Steve's favorite rides - Mount Evans
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Scenic Ride
Mount Evans, CO
Ride to an elevation of 14,150 ' |
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Snapshot:
General description: The 28-mile (28 miles from Idaho Springs,
85 miles from High Country Harley-Davidson) Mount Evans Highway,
the nation's highest paved road and a national forest scenic
byway, climbs from Idaho Springs to the boulder-strewn 14,264-foot summit
of Mount Evans.
Special attractions: Camping, picnicking, fishing, rock climbing,
wildlife observation, spring skiing, hiking,
bristlecone pines, scenic views.
Location: Central Colorado
Ride route names: Mount Evans Highway, Colorado Highways 103
and 5
Travel season: Summer only. The road to the summit, Colorado
Highway 5, usually opens to Summit Lake by Memorial Day and all the
way to the summit by late June. The road closes on Labor Day. The lower
elevation highway is open year-round.
Camping: 2 national forest campgrounds -- 11-site West Chicago
Creek and 18-site Echo Lake -- Camp along the ride.
Maps, maps and MORE maps: (click on each for a larger view)
See a detailed direction listing
and a map of the entire route from High Country Harley-Davidson here:
Hwy 52, to Hwy 119, to Hwy 93, to Hwy 6, to I70, to Hwy 103, to Hwy
5.
Mount Evans Description
(The following paragraphs were adapted from the FalconGuide "Scenic
Driving Colorado" by Stewart Green.)
“The ride: Colorado's Front Range lifts its snow-flecked peaks high
above the parched eastern plains. The
sawtoothed mountains cut across the horizon, the old, sturdy summits
etched against an azure sky. While the procession of seasons alters
the mountain garb -- carpets of summer wildflowers, emerald green forests
in spring, aspen leaves that flutter like newly minted gold coins in
autumn, and winter's blanket of dazzling snow -- the peaks seem unchanging,
silent, and even aloof with the passage of endless measures of time.
The Front Range escarpment fronting the prairie is dominated by three
massive peaks that lift bulky shoulders above their neighbors -- Pikes
Peak, Longs Peak, and Mount Evans”.
“Mount Evans, rising to 14,264 feet, is Denver's mountain. It's always
visible from the city streets -- glistening in the sun like an alabaster
castle or its ridges obscured by windswept clouds. Its conspicuous presence
is a reminder that out there, beyond the urban gridlock, is a wild,
wonderful world waiting to be explored. The twenty-eight-mile-long Mount
Evans scenic ride, a National Forest Scenic Byway, explores this lofty
peak. The paved highway, beginning off Interstate 70 in Idaho Springs,
twists and winds up canyons and across ridges, passes ancient bristlecone
pine forests and clear alpine lakes, and ends with spectacular views
that encompass all of central Colorado.”
“The
road to Mount Evans' summit, CO 5, is open only in summer from Memorial
Day to Labor Day. The lower ride section above Idaho Springs is open
year-round. The summer weather on Mount Evans, like any high Colorado
peak, is fickle. Expect clear skies in the morning and clouds and possible
thunderstorms in the afternoon. Temperatures range from the eighties
at Idaho Springs to the thirties atop the mountain. Snow, below-freezing
temperatures, and high winds can occur on any summer day. Be prepared
by bringing warm clothes, including long pants and a rain coat. Beware
of lingering on the summit or high ridges during lightning storms. The
road surface can be slick with rain, snow, and ice during and after
storms -- ride cautiously. Many visitors will experience altitude sickness
from the quick elevation gain. The rarefied air offers less oxygen than
lower elevations. The best remedy is to descend from the upper heights”.
“The scenic ride begins at Exit 240 on I-70 in Idaho Springs thirty
miles west of Denver. Idaho Springs, at 7,540 feet, stretches along
narrow Clear Creek Canyon among dry, steep-walled mountains. Idaho Springs
was the site of Colorado's first important gold strike. In January of
1865, George Jackson, a prospector and cousin to scout Kit Carson, descended
Chicago Creek alone on a hunting trip. He camped at the confluence of
Chicago Creek and Clear Creek just south of today's Exit 240 and kept
warm with a campfire. The next morning he "removed the embers and
panned out eight treaty cups of dirt, and found nothing but fine colors;
with one cup I got a nugget of gold." Jackson marked his claim
and returned later in the spring to pan out thousands of dollars worth
of gold and the stampede was on. Miner Street in Idaho Springs quickly
became a wall-to-wall tent city with a population of twelve thousand.
Its less-populous eastern neighbor Denver had only two thousand residents.
The placer deposits were soon exhausted, but the discovery of rich ore
veins in the surrounding metamorphic gneiss and schist rock kept the
town alive. In 1868 the local hot springs began attracting health-seeking
tourists and Idaho Springs discovered new wealth as a spa. Visitors
still come to Idaho Springs to soak in the hot springs as well as to
visit downtown Idaho Springs, a registered National Historic District
dotted with picturesque Victorian homes and buildings. The town is also
the gateway to central Colorado's ski areas. A good backroad ride heads
eight miles north from town up Russell Gulch to Central City. This twisting
road, nicknamed the Oh My God Road, follows the treacherous old trail
between the two mining camps”.
