Dyer Mountain 13er Hike Trail Guide

June 7, 2021 The Virtual Sherpa Comments 0 Comment

Dyer Mountain is a Colorado 13er and centennial ranked as the 81st highest peak in the state. This mountain has a few different variations to gain its summit, but is generally hiked from neighboring Mt Sherman or Iowa Gulch. The hike from Mt Sherman consists of class 2 hiking with on and off trail.

Dyer Mountain Quick Facts

Virtual Trail Guide: Mt Sherman & Dyer Mountain

Dyer Mountain Rating: ★★★ (3/5 Stars)

Distance: 8.5 Miles (From Mt Sherman TH)

Elevation Start: 12,000ft

Highest Point: 13,855ft

Total Elevation Gain: 3,300ft

Estimated Time to Complete: 4-6 Hours RT

Difficulty: Moderate Difficulty System Explained

Class: Class 2 What does this mean?

Season: Late June – Late October (expect snow outside of this period)

Weather: Check the Weather Forecast

Directions to Dyer Mountain

Trailhead: Fourmile Creek

Getting Here: There are two main routes to summit Dyer Mountain. What this review is based on, starts at Fourmile Creek Trailhead located outside of Fairplay. If you do not wish to climb from this side, you can take the trail from Leadville on the west side. To get to Fourmile Creek, head to Fairplay and about a mile south of the “downtown” area, turn onto County Road 18 (Fourmile Creek Rd). Follow this road straight for about 10 miles until you reach several small parking areas and eventually a gate. This gate is usually closed and although the road is rough in points, most 2×2 cars can get to this point if the road is dry. During the winter, the road will be closed about 6-7 miles from this gate.

Fees: There is no fee to hike Dyer Mountain.

Parking: The “main” parking area is located right behind the gate near the lower mine area. This area can fit about 8-10 cars, but there is also room on the side of the road and a small lot about ¼ mile from the gate. Parking is free, but there are no bathrooms available at the trailhead.

Summary

Camping: There are ample car camping spots along County Road 18. Make sure that you drive at least 4 or 5 miles into the road before scouting out a spot and pay attention to all private property signs though because there is private land surrounding a large section of the area near Mt Sherman. If you don’t want to car camp, there are a handful of campgrounds (4 Mile, Horseshoe) that you can contact the forest service for more information on.

Dogs: Dyer Mountain is dog friendly and is an okay hike for dogs. There are no sources of water along the way outside of the streams running through the lower mine (which I would highly recommend avoiding) and the terrain is quite rocky in parts. However, if you have a pet that is used to hiking in Colorado, Mt Sherman & Dyer Mountain should not be a problem for you fury friend.

Make it a Loop: Most people will make this an out and back hike. However, if you wanted to you could hike over to neighboring Mt Sheridan or Horseshoe Peak after you have tackled Sherman and Dyer. In addition, its popular to tackle on unranked 13er Mt Gemini which is about a 10 minute detour from your hike.

Trail X Factors: Loose Rock & Lack of Trail

Although Dyer Mountain is a relatively safe hike, depending on your exact route to gain its summit, you will most likely encounter some loose rock along the way. Since this mountain is not extremely popular or well traveled, tread carefully when scree or boulder hopping on this hike.

Like most 13ers in Colorado, Dyer Mountain does not have a well defined trail the entire way to the top. It’s not exactly rocket science to find the way, but be familiar with the area and expect to do some minor route finding on this hike.

Hike Tip(s): Even though Dyer Mountain will probably have few people on its “trail” you will want to arrive at the TH early if you are heading there on a weekend. Mt Sherman has become increasingly popular over the years and there is nothing worse than following a very slow driver on the road to the TH or not being able to park at the upper gate. If crowds are not your thing, you can certainly hike Dyer Mountain later in the afternoon when the morning Sherman crowds have dissipated (always check the weather though).

Best Views: Dyer Mountain offers fantastic views for the majority of the hike. Although the views are typically not lush green vegetation or thick forests – you will have a fantastic vantage point of the Tenmile Range to the North and Collegiate Peaks to the West.

Dyer Mountain Hike Route From Mt Sherman

Gear Needed

14er Day Hike Packing List
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: Climbing Helmet
Optional: Garmin inReach
Optional: Hiking Poles
Optional: Headlamp
Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
Optional: Camera and Lens
Optional: GoPro, Joby Tripod
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My Trip to Dyer Mountain: November 2020

I late and somewhat unmotivated start is not how I am used to preparing for hikes. However, I was very familiar with Mt Sherman, it was a weekday and I was in pretty good shape. I knew that this hike would not be one that would take me all day. I had never hiked Dyer Mountain and had originally planned on hiking its west ridge to the summit. However, I wasn’t fully aware of snow conditions and decided to take the safe bet and hike from Mt Sherman.

Juno and I made short work of Mt Sherman and made the hike over to Dyer Mountain with relative ease. There was some minor route finding and loose rock but for the most part was a very straightforward class 2 hike with small pockets of snow. I was able to fly the drone a lot with no one around and get some really awesome shots. We had the summit of Dyer all to ourselves on a beautiful WINDLESS day.