Discover 6 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Sangre de Cristo Wilderness (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Willow Lake, Humboldt Peak, and Crestone Needle. Also, be sure to include Crestone Peak in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Sangre de Cristo Wilderness (Colorado).
Table of Contents
Willow Lake
Lake in Colorado. Willow Lake, also known as the lower Willow Creek Lake, is an alpine lake in Saguache County, Colorado, United States, located in the Sangre de Cristo Range within the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness in Rio Grande National Forest. The lake is accessed from the Willow Lake Trail at the South Crestone Lake Trailhead east of Crestone, Colorado. Willow Lake is directly north of Challenger Point and south of Mount Adams. Willow Creek is both the inflow and outflow to the lake, and there are waterfalls at both lake's inflow and outflow.[1]
Humboldt Peak
Mountain in Colorado. Humboldt Peak is a high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 14,070-foot fourteener is located in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, 11.9 miles south-southwest of the Town of Westcliffe in Custer County, Colorado, United States.
The Crestones are a cluster of high summits in the Sangre de Cristo Range, comprising Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, Kit Carson Peak, Challenger Point, Humboldt Peak, and Columbia Point.
The mountain was named in honor of German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt.[2]
Crestone Needle
Mountain in Colorado. Crestone Needle is a high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 14,203-foot fourteener is located 6.9 miles east-southeast of the Town of Crestone in Saguache County, Colorado, United States. The Crestones are a cluster of high summits in the Sangre de Cristo Range, comprising Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, Kit Carson Peak, Challenger Point, Humboldt Peak, and Columbia Point. They are usually accessed from common trailheads.[3]
Crestone Peak
Summit in Colorado. Crestone Peak is the seventh-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent 14,300-foot fourteener is the highest summit of the Crestones and the second-highest summit in the Sangre de Cristo Range after Blanca Peak. The summit is located in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness of Rio Grande National Forest, 5.0 miles east by south of the Town of Crestone in Saguache County, Colorado, United States.
Crestone Peak rises 7,000 feet (2,100 m) above the east side of the San Luis Valley. It shares its name with the nearby Crestone Needle, another fourteener of the Crestones. The Crestones are a cluster of high summits in the Sangre de Cristo Range, comprising Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, Kit Carson Peak, Challenger Point, Humboldt Peak, and Columbia Point. They are usually accessed from common trailheads.[4]
Mount Adams
Mountain in Colorado. Mount Adams is a high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 13,937-foot thirteener is located in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, 5.1 miles east by north of the Town of Crestone, Colorado, United States, on the drainage divide separating San Isabel National Forest and Custer County from Rio Grande National Forest and Saguache County.[5]
Crestones
The Crestones are a group of four 14,000 foot peaks in the Sangre de Cristo Range above Crestone, central southern Colorado, comprising:
Snow is usually mostly melted by early July. Climbers can expect afternoon rain, hail, and lightning from the seasonal monsoon in late July and August.[6]