“The ride begins by turning south on CO 103 from I-70. Arapaho National
Forest's Clear Creek Ranger Station sits just south of the highway junction.
The visitor center here, open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. between Memorial
Day and Labor Day, dispenses forest maps, an offering of guidebooks,
and free information about the national forest and surrounding communities.
The highway runs southwest up
Chicago Creek in a deep, broad canyon. Groves of juniper and thickets
of mountain mahogany and skunkbush line the dry, south-facing slopes,
while mature ponderosa pines lift stately crowns above the moister,
north-facing hillsides. As the road climbs, the forest changes, with
ponderosas lining the northern walls and dense fir and spruce forest
shrouding the southern slopes. Willows and aspen groves line the tumbling
creek. Numerous houses and abandoned mines lie along Chicago Creek”.
“After 6.5 miles the highway turns south from Chicago Creek and begins
climbing steep, wooded slopes above the creek. Forest Road 188 continues
up West Chicago Creek three miles to eleven-site West Chicago Creek
Campground. The scenic ride, with steep grades and sharp curves, ascends
past Chicago Forks and Ponder Point picnic areas. Ponder Point, perched
above a hairpin turn, offers the first view of Mount Evans to the southwest.
The road continues climbing and by thirteen miles reaches
Echo Lake and the Echo Lake Picnic Area at 10,600 feet. Scenic Echo
Lake, part of Denver's city park system, is a popular stopover for picnickers
and anglers. The road bends southeast from the lake and a half-mile
later reaches the junction of Colorado highways 103 and 5. The scenic
ride turns west here on CO 5. Echo Lake Lodge, a large three-story log
building, sits at the intersection. The lodge, opening in 1927, has
been a hunting lodge, brothel, Army winter survival base in World War
II, and is now a popular restaurant. Arapaho National Forest's eighteen-site
Echo Lake Campground sits south of the lodge. This wooded campground
makes an excellent overnight stopover for highway travelers”.
“The scenic ride turns west at the campground and lodge on CO 5. The
roadway narrows and begins sharply ascending through a thick subalpine
forest on the northern slopes of Goliath Peak, a 12,216-foot spur of
Mount Evans. Lodgepole pine, a straight tree favored by Indians for
teepee poles, dominates the forest, along with subalpine fir and Engelmann
spruce. After a couple miles the highway swings onto
Goliath Peak's southern slope and marvelous views begin to unfold
of the surrounding lower mountains and valleys. Here at treeline, at
an elevation just above 11,000 feet, grows a limber pine and bristlecone
pine woodland, one of Colorado's most unique forests. These trees, unable
to compete with the vigorous spruce, fir, and pine forests of lower
elevations, thrive on exposed rocky slopes at timberline with high winds,
long snowy winters, and fierce temperature ranges. The twisted, windswept
bristlecones, among Colorado's oldest living trees, are over one thousand
years old. A parking area allows hikers to explore the bristlecone forest.
The bristlecone forest and the alpine tundra on Goliath Peak are protected
by the Mount Goliath Natural Area, a 160-acre preserve that spreads
across the rounded mountain”.
“The highway switchbacks and climbs north past timberline onto Goliath
Peak's north slopes. A roadside pullout allows marvelous views northward
to the snow-covered Continental Divide. Echo Lake glistens far below
amid the forest. The road edges westward and after a mile-and-a-half
crosses a 12,152-foot saddle just west of Goliath Peak. The Alpine Garden
Trail begins at a small parking area here. This half-mile loop explores
the alpine tundra and lichen-covered boulders”.
“This site is an outstanding example of the land above the trees, a
land of punishing climatic extremes. Driving up the highway to this
airy garden is like taking a compressed journey to northern Alaska beyond
the Arctic Circle. Indeed, Colorado's tundra shares many of the same
plants found in the Arctic as well as a similar climate with a brief
growing season -- few frost-free nights, fierce winds, shallow soils,
and humidity so low that the land is a high-altitude desert. Primitive
plants -- lichens and mosses -- dot the granite boulders, while dwarfed,
slow-growing perennials hug the ground and avoid the desiccating wind.
The alpine sunflower, the largest plant found here, is full grown at
six inches high. Other flowers include alpine avens, bistorts, alpine
forget-me-nots, alpine phlox, and snow buttercups. These delicate alpine
plant communities are extremely sensitive to disturbance, sometimes
taking centuries to recover. Stay on the trail and don't pick any flowers.
The Mount Goliath Trail also begins at the parking area and drops 1.1
miles down through bristlecone pines and subalpine firs to the Mount
Evans road”.
“The highway runs west for a few miles along the southern slopes of
13,391-foot Rogers Peak and 13,291-foot Mount Warren, high points on
a long spur ridge of Mount Evans. The shelf-like road swings across
the top of a huge glacier-carved cirque. Far below at timberline, nestled
behind a glacial moraine, lies Lincoln Lake. Deep snow drifts and cornices
line this road section in early summer. Past the lake the ride traverses
gentler tundra and willow-clad slopes on Summit Lake Flats before arriving
at 12,850-foot Summit Lake. This alpine lake, tucked into a lofty, cliff-rimmed
basin scoured by glaciers, is the gem of Denver's mountain park system.
