Humbolt Peak is the easiest 14er in the Sangre De Cristo’s, though that doesn’t always make it easy. It also provides great views of the range and the Crestone Peak/Needle its 14er neighbors. Starting at the official trailhead, at the gate in the road, begin hiking on a good trail all the way to the South Colony Lakes.

From here it gets steeper as you then begin the hike up to Humbolt’s West Ridge. As you approach the summit the trail thins out, and can be hard to locate. In general, stay on the ridge proper and look for cairns and trail segments. Stay to the right as you continue climb the ridge and get to ~.25 miles from the summit. From there stay to the right and mostly follow the easiest path until you reach the summit proper.

Class: 2.Most of this hike is on a well-maintained and easy to follow trail. However, as you climb on the West Ridge the trail can be more difficult to follow, putting it into class 2. In general stay to the right of the ridge and look for trail segments/cairns. The final summit push is also class 2 as you pick through some rocky sections for the best route.

Trailhead/Parking: This route as shown begins at the trailhead, which is only accessible with a high clearance 4x4 vehicle. The lower trailhead, that is accessible to all vehicles, is 2.7 miles further down the road. The stats for the hike are:

Lower 2 wheel drive parking lot: 16.5 miles rt, 5,350 feet of elevation gain

Upper 4 wheel drive Trailhead: ~11 miles rt, 4,200 feet of elevation gain