Mt Edwards Colorado 13er Hike Review
Mt Edwards is a short out and back hike located in the Front Range of Colorado. A class 2 hike, Mt Edwards is a great alternative to the CF that exists on Grays and Torreys Peaks almost every single weekend. Trail conditions range from packed dirt to boulder fields. Mt Edwards is a centennial (highest 100) in Colorado as well as the 2nd highest 13er in the Front Range, 30th highest in the state.
Mt Edwards Quick Facts
Virtual Trail Guide: Mt Edwards
Mt Edwards : ★★★ (3/5 Stars)
Distance: 7.9 miles RT
Elevation Start: 11,000 ft
Highest Point: 13,856 ft
Total Elevation Gain: 3,100 ft
Estimated Time to Complete: 4-5 Hours RT
Difficulty: Moderate – What does this mean?
Class: Class 2 – What does this mean?
Season: July – October (Expect snow outside of this period)
Directions to Mt Edwards
Trailhead: Argentine Pass
Getting Here: Navigate to Montezuma Road, just past the main parking lot of Keystone Resort. Continue on Montezuma Road for about 4.5 miles until you reach CR 260 (a dirt road on the left corner of the main road). Turn left here and continue on the well maintained dirt road for about 5 miles, following signs for Argentine Pass or 260 until you reach the end. Stop at the small parking area on the left as the road is gated at the TH with no area to turn around. CR 260 does not require 4×4, but AWD and higher clearance car is helpful, especially in spring months. The road is a bit rocky towards the trailhead, but mostly packed dirt.
Fees: None
Parking: Mt Edwards has a small parking area near the TH that can fit about 10 cars. This area is popular with ATVs and off road vehicles, but isn’t a terribly popular hiking destination. There are no restrooms at the trailhead.
Summary
Camping: Mt Edwards has a ton of dispersed camping options along CR 260 on your way towards the TH. Please try to camp in marked spots and always obey fire restrictions in the area.
Dogs: Mt Edwards is a perfect hike to bring a dog along on. The trail mostly consists of packed dirt and some gravel fields. However, since the trail is not used as much as some mountains in the area, you will even find patches of grass and moss on your way towards the summit.
Make it a Loop: Mt Edwards is an out and back hike however, you could easily hike over to Grays Peak which adds about 3.5 miles RT or hike to Argentine Peak which adds about 2 miles RT.
Trail X Factors: Secluded
Unlike Grays Peak and Torreys Peak nearby and many of 4×4 roads in the area, the hike up to Mt Edwards can be peaceful and often enjoyed without any other hikers. On a Sunday morning/afternoon, Juno and I had Mt Edwards entirely to ourselves minus a handful of 4x4s on top of Argentine Pass. We were able to take our time up the mountain, enjoy the mountain goats in the area and follow a trail that was in great shape because of its lack of use.
Hike Tip(s): If you are visiting Denver/Colorado or are just looking for a hike near the Front Range that isn’t a complete CF, I would highly recommend this hike over Grays Peak and Torreys Peak. Sure, the mountain is a couple hundred feet shorter so you can’t say you hiked a “14er”, but the experience on Mt Edwards will far surpass anything you go through up Grays Peak.
When hiking Mt Edwards, be sure to have a clear weather window. This hike is completely exposed to the elements and offers very little protection from any bad weather that may move in.
Best Views: Mt Edwards is a beautiful hike with lots of views into Horseshoe Basin, Grays Peak and a high alpine lake that sits in the valley. The views up to Argentine Pass are great and summit views west and south were my favorite.
Mt Edwards 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 Booths (Women’s)
- Backpack
- Food & Water
- 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 Mt Edwards: August 2018
It was weird. I had been planning my free weekends around “14ers” for the better part of three years, but late in 2018 I had the remaining 9 all planned out. I was looking at a rare free weekend in August and decided to tackle Mt Edwards since it was relatively close to home. Juno and I hit the road at 7AM on a Sunday morning with plans to be back by early afternoon. The weather forecast was looking really iffy, but we decided to give it a go anyway. After driving through pockets of rain and dark clouds, we reached the trailhead at Argentine Pass with the sun shining. We had driven by a million people camping, including some asshat who had a fire going even though we were clearly in a fire ban but when we reached the trailhead there were only 2 other cars there. I didn’t have much experience with hiking “13ers”, but had heard they were far more secluded and enjoyable than many “14ers” in the state. I packed up my condensed version of my usual hiking bag and hit the trail. We hiked up the old 4×4 road and found the turnoff for Mt Edwards fairly easily after about a half mile of hiking from the parking lot.
As we hiked up the western slopes of Argentine Pass, the clouds started to look really bad. I had a great view west and could see that a very dark pocket of clouds were about to move in. We were barely below treeline, so I decided to hunker down and wait to see what happened. The clouds moved overhead and dropped some rain, but I didn’t hear any thunder or lightning. I almost decided to bail, but after waiting a few more minutes, the clouds moved on and sunny skies prevailed. It was early August in Colorado, so this kind of weather was very typical, but on a hike like Mt Edwards were there was no cover, I didn’t want to be too risky, especially since I was hiking with Juno.
We continued working our way up the pass and encountered a few more pockets of clouds like this. Each time, I took some time to observe the clouds and try to get a hang on how they were behaving. Even though the clouds were dark, they all seemed to move on quickly and none of the groups had any thunder, lightning or even rain. I decided to keep going, knowing full well that it was an iffy choice. Near the top of Argentine Pass, Juno saw some mountain goats in the distance and immediately became obsessed. She put her nose to the ground and began tracking them, even though she could literally see them if she just lifted her head. Her incessant pulling was driving me insane, but at least she was giving me momentum up the mountain (this is what I always tell myself/joke about with other hikers – but in reality, its just Juno walking the line of pulling my shoulder out of its socket). We reached the top of Argentine Pass shortly after, sharing it with a few Jeeps who had driven up the east slopes.
Juno and I continued past Argentine Pass with Mt Edwards only about a mile away. Even though the summit was so close, the weather was starting to take a turn for the worse. Again, we stopped to observe the clouds which were looming over neighboring Grays and Torreys Peaks. Unlike the previous patches of clouds, these ones seemed to linger. The clouds created a black blanket over the 14,000 foot peaks and I was wondering what weather was falling from them. We were only about 10 minutes from the summit, so I figured we could get to the top of Mt Edwards, tag the summit and make it down to the ridge again before those clouds hit us. I hurried us up the final slope, took a quick video, snapped 3-4 pictures and started back down. It started raining just as we were leaving the top. My legs were dead from the hike, a long day of rock climbing and running from the day before but I quickened our pace down from the 13,800 foot mountain.
The rain turned to small hail and snow. Neat. On the way up Mt Edwards, I had spotted a small filled in mine shaft entrance that I knew we could use if the weather continued to worsen, too bad it was still a ¼ mile away. The small hail started to increase in size and I felt awful for Juno who was now getting pelted with the white ice. I brought her closer to me and used myself as a shield while the storm passed. Luckily, after only 5-10 minutes of rain, snow and hail, the clouds moved on and sunshine again prevailed.
The rest of the hike back to the car was very uneventful with no additional pockets of bad weather. I started the day with very low hopes of reaching the summit of Mt Edwards so I was thrilled to have the entire mountain to ourselves, reached the summit and made it back down again. Mt Edwards was a nice Class 2 hike with very little foot traffic while also offering great views of the Front Range and Grays Peak and Torreys Peak. I would recommend Mt Edwards to any friends or family members looking for a moderate hike near Denver.