After the ice melts off the lake in July, the Colorado Division of Wildlife
stocks it with cutthroat trout for anglers. Picnickers and hikers also
enjoy this scenic alpine lake. A short hike northeast from the parking
area leads to a divide and a magnificent view down the glaciated, U-shaped
valley of Chicago Creek”.
“The highway begins its final ascent of Mount Evans from Summit Lake.
The road bends abruptly south and begins switchbacking up steep, bouldery
slopes for five miles to the summit. This final section of highway reached
Mount Evans' summit on October 10, 1930. Work began on the road at Echo
Lake in 1922. Mount Evans, originally named Rosalie by pioneer painter
Albert Bierstadt in 1863 for his wife, was renamed in 1895 for John
Evans, Colorado's second territorial governor”.
Mountain
goats and
bighorn sheep often graze along the ride's upper sections. The introduced
goats thrive on Mount Evans, with the herd numbering about sixty. A
few hunting licenses are sold each year to cull the population. Visitors
are asked not to feed or molest the seemingly tame, roadside mountain
goats. A Division of Wildlife study indicates that those goats fed by
humans produce less offspring and have thinner coats. Other above-timberline
wildlife includes pikas,
marmots,
and white-tailed ptarmigan. The ptarmigan changes the color of its plumage
to fit the season -- brilliant white in winter and mottled brown in
summer”.
“The Mount Evans Highway corridor, from Echo Lake to the summit, is
surrounded by the 74,401-acre Mount Evans Wilderness Area. This wilderness,
spread across parts of Arapaho and Pike national forests, encompasses
both Mount Evans and neighboring 14,060-foot Mount Bierstadt, an almost
pristine swath of alpine country, and deep canyons and ridges matted
with dense woodlands”.
“After slowly switchbacking up Mount Evans' southeast flank, the highway
and scenic
ride reaches its end at a parking lot at 14,150 feet. A short trail
climbs north to the peak's rocky 14,264-foot summit. The parking area
is small and may be filled on busy weekend days. Restrooms and the burned
remains of the
old Crest House are found at road's end. Nearby sits the University
of Denver's High Altitude Laboratory for research in astronomy, physiology,
weather, and biochemistry. There is a twenty-four-inch telescope in
the observatory”.
"The view from atop Mount Evans is breathtaking. Visibility
on clear days reaches almost two hundred miles. To the west towers
Mount Bierstadt's summit pyramid, and beyond stretches the Continental
Divide, the nation's backbone that separates the Pacific and Atlantic
watersheds. The famed Mount of the Holy Cross and the rounded
summits of the Sawatch Range, including 14,431-foot Mount Elbert,
Colorado's high point, run across the horizon. South Park, an
immense intermontane basin, spreads between snowy ranges to the
southwest. Pikes Peak lifts its bulk in the southern sky, framed
by the distant Wet Mountains and the jagged ridge of the Sangre
de Cristo Range. The high summits of Rocky Mountain National Park
loom to the north, while the limitless, tawny prairie stretches
east from Denver's glimmering streets to a flat Kansas horizon”. |
“
The view from atop Mount Evans is breathtaking. Visibility on clear
days reaches almost two hundred miles. To the west towers Mount Bierstadt's
summit pyramid, and beyond stretches the Continental Divide, the nation's
backbone that separates the Pacific and Atlantic watersheds. The famed
Mount of the Holy Cross and the rounded summits of the Sawatch Range,
including 14,431-foot Mount Elbert, Colorado's high point, run across
the horizon. South Park, an immense intermontane basin, spreads between
snowy ranges to the southwest. Pikes Peak lifts its bulk in the southern
sky, framed by the distant Wet Mountains and the jagged ridge of the
Sangre de Cristo Range. The high summits of Rocky Mountain National
Park loom to the north, while the limitless, tawny prairie stretches
east from Denver's glimmering streets to a flat Kansas horizon”.
For more information: Arapaho National Forest, 240 W. Prospect Road,
Fort Collins, CO 80526, (970) 498-1100. Clear Creek District Ranger,
101 Chicago Creek, P.O. Box 3307, Idaho Springs, CO 80452, (970) 567-2901.
Idaho Springs Visitor Center, 2200 Miner Street, P.O. Box 97, Idaho
Springs, CO 80452, (970) 567-4382.
The previous paragraphs were adapted from the FalconGuide
"Scenic Driving Colorado" by Stewart Green.
Mount Evans is Managed by the Clear Creek Ranger Station:
303-567-3000 (8:00am to 5:00pm).
special thanks to
www.MountEvans.com
WebMaster's note: This is an excellent ride for a hot
day. It may be 90+ degrees in Longmont/Denver area, but at 14,150 feet
it will likely be in mid 40 degree area, please dress accordingly.
