Mount Bierstadt

Sunrise September 12, 2026

I’ve been wanting to get out on a sunrise summit, and Mount Bierstadt seemed like a great option. This is one of the easier 14ers close to home that I thought would make for a great sunrise opportunity. Back in 2012, I did a winter season climb of Mount Bierstadt, so I have familiarity with the area which was important to me for a solo sunrise hike. The trailhead for this hike is Guanella Pass, which you can use Google Maps to get directions to. This is a fully paved road, so access is easy, but parking is strictly enforced.

Given this is a Colorado 14er, there is a lot of information available to prepare for the hike. 14ers.com is, in my opinion, the best resource available if you are looking for any information on Colorado 14ers.

For this write-up, I have modified my format a bit since there is so much information available for Mount Bierstadt. I wanted to speak to my approach to sunrise summits. I’ve done sunrise summits during different seasons from winter to summer. One thing is constant, both are cold. This approach I am presenting can be applied to all seasons. But something to keep in mind, is that gear selection in highly dependent on season and conditions.

Approach to Sunrise Summits

Plan Your Route >> Do the proper research to know your intended route.

        >> Trailhead
        >> Route Length
        >> Elevation Gained
        >> Class of the Route

As mentioned before, the 14ers.com website is excellent for information gathering for Mount Bierstadt or other 14ers, as well as many 13ers. I also use GAIA GPS, and Google Earth to plan my route where I can evaluate GXP or KML tracks to get a good sense of the route beforehand.

Build a Timeline >> There is a bit that goes into this, so I have presented this in stages.

What time is sunrise? There are lot of places to look for this information, I used Map Logs, but you can get this from most weather apps. For this trip, the sunrise time was reported to be 6:41 a.m. I recommend planning to summit 30 minutes prior to sunrise. Now, I know my goal will be to summit by 6:10 a.m. 

What is your pace? Not only your pace, but the pace of those in your party. This will let you know when you need to start so you can estimate the time it will take to make the summit. For myself, I think of this in vertical feet rather than miles. I plan to average 1,000 feet per hour. Determine this rate for you and add in a buffer.

From my personal experience, my body is not used to working this hard at these hours, especially with limited sleep. Plan for challenges and do your best to adjust. I personally have a hard time eating and drinking in regular intervals on these pre-dawn hikes. Additionally, elevation may be harder for some people in your party. Consider these factors and prepare yourself mentally for these challenges, then add a time buffer of at least another half-hour to an hour to summit. For this climb, the elevation gain is reported at >2,500 feet. For my pace, I accounted for at least 2.5 hours to summit, so I added a buffer of half hour and planned for 3 hours from trailhead to summit.

How long to get to the Trailhead? This is really a two-part question. How long does it take you to wake up, get gear to your vehicle, then get on the road? Then how long is the drive to the trailhead? Plan on being a bit groggy, since you are likely running on limited sleep. Knowing that, have everything prepped, right down to the pre-brew timer on the coffee pot. I typically plan for 30 minutes to get up and on the road. Once on the road, I had planned for a 1.5-hour drive to the trailhead. I have now accounted for 2 hours for this section, from wake-up to arrive at the trailhead. The big pieces of the timeline have now come together.

Timeline Summary

• Summit time goal: 6:10 a.m.
• Hike time: 3 hours >> Leave trailhead by 3:10 a.m.
• Rise and Drive to Trailhead: 2 hours >> 1:10 a.m.

Know The Conditions >> For any hike you do, the conditions are likely the most important consideration. If summer conditions are expected, that makes things more manageable. Hopefully I have illustrated the importance of building the timeline prior to evaluating conditions. Now you will know what time you expect to be at what elevation on the route. My preferred weather forecast is to use the NOAA National Weather Service Pinpoint forecast. Here you can locate your objective and you can start to evaluate the forecast. This is how I evaluate weather using this site.

Find the peak you are going to hike on the map, where selecting it will refresh the page. Look at the Hourly Weather Forecast graph. There is a lot of data to consider: wind chill, temperature, gusts, surface wind, precipitation and more. Note the elevation for these data and relate to the timeline you have constructed - start time to summit time - to evaluate the weather patterns. For this trip, the skies were expected to be clear, with temperatures in the mid 30’s, with wind chill near freezing. You can use this information to make gear selection.

