The Best Rock Climbing Routes in Colorado

Chaffee County, Colorado boasts the most mountain peaks over 14,000 feet of any county in the lower 48 states. The closest 14er trailhead to the county seat, located in the bustling mountain town of Salida, is the starting point for this hike....

Locals affectionately claim Mount Yale as Buena Vista's "backyard 14er." The 14,199-foot summit towers above town, and the trailhead is very accessible via the paved Cottonwood Pass road. And yet... despite being a so-called "backyard" peak, the climb to the summit of Mount Yale is no small challenge....

By most measures, Mount Antero isn't the most enticing of 14ers. A road runs up the side of the mountain to 13,600 feet, meaning that people in 4x4s and other offroad vehicles can easily get almost to the mountain's summit....

More than any other 14er in Chaffee County, Mount Princeton boasts an impressive monolithic stature. While the other nearby mountains blend into the range, Princeton sits by itself, separated on both sides by deep valleys....

While Columbia's standard West Slopes Route is being re-routed and built sustainably by Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI), the East Ridge route via the 3 Elk Creek trailhead is a challenging alternative....

Mt. Harvard's South Slopes Route is one of the longest standard routes in the Sawatch Range, but can be accomplished either as a long day-hike, or a backpack-in to the lovely Horn Fork Basin....

The Northwest Ridge route to Missouri Mountain's 14,067' summit is not the longest or most difficult to do as a day hike, but it is well-worth the time and effort to make it a backpacking adventure....

There is nothing easy about summitting Mount of the Holy Cross, from driving to the 10,320' Half Moon trailhead, to the 12-mile roundtrip distance, to the dreaded 1,000' elevation loss and regain both out and back, to the hazards that contribute to the frequency of Search & Rescue calls in the area....

La Plata Peak is the 5th highest 14er in Colorado and one of the most enjoyable to summit. The 10,160' trailhead is one of the most easily accessed, since the large parking area is adjacent to paved Hwy 82, aka Independence Pass....

Castle Peak (14,265') is the highest summit in the Elk Range. It is the most frequently summitted peak in the range, both because of this superlative and because the Northeast Ridge route is easier than routes on most of the other Elk summits....

Conundrum Peak, though not an official 14er by the 300’ prominence rule, is a worthy summit in the Elk Range. The hike provides incredible views over Conundrum Creek Valley and the many peaks between Crested Butte and Aspen....

While there's no such thing as an "easy" 14er, some 14ers are quantifiably easier than others. Mount Bierstadt is renowned as one of the best 14ers to climb for your first attempt at hiking above 14,000 feet....

At 14,314 feet above sea level, Uncompahgre Peak is "the 6th highest mountain in Colorado" and the highest peak on Colorado’s Western Slope, according to Kilimanjaro1 on [SummitPost.org](https://www.summitpost.org/uncompahgre-peak/150203). Despite being the tallest peak in the San Juans, it’s actually one of the least technical summits in the region....

"Sneffels is often said to be Colorado's best and most beautiful mountain," writes Matt Lemke on [SummitPost.org](https://www.summitpost.org/mount-sneffels/150272). This aesthetic peak features "symmetry, spires, pinnacles, rugged ridges and beautiful slopes of aspens and flowers," according to Lemke....

Quandary Peak (14,271 ft), just south of Breckenridge, is one of the more accessible 14ers in Colorado. It’s proximity to a road and relatively straightforward hike make it so, but the journey to the summit is not easy....

Sultan Mountain rises dramatically above the small mountain town of Silverton, soaring to a height of 13,368 feet above sea level. While the amount of vertical relief above Silverton is dramatic, you can reach it via a relatively approachable route from the Little Molas Lake trailhead off Molas Pass....

"Sneffels is often said to be Colorado's best and most beautiful mountain," writes Matt Lemke on [SummitPost.org](https://www.summitpost.org/mount-sneffels/150272). This aesthetic peak features "symmetry, spires, pinnacles, rugged ridges and beautiful slopes of aspens and flowers," according to Lemke....

High in the Sangre de Cristos, the remote Sand Creek Valley is surrounded by several imposing peaks, all more than 13,000 feet in elevation. Of these, Marble Mountain (13,266 ft) has the most attainable summit....

Mount Herard (13,297 feet) is the summit that stands sentinel over the Great Sand Dunes. Thousands of visitors admire its snowy slopes from far below, but few ever think to venture there....

Snowmass Mountain, not to be confused with Snowmass Peak (13,619′) or Aspen Snowmass Ski Resort, is the third highest summit in the Elk Range of Colorado. Though it’s generally considered one of the easier peaks in this range to summit, the route is potentially deadly and the difficulty depends strongly on conditions....