Indian Peaks Wilderness Trails

Indian Peaks Wilderness Trails

Serrated ridges and jagged peaks characterize the Indian Peaks Wilderness. The range is easily identifiable from the Denver area, its sawtooth profile running south from massive, blocky longs peak to the rounded hump of James Peak. The granite peaks, a continuation of a mountainous landscape that begins in rocky mountain national park, owe their dramatic sculpted form to the action of glaciers. Indian Peaks contains a handful of remnant glaciers, considered by some to be the southernmost permanent glaciers in North America. Below these ice fields, most valleys contain other glacial remnants—turquoise lakes that formed in moraines (rock debris left by retreating glaciers) or in depressions created as glaciers scoured rock and earth. Nearly 50 such lakes dot the Indian Peaks, many just a short distance from readily accessible trailheads. Fall brings with it a striking display of golden and crimson colors as willows and tundra grasses highlight the stark gray peaks of the range. Snowfall can occur year-round in these high and wild crags, but autumn particularly offers good chances for a snow dusting that accentuates the form and rigor of the peaks. Below timberline, forests of spruce and fir line the valleys, giving way to lodgepole pine on the range’s flanks. Pockets of aspen occur here and there, and the nearby peak-to-peak scenic highway is a favorite of those seeking the vibrant colors of changing aspen leaves. This trail guide includes descriptions of Lake Isabelle, Mount Audubon, Jasper Lake, Roaring Fork, Buchanan Pass/Pawnee Pass, Hessie/Rollins Pass/Devils Thumb, and Rainbow Lakes to Arapaho Pass to Pawnee Pass.

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