Gear >> My rule of thumb is that old line “hope for the best, but prepare for the worst”. The last thing you want is to be turned around because you did not adequately prepare for the conditions. These are my gear choices for this hike:

• Primary Gear: 30 L Pack, Trekking Poles, 1.5 L Water Bladder, Headlamp, Garmin In-Reach, First Aid Kit, Cell Phone
• Feet: Trail Shoes, Light Hiking Sock
• Legs: Alpine Pant, Belt
• Upper Body: Medium Base Layer, Fleece Hoodie, Shell Jacket, Puffy Vest
• Accessories: Beanie, Buff, Medium Fleece Gloves, Sunglasses, Ball Cap
• Fuel: Protein Bar, Trail Mix, Gummy Bears, Cookies, Coffee

Stars Over Mount Bierstadt

A lot goes into planning all of this for a sunrise hike. Once I had the route, timeline, and gear figured out I prepped everything the night before so I had an easy transition from wake-up to getting on the road.

I ended up setting my alarm to wake me at 1:30 a.m., but was woken a few minutes earlier when I heard the coffee pot had finished brewing. I zapped a pre-made breakfast burrito in the microwave, grabbed my coffee and was on the road by 1:40 a.m. The drive went by quickly. The roads were clear at this hour, but the winding road from Georgetown up to Guanella Pass could really use some paint or reflectors. In the pitch black it was hard to see your position on the road making the switchback turns. I made it to the trailhead just after 3:00 a.m. The trailhead was alive, and the lot I parked in was more than half full. I could see lots of people getting ready to head out and there were already others on route, which I could see by their headlamps. I knew there would be others, but I didn’t anticipate this much activity for an early hike like this. I quickly got ready and was on the trail just before 3:15 a.m.

I started out just wearing my base layer and beanie and wasn’t too chilled, so the temperature was reasonable and there wasn’t any wind. The start of this hike is interesting where from the trailhead, you start by dropping in elevation going through a willows section and crossing a creek. There are lots of boardwalks for what I imagine different seasons save you from a mud slog.

Headlamps on Route

My first hour covered almost 2 miles and about 800 vertical feet. I was feeling pretty good at this point, starting to gain in elevation after getting through the willows. The stars were quite amazing. I took several stops trying to capture the stars and a bit of the Milky Way. I continued on and kept monitoring my progress with the GAIA App. This second stretch was definitely getting tougher. A lot more vertical was covered with less mileage. I kept a good eye on my progress here knowing I didn’t want to be lingering around a cold summit too early before sunrise. The wind was increasing, and becoming more constant the further up the mountain I went.

My second break was at the 2-hour mark and I was at about 13,600 feet. The wind was chilling, so it was time to put on another layer - my fleece hoodie. I chatted with a gentleman from Illinois for a bit knowing I was on track with my timeline. Starting on this final stretch I started to slow the pace knowing I had lots of time, but I’m sure a lot of that was me starting to run low on energy as well. I’m horrible at re-fueling at this time of day and did not fuel up at any point from the trailhead to summit.

This third section turns to class 2, where there is a lot of boulder hopping and route finding. The glow of orange could be seen on the horizon, but it was still quite dark. Still using my headlamp, I was able to slowly navigate this section, trying to stay near what I thought was the ridge crest most of the way. I made the summit just before 6:00 a.m.

Me on the Summit

At first, I couldn’t see anyone else on the summit. There was a climber close behind me that I hadn’t noticed until I started looking all around to see if I was on the summit or not. I said “I guess this is it”, and we chuckled a bit. I pulled out my GPS and saw I was in fact on the summit. It took me about 2 hours and 45 minutes to summit. I was more than happy with that pace.

I found a spot out of the wind to sit and have a much-deserved coffee and a cookie. Sunrise itself was still more than half hour off, so it was time to pull out the puffy vest. There were soon about 15 others up there. We all had great conversations and was one of my better 14er summit experiences. The colors were changing quickly with colors of blue in-between the valleys far off to the reds and oranges of the horizon. This is an experience I wish for all of you; it really humbles you and makes you realize the beauty that is right in our backyards.

Right about sunrise it was time to gear up and start heading back. I couldn’t feel my fingers at this point, wishing I had some warmer gloves with me. I took a photo of the sunrising over the crest of Mount Blue Sky, then was back on route down the mountain. I think no matter how warm you plan for these sunrise hikes, you will still be a bit chilled, so keep that in mind if you are preparing for a similar hike.

The Sawtooth

There were hoards of people on their way up, like ants on a hill. Most of the hike down was in the shadow of the mountain, where the sun didn’t really hit me till I made it all the way down to the willows. Heading down I ran into a gentleman I chatted with on the summit and we walked the rest of the way down together talking about everything from mountains, to fly fishing, to college football. It just goes to show you never know what kind of connections you will find in the mountains.

