![]() ![]() The seven-mile round-trip hike to the lake is just awesome – in the summer you will find some of the best displays of wildflowers in the basin below the lake. I don’t recommend that – you don’t want to tear the oil pan off the bottom of your engine. You would be well-advised to have a high-clearance vehicle to drive this short stretch, although I have seen people drive regular passenger cars here. Shelf Lake Trailhead – This moderately strenuous hike to a beautiful lake starts on the Geneva Creek Road just two miles off the Guanella Pass Road. The trailheads for two of these hikes are along or just a short distance from the scenic Guanella Pass Road (one of Colorado’s Scenic Byways). While much of this fine wilderness is in Clear Creek County to the north, some of our favorite hiking places can best be reached from trailheads that are located in Park County, so we want to include them here. Major Trails and Hiking Areas Mount Evans Wilderness So we will confine the following discussion mostly to the north and west sides. Meanwhile, the southern portion of the county, while very scenic, is defined more by lower forested mountains which are not of major consequence in terms of hiking destinations. I have hiked here several times and have rarely seen other hikers. In my opinion, the long hike to Twin Cones is not very exciting and not worth the effort to make the hike which is mostly in the trees. Hiking trails are far and few between and this is generally not a very popular hiking area. The northeastern segment is defined by the Kenosha Mountains, the spine of which is largely above the tree line but does not rise much above 12,000 feet in elevation, the highest being the Twin Cones Peaks. The northwestern boundary of the county is defined by the Continental Divide and features a few high peaks over 13,000 feet, but they are not high on the list of popular summits. This is one of my favorite places to hike in Park County since it is so rarely visited. At the southern end of the range is the pristine Buffalo Peaks Wilderness, which extends into adjacent Chaffee County and the San Isabel National Forest. But that doesn’t detract from the appeal of these mountains – they are among the most popular in Colorado. Most of the Mosquito Range is not in a wilderness area since there is lots of private property along with active mining claims. This is where you will find five fourteeners as well as many other high peaks exceeding 13,000 feet in elevation. The western boundary of the county is framed by a high wall of mountains known as the Mosquito Range. Then there is some fine river fishing to be found here – the South Platte River is renowned for its Gold Medal waters.īut for those of us that come here for hiking, there is plenty from which to choose. Of course many of them have small huts or tent shelters on the ice, which gets mighty thick here in winter. Yes, this place gets frightfully cold when the wind whips across the treeless terrain – yet they are out there ice-fishing. Avid anglers even brave the winter cold here just to catch trophy trout. Three large reservoirs (Antero, Spinney Mountain and Eleven Mile), all in South Park, are perennial favorites for catching large trout. Visitors will also find three state parks (Eleven Mile, Spinney Mountain and Staunton) and a number of scenic byways and long-distance trails, including parts of the Colorado Trail and the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.įor those who are fishing addicts, Park County offers perhaps some of the finest fishing venues in the Colorado Rockies. There are parts of two national forests ( Pike National Forest and San Isabel National Forest) and three designated wilderness areas ( Mount Evans, Buffalo Peaks and Lost Creek). But there is more to this beautiful county than mountains. But the surrounding peaks beckon with their many opportunities for hiking and climbing. This means mountains, despite the fact that South Park – the huge flat valley in the center of the county – is anything but mountainous. With a mean elevation of 9,572 feet, Park County is the ninth-highest county in the United States. South Park and Mosquito Range from Kenosha Pass Recreation in Park County The county has 136 named mountains, with Mount Lincoln the highest and most prominent. ![]() An interesting way to see this place for the first time is to drive south from the Denver area on U.S Highway 285 - as you emerge on the top of Kenosha Pass, you will get an amazing view of much of this valley with the stunning backdrop of the Mosquito Range on its western edge, which includes five fourteeners. These are mostly treeless expanses of grasslands that are typically used for grazing and limited farming. In Colorado, there are several such valleys, which are called “parks”. ![]() The South Park area is essentially a large valley surrounded by mountains, the highest ones located at the western boundary of the county. ![]()
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