designated by Congress in 1993, and it now has a total of 23,087 acres. Soaring dramatically from the plains of Colorado, Greenhorn Mountain rises from 7,600 to 12,347 feet in the center of the northern section. Its summit is the highest point in the wilderness, and nowhere else in the state provides such a vivid and dramatic change from plains to mountains.
Holy Cross Wilderness
Holy Cross Wilderness, established in 1980, now encompasses a total of 122,918 acres spanning San Isabel and White River National Forests. Its name comes from the 14,007-foot Mount of the Holy Cross, which dominates the northern end of the Sawatch Range, so named because of the 1,150-foot tall "cross" of snow facing northwest.
Lost Creek Wilderness
Lost Creek Wilderness was officially designated by the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1980 with additions in 1993. Today it totals 119,790 acres. Elevations range from 8,000' to 12,400' above sea level. Lost Creek was named after a creek of the same name that repeatedly disappears underground only to reappear again further downstream where it ultimately becomes Goose Creek.
Mount Evans Wilderness
The United States Congress designated the Mount Evans Wilderness in 1980, and it now has a total of 74,401 acres. Mount Evans Wilderness is located approximately 40 miles west of Denver, Colorado. The Mt. Evans Scenic Byway ascends a non-wilderness corridor into the center of the wilderness.
Mount Massive Wilderness
Mount Massive Wilderness was designated by Congress in 1980, and it now has a total of 30,540 acres. All of this wilderness is located in Colorado and is managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service.
Sangre de Cristo Wilderness
Sangre de Cristo Wilderness was designated by Congress in 1993, and it now has a total of 220,803 acres. All of this wilderness is located in Colorado and is managed by the Forest Service and the National Park Service. The Sangre de Cristo Wilderness is bordered by the Great Sand Dunes Wilderness to the west.
Spanish Peaks Wilderness
The United States Congress designated the Spanish Peaks Wilderness in 2000, and it now has a total of 19,226 acres. Los Cumbres Espanolos, the Spanish Peaks, are prominent landmarks along the eastern front of the southern Rockies. Their snow-capped summits, rising 7000 feet above the arid plains, made the "Double Mountain" an easily recognizable reference point to travelers of all cultures.