Longs Peak Loft Route With Mt Meeker Hike Guide
Longs Peak Loft Route is a popular alternative to the extremely popular Keyhole Route up this Colorado 14er. Hikers looking to bag another summit and Colorado centennial, Mt Meeker, will also take this option as it does only add a very small distance to the hike. The Loft route of Longs Peak requires Class 3 scrambling and careful route finding unlike the extremely well marked standard trail through the Keyhole. After summiting the mountain, its common for hikers to make a loop of this hike by descending the Keyhole Route back to the TH.
Longs Peak Loft Route Quick Facts
Virtual Trail Guide: Longs Peak Loft Route with Mt Meeker
Longs Peak Loft Route Rating: ★★★★ (4/5 Stars)
Distance: 13.83 miles RT
Elevation Start: 9,250ft
High Point: 14,259ft Longs Peak, 13,916ft Mt Meeker
Total Elevation Gain: 5,552ft
Estimated Time to Complete: 10-12 Hours RT
Difficulty: Difficult What does this mean?
Class: Class 3 (Easy to find Class 4 in a few spots, but not necessary) – What does this mean?
Season: June – October (Expect snow outside of these months)
Directions to Longs Peak Loft Route
Trailhead:Longs Peak
Getting Here: From Estes Park: Take CO7 for 9 miles until you reach Longs Peak Road on your right. Continue on for 1 mile until you reach the TH.
From Boulder/Points South: Take US36 for 40.9 miles until you reach Lyons and the junction with CO-7. Take a left here and continue on for 14.8 miles until you reach Longs Peak Road on your left. Continue for 1 mile until you reach the TH.
Regardless of your direction, you can enter Longs Peak Trailhead into your favorite navigational device.
Parking: The parking lot for Longs Peak via Loft route can fit about 30-40 cars, but will 100% fill up on weekends from July – early October. Expect to arrive to the trailhead by 2-3AM to have the best chance to secure a spot. On weekdays the lot is typically less hectic, but an early arrival time is still recommended. The parking area has several non-plumbing bathrooms.
Fee: None
Reservations: Even though Rocky Mountain National Park does require reservations, Longs Peak does not so long as you arrive before 9AM or after 3PM.
Summary
Dogs: Dogs are not allowed in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Camping: Camping near Longs Peak can be very tricky. You are not allowed to camp in the parking lot and there are really limited options for backcountry camping until you reach the Boulder Field which is not along the Loft Route.
Hike Xfactor(s): The crossover
When hiking Longs Peak Loft route, there is no trail unlike the extremely well marked Keyhole trail. Due to this, route finding will be extremely important in order to find the way. The hiking up to the saddle south of Longs and even over to Mt Meeker, should you choose to add that, is fairly straightforward but after that it becomes a lot more tricky. In fact, the first time I tried hiking this route it didn’t go well at all. However, if you do follow the cairns from the saddle, you should be able to get onto the right path.
As you are working your way over through the crossover be sure to be aware that you do need to lose a good chunk of elevation before regaining it on your way to the summit. There is one section in particular that can be very tricky and may even lead you into Class 4 terrain should you choose to go that way. However, you can keep this route Class 3. I highly recommend watching the full guide on this one.
Hike Tip(s): Instead of going back down the Loft route from the summit of Longs Peak, I recommend taking the standard Keyhole route. If you have the gear and ability, you can take a number of other shorter options as well but many require Class 5 downclimbing or gear to rappel. Like most 14ers in Colorado, Longs Loft route (especially if adding Mt Meeker) requires a great weather day. Longs Peak is notoriously windy and unpredictable so good weather is a most, especially since almost this entire hike is above treeline.
Best Views: My favorite views when hiking Longs Peak are looking West into Rocky Mountain National Park and the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area to the south.
Longs Peak Loft Route with Mt Meeker Hike Route
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 (Winter)
- Backpack (Summer)
- Food & Water
- Helmet
- Optional: Garmin inReach
- Optional: Hiking Poles – 120CM
- Optional: Headlamp
- Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
- Optional: GoPro, Joby Tripod, GoPro 360
- Optional: Drone
- *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 Longs Peak Loft Route September 2022
With some new found free time on my hands and a great weather window, I decided to go back to Longs Peak to get some redemption on a failed trip from a number of years ago. I arrived to the parking lot around 6AM and was hiking by 6:30AM. My fitness level was fairly high in 2022 and I knew that the mileage and distance would not be a problem only the route finding which could take some time. I made quick work of the first 3 or 4 miles and was soon working my way up the familiar scree and slabby sections of the Loft. There had been some very light snow from the days before but luckily this didn’t affect my approach at all outside of a few extremely small sections.
By the time I made it up the North Saddle of Mt Meeker, I was feeling pretty good and the weather was infinitely better than my previous attempt. I wanted to tag Mt Meeker so I worked up the social trail and across the small ridge to the summit of another Colorado Centennial! The hike back down to the large saddle was quick and uneventful. Luckily, this time I saw a ton of cairns that easily led me over to the first section of the Loft Route I had not previously attempted. The hiking was very easy until a small downclimb section which required a Class 4 move and some careful route finding to get back towards the direction I wanted to go.
I continued hiking over to the summit of Longs and eventually regained the elevation I had lost avoiding the large cliffs on the feature known as “The Beaver”. The “homestretch” or slabby granite section before the summit of Longs was fun but also extremely worn out due to all the foot traffic over the years. I summited the 14er and had the large flat area to myself but wasn’t able to enjoy it long due to some snow showers rolling in. I am glad that I hurried off the summit because the Keyhole Route on the way down had loads more slick, well traveled, rock and I couldn’t imagine being on this trail when wet.
By the time I made it back through the Keyhole and through the boulder fields, I was moving a lot more quickly and even ran the last 3 miles back to the car. Overall, I had a blast on Longs Peak Loft Route and based on the conditions of the Keyhole, would probably recommend this line for a quieter and less traveled route. However, in my opinion, the Loft is more difficult than the Keyhole due to the amount of route finding that this trail requires.
2 thoughts on “Longs Peak Loft Route With Mt Meeker Hike Guide”
“We did it, now let’s move on.”
This is exactly me, 100% of the time. I don’t think I’ve spent more than 5 – 10 minutes on any summit (or destination) in many years. My goal is to be in the wilderness and observe it. Moving through it helps me see more of it.
Or maybe I’m just antsy and can’t sit still.
Good to hear that there are other people like this, because (on the rare occasions that I’m not solo), my hiking/climbing partners don’t seem to understand why I’m ready to leave when we just got there.
Thanks for the comment Chris and appreciate you taking the time to watch the whole video. Agree with you for me its usually an anxiety to move on that keeps me going. I love the summits but I also find that (in most cases) the views up there are very similar to what you have seen for a lot of the hike. I always like to keep it moving from a time perspective too and to not let my body stiffen up too much.