I made it back to the trailhead about 8:45 a.m. What a great experience. I’ve only done a few sunrise hikes. This is a great mountain if you plan for this type of hike. If you’re looking for solitude, look elsewhere, you definitely won’t find that here. Even though the trail was full, I thought the people I met were fantastic. It was a really great experience, and it’s been almost seven years since I have been on a summit of a 14er, so it was nice to be back in the thin air. These types of hikes aren’t easy. Proper preparation, including the metal aspect of expected challenges, will aid in positive outcomes. I look forward to my continued efforts to get back into the mountains, and I hope those of you reading this find something here that helps you get into the mountains to have as great of an experience as I had today.

Hike Date: September 12, 2026
Starting Elevation: 11,630 feet
Mount Bierstadt Elevation: 14,062 feet
Total Ascent: 2,636 feet
Class: 2
Total Distance: 7.14 miles
Total Time: 5 hours, 28 minutes
Moving Time: 4 hours, 35 minutes
Stopped Time: 53 minutes
GAIA Link: Mount Bierstadt
*All data is tracked using the GAIA app

Windy Peak

Windy Peak is within the Golden Gate Canyon State Park, near Golden, Colorado. Bridge Creek Trailhead is the start of this hike. Google Maps app will provide you with directions to the trailhead if you enter Bridge Creek Trailhead. There are about 6 parking spots, as well as an outhouse and some picnic tables. There is additional parking in small lots along the road nearby as well. The trail itself starts just behind the outhouse.

There are a lot of trail options in this area. Using the GAIA route link I have for this hike, our approach was a counterclockwise loop hike around the peak. We started on Burro Trail, taking a side trail to the summit of Windy Peak, then returning on Mountain Lion Trail. This seemed like the ideal direction for the loop, but there are plenty of options to choose from. There are a lot of trail intersections along the way, but each has signage to help keep you on the right path.

We started around 7 a.m. After the first 0.7 mile there is a downhill section. It may seem odd to be heading downhill, but hiking this loop counterclockwise keeps you from having to do this small ascent at the end of your hike. Keep following the Burro Trail, keeping an eye on the signage at each trail intersection. This trail transitions through several different environments from open hill, to rock, to forest sections. The trail itself was quite rocky, but trail shoes are just fine for this hike.

Trailhead to summit is about 3 miles and took us about 2 hours. On our ascent we only came across one trail runner on their descent, so it was nice to have the trail to ourselves. It was quite warm being in the trees for a good portion of the hike, I was starting to wonder if Windy Peak would live up to its name. Lucky for us there was a nice breeze when we got on top, allowing us to cool down a bit. The summit itself is in the trees, but there is a nice outcrop with great views nearby.

To finish the loop, on our descent we took the Mountain Lion Trail. The first section of this is forested but soon opens up to an old access road. There were several groups heading up as we were heading down. This route worked out nicely giving us lots of space to let folks by on their way up the trail. I’d recommend this hike. It was nice to explore a new area close to Denver.

Hike Date: August 29, 2026
Starting Elevation: 7,805 feet
Windy Peak Elevation: 9,145 feet
Total Ascent: 1,514 feet
Class: 1
Total Distance: 6.28 miles
Total Time: 3 hours, 19 minutes
Moving Time: 2 hours, 59 minutes
Stopped Time: 20 minutes
Climbing Partner: Brian
GAIA Link: Windy Peak
*All data is tracked using the GAIA app

Mount Flora, Breckinridge Peak, and Colorado Mines Peak

Mount Flora from Breckinridge Peak

This is an area I like to come back to from time to time given the variety of peaks and trails. I first hiked Colorado Mines Peak in January 2013, then Mount Flora in July 2013. I came back to the area a few more times, hiking Mount Flora in October 2014, then Mount Flora and Colorado Mines Peak in January 2019. An advantage of the Berthoud Pass trailhead is the ability to access these peaks in all seasons. Fall, winter, and spring hikes are usually manageable but there may be windy and freezing conditions in those seasons that can present challenges. Lucky for us, this hike was the best weather I’ve had up here with clear morning skies and light winds.

To access Berthoud Pass from the Denver area, head up I-70W taking exit 232 onto US-40W, follow this to Berthoud Pass where there is a large parking area. In addition to the trips I previously mentioned, this trailhead is also great for access to Stanley Mountain with the route starting from the west side of the road. This is part of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), and is a popular trailhead in all seasons, so expect a lot of activity. The parking area is quite large, where there is a warming hut on the north end. The hut has pit toilets available to those that drank too much coffee on the drive up.

Drive time to the trailhead from Denver takes about an hour. We left around 5 a.m. so we could get an early start to the hike in hopes of avoiding any afternoon showers. We arrived a bit after 6 a.m., and there were about a dozen vehicles at the lot already.

