Tenmile Traverse Colorado Hike Guide
The Tenmile Traverse is a classic ridge scramble located outside of Breckenridge and Frisco Colorado. While the full version of this traverse adds several more miles and is a one way route, this alternative here is a fantastic way to experience about half of the traverse, including the best scrambling the full traverse has to offer. This version of the Tenmile starts at Tenmile Peak and ends at Peak 5 or Peak 6 depending on the hiking party. This ridge has a lot of Class 2, 3 and 4 scrambling with the crux of the route known as The Dragon or Dragon’s back. This narrow band of rock has loads of exposure on both sides but provides some of the best scrambling I have found in this range. This route is only recommended for an experienced hiker but there are several workarounds to avoid the hardest scrambling on this route if desired.
Tenmile Traverse Quick Facts
Virtual Trail Guide: Tenmile Traverse
Tenmile Traverse Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 Stars)
Distance: 9.53 Miles RT (Starting at Tenmile Peak and ending at Peak 6) – Add 3 Miles each way if starting at lower TH.
Elevation Start: 10,546ft (Upper TH), 9,093ft (Lower TH)
Summits: 12,933ft (Tenmile Peak), 12,606ft (Peak Three), 12,872ft (Peak Four), 12,855ft (Peak Five), 12,585 (Peak Six)
Total Elevation Gain: 3,600ft
Estimated Time to Complete: 9-11 Hours
Difficulty: Difficult to Strenuous What does this mean?
Class: Class 3 – Easy to find Class 4 on this ridge as well – What does this mean?
Season: July – October – Expect snow outside of this period
Directions to Fools Peak
Trailhead: Miners Creek / Upper Miners Creek
Getting Here: From I70, take exit 203 and head towards Frisco. After about 1.5 miles, turn right onto County Commons Road. Drive for about ¼ of a mile to find the lower parking area which is very small. If you have a high clearance 4×4 vehicle, continue on. This next bit of road looks like a bike path for a bit, but rest assured, you are able to drive on it. Continue on, following signs for Miners Creek Trailhead and the road will turn to dirt. From here, the road will get rougher in areas and you have a 3.2 mile drive to the upper TH. This road starts off tough but gets much more difficult about a mile or so from the TH where a good driver in a high clearance car is necessary. The road will eventually end at a very small parking area.
Lower TH
Upper TH
Parking: For this version of the Tenmile Traverse, parking is extremely limited in both areas. The upper TH has room for maybe 5 vehicles while the lower has a similar space to park. Along the way there are also some limited pull-offs but in general, nothing that can fit more than a car or two. There are no restrooms at either TH.
Fee: There is no fee for this hike.
Summary
Dogs:I wouldn’t recommend bringing dogs on this hike – there are just far too many sections that would be extremely dangerous for them.
Camping: The Tenmile Traverse has a load of different camping options. Along the 4×4 road, there are several great spots to camp. At the TH there is also camping and along the hike before breaking off the Colorado Trail, there are also several great camping spots. Overall, you can’t really go wrong with camping here after you start driving down the 4×4 road a bit.
Make it a Loop: If you plan on doing the full version of the Tenmile Traverse, this is a way one hike. However, this variation is nice because you can make it a full lollipop loop. Starting at Tenmile Peak and ending at either Peak 5 or going on a bit further to Peak 6 as we did are both great options.
Tenmile Traverse Hike Route
Trail X Factors: The Dragon
Although the entire Tenmile Traverse has plenty of scrambling on it, the best can be found during the section we hiked and described here. The most technical part of the ridge is known as The Dragon. While many hikers traverse to the right of this section, in my mind, you can’t say you tackled this route without climbing up onto this narrow bit of rock. The Dragon is extremely narrow and exposed with lots of Class 3 and Class 4 climbing. A fall on this section would be fatal and the rock quality is not always great. As always, be sure to test every single hold before committing to a move on this section.
Hike Tip(s): When hiking the Tenmile Traverse, most of the route is very apparent. However, whether you are doing this version or the full traverse, having a GPS or a route to follow is key. Once on the ridge, you can stay directly to it for the majority of this long section except for one major notch just after Tenmile Peak. This will be extremely apparent and the only option here is to go right (west). To get the most out of this ridge scramble, stick to the ridge directly for the rest of the time though as there are several social trails that avoid the true scrambling which is just no fun in my opinion.
Best Views: Once above treeline, this is a stunning hike from start to finish.
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: 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.
Our Trip to the Tenmile Traverse: September 2021
The Tenmile Traverse, at least this version of it, had been on my list forever. After a few trips fell through, my friend Rick and I finally made it happen on a weekend in September. Thanks to him, we drove up to the upper TH shortening a condensed version of this Colorado classic.
From the upper TH, the hike was straightforward for this first mile or so. After this point, we broke off the Colorado Trail and started bushwacking towards Tenmile Peak, our first on the traverse. Route finding wasn’t a major issue and the east ridge of Tenmile Peak had some nice Class 3 scrambling by itself. Once on the summit, Rick and I got a great look at the rest of our day.
We started towards Peak 3, scrambling along the rugged ridgeline. The Fall foliage was at its peak in this part of the state – colorful leaves painting the valleys below us. After working around the major notch in the Tenmile Traverse, we climbed back up on the ridge enjoying the great rock and scrambling. The crux of the route was without a doubt The Dragon which provided the most exposure and highest class scrambling on the entire traverse (condensed version or not). The tricky part here was the downclimb which went at Class 4 and also had a lot of loose rock on its 25-30ft climb down.
We continued on the traverse, reaching Peak 4 before again descending before our climb to Peak 5. This was another fun section of rock that never went above Class 3 and provided a number of different options to tackle. The rock quality here improved a lot but it was still very slow going. Peak 5 was technically the last one we had to summit, but Rick and I were feeling good so we kept moving and tackled Peak 6. After the summit of 6, we looked forward to the rest of the true traverse and neither of us had any desire to continue so we backtracked to the Colorado Trail and headed down to the car.
The Tenmile Traverse is a classic ridge route and scramble in the Tenmile Range of Colorado for a reason. It provided an excellent mix of fun scrambling, route finding and exposure for a full value day. Perhaps the full route is in my future, but for now, I am extremely satisfied with this condensed version of this amazing ridge.
