Byers Peak Wilderness Trails

Byers Peak Wilderness Trails

Don’t be fooled by the seemingly small size of the Byers Peak Wilderness. Byers peak is contiguous with the Vasquez Peak Wilderness (both designated in 1993), separated only by the undeveloped headwaters of the Fraser Experimental Forest. The Williams Fork–Ptarmigan Peak Roadless Area lies directly to the south, the only barriers being a power line and a water diversion pipeline. So in truth, Byers Peak is one small piece of a larger 100,000-acre roadless complex. About half of Byers Peak consists of alpine tundra, and in that fact lies the great attraction of the area. The St. Louis divide trail traverses the entire length of the wilderness, from bottle pass to St. Louis peak, with hardly a dip below treeline. There simply is no finer alpine ridge hiking to be found than in Byers Peak. Coupled with its relative obscurity, Byers Peak makes a choice alternative to other heavily used wilderness areas, such as Indian Peaks and Eagles Nest. What Byers Peak may lack in the divine beauty of those areas’ glaciated valleys and serrated peaks it makes up for in high-quality wilderness solitude as well as several scenic lakes. This Trail Guide includes descriptions of Byers Peak, Horseshoe Lake, Lake Evelyn, Bottle Pass to St. Louis Creek, and Bottle Pass to Berthoud Pass.

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