The hike begins from the south end of the parking area. There is a large gate blocking an access road heading up to the top of Colorado Mines Peak where there are several structures. Follow the access road for a little less than a mile on the corner of the fourth switchback. On my GAIA route I have a point labeled CDT Split. A single-track trail starts from here and there is a sign for Mount Flora and other destinations. This trail traverses around the north of Colorado Mines Peak.

Nick on Breckinridge Peak

Other options are to continue up the access road to Colorado Mines Peak. A few more switchbacks will get you to the summit. This is the way I descended for this trip. Following my path, take the single-track trail, which will crest on the Continental Divide at about 1.6 miles from the trailhead. This is about the mid-point to the summit of Mount Flora.

My goal today was to summit Mount Flora by 8 a.m., which I’m happy to report that I was able to do. The trail is easy to follow where the crest of the ridge transitions from a dirt-based trail to broken rock. I want to note that I was comfortable with trail runners for the entirety of the trip, so boots are likely unnecessary, unless that is your preference.

Since we started so early, we were hiking directly into the sun. This was a minor disadvantage. The early start was definitely worth the cool morning and limited trail traffic. The summit area itself spans a fairly large flat area. There are many wind blocks and good places to rest. I feel like the summit cairn has changed over the years, so hitting one of the larger wind blocks was the summit for us. There were already quite a few people on the summit when we arrived, so be prepared for an active summit. If you are looking for solitude, this is not the place to go.

From the summit, it’s really choose your own adventure. It’s a great accomplishment to reach the summit of a Colorado 13er, so this could be the pinnacle of your day. Other options are to head north along the ridge to connect to Eva, Parry, Bancroft and more. Or you can choose our path which took us to Breckinridge Peak.

If your path takes you to Breckinridge, stay on the CDT dropping about 400 vertical feet where the terrain starts to level out a bit. My GAIA track has a point location where I deviated from the CDT towards the summit of Breckinridge. You will see a rock formation to head to across the tundra. This is the extent of the class 2 rating for this hike. It’s hard to tell exactly where the summit is so we walked the expanse to the east where there was a small rock cairn.

Square Top to Torrey's Peak

The views here give you a great shot of Witter Peak to the north, showing its rugged south face. There is a great loop I did years ago connecting Witter-Eva-Parry-Bancroft which I highly recommend. If you are seeking a solo summit, you will likely find that on Breckinridge, and some of these other peaks to the north. From Breckinridge’s summit, heading back is a simple yo-yo, or trace your path back.

As we were making our way back, I was feeling good, so I decided to tack on Colorado Mines Peak. On my GAIA track there is point marked Flora-CO Mines Intersect. Here there is trail that traverses over to the access road heading to the summit of Colorado Mines Peak. This adds about 230 feet of elevation gain to the route. There is a lot of structure on the summit, so more of a place to go to check a peak off your list. From the summit of Colorado Mines Peak, follow the access road back to the parking area.

This is a great area to go if you’re looking for easy access and multiple options. The area is busy, but the further you adventure from Mount Flora, the more peace you may find. It was another great day in the mountains. A great option if you are getting into hiking Colorado peaks, or for me, a great option to get back into something I love to do.

Hike Date: August 22, 2026Starting Elevation: 11,318 feet
Mount Flora Elevation: 13,124 feet
Breckinridge Peak Elevation: 12,864 feet
Colorado Mines Peak Elevation: 12,392 feet
Total Ascent: 2,319 feet
Class: 2
Total Distance: 8.89 miles
Total Time: 4 hours, 58 minutes
Moving Time: 4 hours, 11 minutes
Stopped Time: 47 minutes
Climbing Partner: Brian
GAIA Link: Flora-Breckinridge-Colorado Mines
*All data is tracked using the GAIA app

Mount Sniktau and Cupid

Mount Sniktau

It’s been a long time. Too long if you ask me since I’ve been on a mountain above tree line. I’ve been caught up in several things, but primarily the root cause is an aggregated list of excuses. Lucky for me, I have my good climbing buddy Brian, and from time to time he needs to set me straight and get me back into the mountains.

I often say that the mountains give us all an opportunity to visit old friends. Well, this hike was a bit of that and more. The first time I hiked Mount Sniktau was back in March, 2012. That trip was my first Colorado 13er. I followed that trip up with a hike of Cupid and Grizzly Peak in April, 2012. So, now it’s been 14 years since I’ve visited the summits of these old friends. The conditions of March vs August are much different, and I have to say much more comfortable.

