Huerfano Peak 13er Hike Trail Guide

Huerfano Peak is a centennial located in the Sangre de Cristo Range of Colorado. The mountain is just over 13,800ft and comes in as the 93er highest peak in Colorado. Huerfano Peak is a class 2 hike and shares 75% of the hike with the standard route up Mt Lindsey. Since its so close to the 14er, these two mountains are frequently hiked together. 

Huerfano Peak Quick Facts

Virtual Trail Guide: Huerfano Peak (Hiked with Mt Lindsey)

Huerfano Peak Rating: ★★★ (3/5 Stars)

Distance: 8.5 Solo, 10.5 Miles RT (Paired with Mt Lindsey)

Elevation Start: 10,689ft (Upper TH)

Highest Point: 13,828ft 

Total Elevation Gain: 3,700ft Solo, 4,400ft with Mt Lindsey

Estimated Time to Complete: 6-10 Hours RT (depending on route and starting point)

Difficulty: Moderate Difficulty System Explained

Class: Class 2  What does this mean?

Season: Late June – Late November – Expect snow & SEVERAL more miles outside of this period

Weather: Check the Weather Forecast

Directions to Huerfano Peak

Trailhead: Upper Huerfano Creek/Lily Lake

Getting Here: Navigate to the small (like spec on the map) town of Gardner, Colorado. Just west of the town on Colorado Highway 69, turn onto a road with signage towards Mosco Pass. Essentially, you are going to stay on this road for about 22 miles until the trailhead. But here is a breakdown of milestones:

Road stays paved for 7 miles, then turns into dirt. After 11.8 miles, stay left onto Forest Road 580. After another 5.8 miles, you will pass the entrance to the Singing River Ranch. The road narrows a bit, but is still very doable with a 2WD car. After another .9 miles, you will pass another ranch (Aspen River) and the road starts to get a bit dicey for passenger vehicles. From this point, you have about 4.3 miles until you reach the Lily Lake TH. There are sections of the road that are very tough with a 2WD car, but for the most part it is doable in most stock SUVs and does not require 4×4. Pick your lines and accept that you might bottom out. If you are heading to the Lily Lake TH with a lower clearance car, avoid early summer months when snow melt will make the road muddy and eaten out.

Fees: There is no fee to hike Huerfano Peak.  

Parking: Huerfano Peak has a small free parking lot at the trailhead. The lot can probably fit about 10 cars with room to park more along the road. Parking is free but there are no restroom facilities. 

Summary

Camping: There are spots to camp along the drive to Lily Lake TH, but just be mindful of the private land along the way. It will be clearly marked and they do not take kindly to trespassing (there is literally a patrol car to make sure no one is camping on their land).  As you get closer to the trailhead, the selection of camping spots somewhat dwindles, but if you need to camp, it will not be hard to find a spot.

Dogs: Huerfano Peak is dog friendly so long as your dog is good in loose scree and rocks. This hike stays in a wilderness area for the majority of the trail so be sure to keep your dog on a leash. 

Make it a Loop: This is an out and back hike but can form a longer hike with neighboring Mt Lindsey. 

Trail X Factors: Trailhead

If you have a stock 4×4 or AWD car you can ignore this section. If you do not, getting to the upper trailhead can present major challenges. Although the road to the upper trailhead is not awful if you have some clearance its borderline impassable with passenger vehicles unless you have a huge tolerance for scraping and lots of experience driving on very rough roads. There are not major boulders or rocks but rather massive deep potholes. Unfortunately these are spread out throughout the road and start right off the bat. If you are not able to make it to the upper TH, expect to add 5+ miles of hiking to this otherwise easy hike. 

Hike Tip(s): Once you have hiked past the Iron Nipple, try to keep a somewhat straight line instead of following the ridge to your left. It’s certainly an option to go left, but you will end up gaining more elevation than necessary while hiking on loose rock. Instead, try to stick to the grassy slopes on the center and right side of the summit before it’s apparent that you will need to climb left.   

Best Views: This hike really has great views from start to finish. Summit views are great in all directions and seeing Mt Lindsey from a unique angle is very cool. This hike has 5 star views for sure.  

Huerfano Peak Trail Route

Gear Needed

• 14er Packing List
• Hiking Boots or Trail Runners
• Backpack
• Protection from Sun – almost entire hike is above tree line
• Optional: Map of area or GPS – I use the Garmin inReach
• Optional: Hiking Poles
• Optional: Headlamp
• Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
• Optional: Camera
• *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 Huerfano Peak: September 2020

After spending a beautiful night camping, I hit the trail on a beautiful fall morning to tackle Mt Lindsey via the Northwest Ridge and Huerfano Peak. It had been years since I had been in this area and I forgot how beautiful it was. I hiked up the fun northwest ridge of Lindsey first and then added on Huerfano. 

The hiking was class 2 on loose rocks for most of the way but very straightforward and not super challenging. I enjoy the somewhat smoky summit views with beautiful views in all directions. Huerfano Peak was a fun addition to a longer hike and would certainly be worthwhile to hike on its own if you are in the area.  

Check out some pictures from my hike up Huerfano Peak below and then watch the virtual trail guide. 

Huerfano Peak Virtual Trail Guide

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