Chief Mountain

Mount Evans

Overview

Chief Mountain is a great all-season hiking, running, snowshoeing, and skiing area. I have been to this mountain many times to hike Chief Mountain Trail as well as hiking the surrounding peaks. I have a few additional trip reports for this area including—Squaw Mountain and Papoose Mountain, Chief Mountain, Chief Mountain Trifecta, and Chief Mountain with Kristi. This is a favorite peak of mine that offers amazing views of the surrounding peaks without too much required effort to reach the summit. This was my first hike in 2019, and I’m hoping it sparks a fire for many more. I hope you enjoy this trip report and find it helpful in planning your next adventure in the hills.

Directions/TH Information

The Chief Mountain Trailhead has an approximate location at the coordinates—latitude 39.682453°, longitude -105.521032°. There is a roadside pullout located on the north side of Squaw Pass Rd, that will hold about a dozen vehicles. The parking area is near the top of the Echo Mountain Ski Area. The actual trailhead is on the south side of the road marked with a small sign. From your location make your way along I-70 W to exit 252 onto Evergreen Pkwy near Evergreen. Head south following Evergreen Pkwy till the intersection with Squaw Pass Rd, take this road heading west for approximately 15 miles to the trailhead. The parking area is small and it would not be unusual to be filled on weekend days.

Me and Nate on the summit

The Climb

Today’s objective was to get in the high country with Nate and snowshoe up Chief Mountain. This is a very familiar area to me, but still a place I love to visit. After dropping Alexa off at day care I met up with Nate at the Wooly Mammoth Parking-N-Ride (approximate location—latitude 39.700365°, longitude -105.206578°) at about 10 AM. After the drive to the trailhead we were headed up the trail by 11 AM.

The Chief Mountain Trail is approximately 1.5 miles each way, with less than 1,000-foot elevation gain. The trail has an easy grade that allows some of the most out of shape hikers (such as myself) an opportunity to climb a 11,000 foot+ peak without complete exhaustion. We started up the trail with snowshoes on, but the trail gets enough traffic that hiking boots without any traction devices would have been good enough for the climb. Once we broke out of tree line, we ditched the snowshoes and didn’t end up putting them back on for the remainder of the climb.

Squaw Mountain

The winds remained calm for the hike making the temperature quite comfortable. I was concerned with a forecast of -15° wind chill, I don’t think the actual temperature was near this thankfully. The skies were clear which gave us great views in all directions.

This was a yo-yo route, so we descended the trail of ascent. On our way down, we ran into a few groups on their way up. The trail was relatively quiet considering this was a mid-week climb, I’m certain towards the weekend the crowds flock to this area.

Parting Notes

This is a great hike in all seasons, though I think the area is best for a winter snowshoe. I was glad to get out for my first hike of 2019. The bonus of this area is its close proximity to the Denver metro area, the ease of the hike and the beautiful views. I would recommend adding Papoose and Squaw Mountains on your next trip to the area as well. Until next time, cheers!

GPS Track

Date: January 2, 2019

Trailhead Elevation: 10,731 feet

Chief Mountain: 11,699 feet

Total Elevation Gain: 886 feet

Class: 1

Distance: 2.8 miles

Moving Time: 1 hr 23 min

Stopped Time: 0 hr 45 min

Climbing Partner: Nate

GAIA GPS Link: Chief Mountain (2019-01-02)