Lion’s Head Mountain Staunton State Park Guide
Lion’s Head summit is located in Staunton State Park, a relatively new park (first opened in May 2013) located near the Denver area. What makes this hike beautiful is the peaceful location in the relatively less popular state park. Lion’s Head is a long hike that does not provide unbelievable views that many hikes of this distance generally do. However, don’t think that 13+ miles are just for your health. Lion’s Head does have many striking views of the surrounding area and a great opportunity to see a large waterfall (Elk Falls). Since many hikes in Colorado offer a somewhat limited season, Lion’s Head is a great opportunity to get some miles on your legs before heading out to conquer much larger peaks.
Lion’s Head Mountain Quick Facts
Rating: ★★★ (3/5 Stars)
Distance: 13.6 miles RT
Elevation Start: 8,215 ft
Summit: 9,450 ft
Total Elevation Gain: 1,200 ft
Estimated Time to Complete: 5 Hours RT
Difficulty: Moderate What does this mean?
Class: Class 2 – minor scrambling near the summit
Season: April-October (depending on snow-pack can be hiked year round)
Directions to Lion’s Head Hike
Trailhead: Staunton State Park
Getting Here: Staunton State Park
To get to Lion’s Head you must first navigate to Staunton State Park. Take US 285 to the S. Elk Creek Rd exit. Continue down S Elk Creek Rd for about 1.5 miles and you will see the park entrance on your right. Once in the park, the ranger can direct you to the best area to park but essentially you want to park near the Staunton Ranch TH. You can enter Staunton State Park into your favorite navigation device.
Parking: It really does not matter what parking area you start at for the Lion’s Head hike. All of them will get you to the same place, you might just have to take different trails. Snag a park map on your check-in or check out the maps at each TH.
Fees: There is a $10 fee or $80 Annual Colorado State Park pass required to hike Lion’s Head.
Summary
Dogs: While this is a long hike, dogs are allowed in the park as long as they are on a 6 foot leash. Trail-wise, Lion’s Head Mountain is a nice hike for your dog. The terrain is easy on their paws, its not completely exposed by the sun and there are several sources of water along the way.
Camping: Camping is not permitted in the park but Deer Creek campground and Meridian campground are not terribly far away.
Make it a Loop: Lion’s Head summit can me made a loop by taking a variety of different trails there and back. See full map here.
Mountain X Factor: Trail
The biggest X Factor for accessing Lion’s Head is the trail you choose. If you choose the wrong trail, you will die. Just kidding… but there are a variety of different trails that can bring you to the summit and they each have their pros and cons. For example, if you take the Scout Line Trail to the Marmot Passage both ways, you may seriously regret this decision. This route involves many switchbacks and is more difficult, but provides a much more scenic route to the summit. If you take Staunton Ranch to Bugling Elk, this route is easier but provides far fewer scenic views along the way. I would probably recommend taking a combination of both trails so that you are able to soak in the most views from this trip without expending all of your energy. Your legs will thank me.
Hike Tip(s): This mountain provides a unique opportunity to access the summit by foot, horse or bike. Depending on the trail you take you can travel most of the way to the summit on a variety of forms of transportation. If you do choose to ride the trail there is a spot to tie your horse or lock your bike about 1 mile away from the summit of the mountain.
Best Views: If you are looking for some great landscape shots, be sure to take the Scout Line Trail. This trail provides many great views of Pikes Peak and into the valleys below. On your way to the summit, you will also pass Elk Falls Overlook. This is a great opportunity in the spring months to see a raging waterfall. The waterfall is about a half mile away though, so be sure to bring your long distance lens if you plan on taking shots of that.
Lion’s Head Hike Route
Shows a biking trip I took up to Lion’s head – you could certainly make the hike shorter.
Gear Needed
- Men’s Trail Runners
- Women’s Trail Runners
- La Sportiva Trango Hiking Boots (Men’s)
- La Sportiva Trango Hiking Booths (Women’s)
- Backpack
- Food & Water
- Optional: Garmin inReach
- Optional: Hiking Poles
- Optional: Headlamp
- Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
- Optional: Camera and Lens
- Optional: GoPro, Joby Tripod
- *Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you.
My Trip to Lion’s Head Mountain: May 2016
Staunton State Park is a relatively new state park (opened in May of 2013) and one that I have wanted to check out for some time. On a beautiful afternoon, I decided to drive out to the park and summit Lion’s Head. My first impression of the park was sheer beauty and you could tell right away that the park was relatively new. When I checked into the fee station, the park ranger gave me a map and added new trails that were not on the printed version I had seen online.
I parked and started my trek down the Staunton Ranch trail where I saw a beautiful fox, but was not able to photograph it because it kept running away from me (I am sure there is a joke in there somewhere). Wildlife became the theme of my hike as I ran into several other critters along the way and this was a big plus for this hike. I am not sure why, but seeing animals always excites me. When I see any kind of animals on a hike, I get giddy like a small child at a zoo for the first time.
The Staunton Ranch trail was fairly flat and does allow for mountain bikes or horses to use the trail. This made me tremendously jealous while I was schlepping up and down the trail on my own two feet. When I reached the Scout Line trail the hike began to pick up it’s difficulty a bit. This trail had several switchbacks, but provided fantastic views into the park and of both Pikes Peak in the distance and Lion’s Head right around the corner. After 2 miles on the SR trail, I reached Elk Falls pond which is a peaceful spot where I decided to take a break and eat a snack while enjoying its serenity.
After I departed the pond, I made my way up towards Elk Falls Overlook on the Lion’s Back Trail. This trail had a decent amount of snow on it still, but was very easy to navigate with just hiking boots. About 20 minutes later, I reached the falls which quite literally appeared out of nowhere. It was a little disappointing how far away the falls were (about a half mile), but I should have picked that up when looking at the map.
I enjoyed a quick water break at the falls and moved on towards the summit of Lion’s Head. At this point, the trail was very hard to find at first and there was plenty of snow still on the ground. The park ranger told me the TH to the summit started about 25 yards before the Elk Falls overlook trail and that helped form a general route to the top. For a while I figured, “Hey all I need to do is keeping going up and I will reach the summit,” disregarding the massive cliffs surrounding the summit of the mountain on both sides. Eventually I did hook up with the trail and made my way to the summit shortly after. The summit itself provided fantastic views in almost 360 degrees of the valleys below and many neighboring peaks.
On my way back to the car I decided to take the Bugling Elk trail (to avoid some of those aforementioned switchbacks). This was a much easier route, but provided far fewer scenic views and photo opportunities. It was, however, a nice gift on my legs that were beginning to check out after the long trek.
I would highly recommend Lion’s Head for someone looking to make the jump from easy to moderate hikes, but be prepared for a long day (both mileage and time). In general Staunton State Park quickly jumped up my list favorite parks in Colorado due to its serenity, beautiful views and proximity to the Denver area.
