Grays & Torreys via Kelso Ridge Trail Guide

Grays & Torreys via Kelso ridge is a fun loop up the pair of 14ers with some fun class 3 scrambling. These two peaks see tens of thousands of hikers per year because of their proximity to Denver and relatively easy hiking. Kelso Ridge, a class 3 ridge with medium exposure, is a nice alternative to the extremely busy standard route up these two mountains. Kelso Ridge is only recommended for hikers with experience route finding, dealing with exposure and used to class 3 hiking. 

Grays & Torreys via Kelso Ridge Quick Facts

Virtual Trail Guide: Grays & Torreys via Kelso Ridge

Grays & Torreys Via Kelso Ridge Rating: ★★★★ (4/5 Stars)

Distance: 8.0 Miles RT

Elevation Start: 11,250ft 

Highest Point: Torreys Peak: 14,267ft, Grays Peak: 14,278ft 

Total Elevation Gain: 3,300ft 

Estimated Time to Complete: 6-7 Hours RT

Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult Difficulty System Explained

Class: Class 3 What does this mean?

Season: Late June- Early November – Expect snow outside of this period

Weather: Check the Weather Forecast

Trailhead: Grays Peak

Directions to Grays & Torreys via Kelso Ridge

Getting Here: From I-70, take the Bakerville exit and continue on to Stevens Gulch Road. The upper trailhead is 3 miles from here staying left/straight at all intersections. This road is a complete wildcard. In some months/years, most passenger cars can make it to the upper TH. In others, you need a high clearance 4×4 car. It all depends on the road conditions. Clear Creek County does maintain this road, but your guess is as good as mine as to how frequently that happens. In winter months (December – May usually) you will have to park right off I70 and walk to the upper TH. DO NOT block the road or park on any private property.

Fees: There is no fee to Grays & Torreys Peak via Kelso Ridge. 

Parking: There are several areas to park for this hike, but let’s start with the obvious: the upper trailhead can fit 30ish cars and will fill up on most days very early (5-6AM). The upper trailhead does have two non-plumbing bathrooms. If you are not able to make it to the upper trailhead, you can park off I-70 and walk the road (adding 6 miles RT to your hike) or drive up about a mile to the split in the road with CR 319 where there is parking for 5-6 cars. There are a few one-off pull offs that a few cars can park in but I would really try to stick to the three areas I mentioned above.

Summary 

Camping:  There are a few camping spots at the upper TH. Once the hike starts, camping options are very poor and much of the road up to the hike is lined with private land. There are a few dispersed camping spots along the road which will be fairly obvious. Alternatively, if you drive down CR 319 there are a few camping spots in this area as well. This isn’t the best spot to camp, but if you are lucky, you can make it work. 

Dogs: Grays & Torreys via Kelso Ridge is not a dog friendly hike. If you want to bring a dog on this hike, it’s best to stick to the standard route and avoid Kelso altogether. Please, pickup after your dog and keep them on a leash when possible. This hike is extremely busy on almost all days, especially weekends, with other dogs and people. Be aware that even if you do bring your dog on this hike, there are several sections of rougher terrain that can hurt a dog’s pads. As always, please bring enough food and water for your dog as well, especially if they are not used to this elevation. 

Make it a Loop: Grays & Torreys via Kelso Ridge is a lollipop loop. You could certainly hike back down Kelso Ridge, but the knife edge section of the trail is more difficult (in my opinion) coming down vs coming up. 

Trail X Factors: Stevens Gulch Road & Crowds

Stevens Gulch Road is a complete wildcard. Sometimes it’s passable by most cars, others years it’s downright awful. Due to the extremely high number of crowds (over 25,000 people per year according to CO14ers Initiative), the road can go from great to not great very quickly. 14ers.com has a trailhead status portion of their website that will be very useful if you are not aware of what the road looks like.

Speaking of crowds, expect them and expect them at all times. 4AM at the trailhead? Yup. Top of Grays Peak? Yup. Descending Torreys Peak? Yup. I will say that Kelso ridge is generally far less traveled than the standard route, but depending on the day, you may even have a line of people up that route. Weekday vs Weekend it really does not matter with these two 14ers because they are so close to Denver. If you want to avoid crowds, try heading to them late in the year (Novemberish) but expect snow. 

Hike Tip(s): A few tips for this one:

1. Take your time getting to the TH, especially if your car is not powerful or high clearance. A lot of the erosion is formed by cars getting stuck in sections and kicking up rocks and dirt. 
2. Get to the TH early – weekends especially. Look, I think it’s insane that this hike is so popular, but it is and that is not going to change. Although Kelso Ridge will usually have far less people, it uses the same parking lot and requires a very early start. 
3. Bring hiking poles – Yeah, yeah hiking poles are for old people and people who are out of shape. Neat, but that is just not true. They help you gain traction where it sucks (a few sections of Kelso Ridge) and save your knees so much wear and tear allowing you to move down these well traveled trails faster. 

Best Views: The hike up Grays & Torreys via Kelso Ridge does not have my favorite views at all. The basin itself can be very pretty when wildflowers are in full swing but the summit views are just okay. Looking southwest on Grays is my favorite view with the red rock below and looking north on Torreys provides great views of a slu of neighboring mountains. 

Grays & Torreys via Kelso Ridge Route

Gear Needed

• 14er Day Hike Packing List
• Backpack
• Hiking Shoes or Hiking Boots
• Protection from the Sun
• Optional: Hiking Poles
• Optional: Headlamp
• *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 Grays & Torreys Peak via Kelso Ridge: August 2020

I don’t like Grays & Torreys Peak. Both peaks are chalk full of inexperienced hikers, people with 0 trail etiquette and the hiking that is just flat out boring. However, that does not stop hundreds of people flocking to these trails every day during “hiking season”. I had not been to these 14ers in 3ish years and I wanted to revisit them to give Kelso Ridge a try as I had heard good things about it.

The weather was typical, get the hell off the mountain by 12 Colorado thunderstorms so I arrived at the upper TH around 5:15AM. I hiked in the dark for about 2 miles until I reached the turnoff for Kelso and made my way towards Torreys. Overall, I thought that Kelso was fun, but not nearly as much Class 3 hiking as I was hoping for. On several occasions, I went out of my way to find more challenging terrain even if it meant downclimbing a bit.

Torreys’ summit was pretty lowkey, but by the time I got to Grays there were hoards of people on the summit and trails. I decided to jog back down to the car which was quite nice actually. 

Overall, I am glad I finally knocked out this infamous route, but felt a bit disappointed by the hype that surrounded it. It was a nice Class 3 route, but not one of my favorites in Colorado. View pictures from the hike below and then watch my full virtual trail guide. 

Grays & Torreys via Kelso Ridge Virtual Trail Guide

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