Those of you in Colorado who drive I-70W towards the Eisenhower Tunnel get a nice look at Mount Sniktau from the freeway. This peak sticks out over the southwestern portion of the Loveland Ski Area. The hike itself starts from Loveland Pass which is just shy of 12,000 feet in elevation. This is a busy place and presents its own set of concerns with all the parked cars, people crossing the road and the traffic heading over the pass. If you intend to hike these peaks from this trail head, I highly recommend an early start. We arrived just before 6:30 a.m. and the parking area at the trailhead was already full. There is additional parking available on to the south of the pass, and this is where our hike began.

We set off from the car around 6:30 a.m. We got the pleasure of adding another .3 mile and 80 feet to our hike given our parking situation. Not bad going up in the morning, but as the cars filled in, our way back was far less comforting where we had to walk on the road at times. To put everyone’s mind at ease once you are at the trailhead, which I mark as the White River National Forest sign on the west side of Loveland Pass, there is a trail that will lead you to both of these summits. If you are up for it you can continue on to Grizzly Peak or do several variations of these peaks. I’m not certain if there is an official name for this trail, but the southern portion is labeled as Grizzly Peak Trail on the GAIA Topo Map.

Torreys, Grays and Grizzly from Cupid

I joked with Brian when he suggested this hike, calling it the “stairway to heaven”. I think he soon found out what I meant. There is no warm-up, you get right to gaining elevation. From the trailhead to cresting the ridge is about 900 vertical feet in about a mile. I believe a lot of visitors do this as an acclimation hike if they come here to climb 14ers. Whatever you are here for this certainly is a nice way to get the blood flowing early in the day, and nothing beats a slow steady pace.

From the ridge crest, follow the trail heading to the north. You will gain one false summit before reaching the true Mount Sniktau summit. This section has less vertical gain, approximately 350 feet in just under a mile, but this is all at elevation which presents its own challenges. In the Front Range you will be hard pressed to find a much better view, especially if you are out hiking on a blue-sky day like we had. You are surrounded by the giants of the Rocky Mountains. I love it. It really brings you back, when you are on these summits, to each of the climbs of these surrounding peaks. A great motivator to get back into the game.

Nick and Brian on Mount Sniktau

We saw a fair number of people along the way, but somehow Brian and I were able to have the summit to ourselves for a bit, which is a true treat for a Saturday morning in Colorado. I had an initial goal of summiting in an hour and half, and was able to meet that goal, so I was very pleased with how my body reacted given I have been out of this game for quite some time.

We didn’t linger too long since we wanted to get over to Cupid. On our way towards Cupid, there were droves of people on the way up Sniktau, maybe 30-40, so just a reminder of how important that early start is. It didn’t take us long to get back down to where we crested the ridge earlier. From there, there is a quick drop of about 200 feet then a gain of about 400 feet. This seemed to go pretty quick and before we knew it, we were on the summit of Cupid and is was only 9:20 a.m.

The Grizzly Mountain Trail skirts around the Cupid summit, so you will need to head off trail for a bit to truly claim the high point. Most people are heading towards Grizzly, so here we had another summit to ourselves. We could have been adventurous and headed off towards Grizzly, but it’s important to ease into these mountains if you have been away for a while. I look forward to coming back with Brian so he can summit Grizzly on a future hike.

Trail Junction

For the way back, there is a trail that cuts across the southwest face of our initial ridge crest point from earlier. This was nice, allowing us to skip the additional gain and descent. There are large cairns that mark the trail junction on the ridge as well as on the junction on the main trail for to Mount Sniktau.

The descent went far better than I anticipated. I chose to use my Topo Athletic trail shoes with gaiters, and both worked really well. I enjoyed not having my big boots on and the gaiters helped keep rocks out of my shoes. Trekking poles were also a big bonus on this descent. All in all, a great gear selection for this hike.

We finished the hike around 10:30 a.m. A great 4-hours in the mountains and we were able to summit two Colorado 13ers. I liked that I had not previously hiked these peaks together, but I absolutely didn’t mind visiting my old friends again. Hopefully this is a start to get me back in the mountains more consistently. Either way what a great way to feel alive! Happy trails everyone.

Hike Date: August 1, 2026
Starting Elevation: 11,897 feet
Mount Sniktau Elevation: 13,242 feet
Cupid Elevation: 13,112 feet
Total Ascent: 1,716 feet
Class: 1
Total Distance: 5.58 miles
Total Time: 4 hours, 3 minutes
Moving Time: 3 hours, 22 minutes
Stopped Time: 40 minutes
Climbing Partner: Brian
GAIA Link: Mount Sniktau and Cupid
*All data is tracked using the GAIA app