Huron Peak North Ridge Colorado 14er Hike Guide

Huron Peak North Ridge is a great alternative route to the standard northwest slopes trail. This line up the popular 14er allows hikers to have the ability to have less crowds, create a loop and best of all – summit three other mountains along the way: Middle Mountain, Pt 13,462 and Browns Peak. Although the Huron Peak North Ridge trail requires some additional route finding -it is still an intermediate hike that is dog friendly as well. The views on the trail are some of my favorites in the entire Sawatch Range. 

Huron Peak North Ridge Quick Facts

Virtual Trail Guide: Huron Peak North Ridge

Huron Peak North Ridge Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 Stars)

Distance: 11.09 Miles (Includes Pt 13,462)

Elevation Start: 10,293ft

Summit Elevation: 14,009ft

Total Elevation Gain: 4,100ft

Estimated Time to Complete: 6-8 Hours RT

Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult  What does this mean?

Class: Class 2- What does this mean?

Season: May – November

Check the Weather Forecast – Using Open Summit provides the most data points to plan a safe hike

Directions to Huron Peak North Ridge

Trailhead: S. Winfield

Getting Here: To access the trailhead, turn onto Chaffee County Road 390 (20 miles south of Leadville, 14.5 miles north of Buena Vista). Take 390 (starts off paved, turns into a well maintained dirt road) for 11.8 miles until you reach the replicated ghost town of Winfield. Turn left here and follow the road for another .1 miles to the lower trailhead parking area. Unless you have a very capable high clearance 4×4, you will want to park in this general area. Most cars can continue on for another .3-.4 miles before the really rough road starts.  If you have a higher clearance car, you can drive another .3 miles to a road split and continue on for another 1.7 miles until the road ends. 

Parking: There are a few different spots to park for Huron Peak North Ridge – first is just south of Winfield in the lower TH parking area. There is a restroom in this area and space for 5-10 cars. If you continue on, there are a handful of pull offs over the next .3-.4 miles that can all fit 3-5 cars. Once the road turns south and goes straight up, unless you plan on driving all the way to the “upper TH” do not continue on. 

Fee: Free 

Summary

Dogs: This is a dog friendly hike but since most is off trail, be sure your dog is okay on rougher terrain. 

Camping: There are several camping spots along County Road 390 and some additional spots to camp along the 4×4 road on the way up to the trail start. In general, your best bet is to snag a spot along CR390. 

Make it a Loop: This hike can be made into a loop by taking the Huron Peak North Ridge trail up and then the standard trail down. In addition, you have the option to extend your hike even further by adding Middle Mountain which adds a mile or so to your hiking. 

Trail X Factors: Browns Peak Direct vs Middle Mountain & Pt 13,462

On your way up to the summit of Huron Peak, you have one major option to choose: do you want to hike directly up the northeast slopes of Browns Peak or do you want to add on Pt 13,462 which is not as direct and uses old mining roads to gain its northern saddle. I ended up taking the second option since it appeared to be a bit faster even though it added some mileage. If you do decide to go directly up Brown’s slope, there is absolutely zero trail to follow and you will be working up steep grassy tundra and some scree.  

Hike Tip(s): When planning a trip to Huron Peak North Ridge, be absolutely sure the weather is going to be good while you are hiking. Once you leave the northern basin below Brown’s Peak there is no shelter from the elements for several miles. During my trip, I decided to push it through some clouds and borderline bad weather. Luckily for me, I was able to get below the treeline before the really bad stuff rolled in. However, my hike down was full of thunder, lightning and hail. Far from ideal but much better than being above treeline in that situation. 

Best Views: This hike has A+ views from the time you get above treeline to the time you re-enter it on the other side of the mountain. 

Huron Peak North Ridge Hike Route

This shows a loop that starts on up toward Pt 13,462 on to Brown’s Peak, to the summit of Huron and then back down the standard northeast slopes. 

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 Boots (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
• *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 Huron Peak: June 2022

Huron Peak has a very special place in my heart; it’s one of the 14ers that Juno and I had done multiple times before she passed earlier in 2022. Since I was in the area for trail running the day before, I thought that a trip up Huron Peak North Ridge was a great idea. I had heard great things about it and best of all it let me get in some additional mileage and vert exploring some new peaks along the way. 

I started a little later than I would have liked with an afternoon forecast that was typical for summer: thunderstorms and heavy rain. I worked up the 4×4 road, split to the left up Lulu Gulch road and reached the upper basin in no-time. My stomach was in shambles (still is as writing this actually) which caused a few forced pit stops along the way. My original plan was to go straight up Brown’s Peak northern slopes but after looking at the alternative option up to Middle Mountain – I thought I could actually travel this more quickly. Speed would be everything today since the weather window was so small. Unfortunately, my nasty stomach struck again and what I thought would be fast turned into a longer slog up to the saddle below Middle Mountain. At the time, I thought that Middle Mountain was actually Pt 13,462 so I skipped it. 

By the time I summited Pt 13,462 the clouds were beautiful but also covering most of the area around me – not great. I set a timer on my watch for 2 hours which would be my “shotclock” for gaining the summit of Huron and turning around. The clouds didn’t look horrible, but they certainly weren’t going to be welcoming for too much longer. There was a lot of energy in the air. I summited Browns Peak with no issues at all and kept on towards Huron Peak via its North Ridge. There were very minor sections of scrambling (Class 2) and I had no problem joining the standard Huron Peak trail.

The decision to keep going was fairly easy as I could tell these clouds were not dangerous (yet) and were just passing by over the high mountains. I struggling up the last bit of loose dirt and steep trail to reach the summit of Huron for the third time. It was stunning and I had the summit to myself. I spent less than 5 minutes on top soaking in the beauty before moving on to lower elevations. On the way down, I ran into some mountain goats – the one animal I will never get jaded to see. So beautiful. I am lucky that I was hustling to get down because right as I got below treeline the weather turned nasty and hail began to pelt me from above. I begrudgingly put on my raincoat and after that the skies open up accompanied by thunder and lightning. This was basically the theme of my hike down until I got back to the car, soaking wet but happy. 

Overall, Huron Peak North Ridge was an awesome route and one that I would certainly recommend over the standard route if you were looking for some variation, additional peaks and more seclusion. 

Huron Peak North Ridge Colorado 14er Video Guide