Grizzly Peak is a high

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

summit in the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered ...

of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

of North America. Also known as Grizzly Peak D, the

thirteener In mountaineering in the United States, a thirteener (abbreviated 13er) is a mountain that exceeds above mean sea level, similar to the more familiar "fourteeners," which exceed . In most instances, "thirteeners" refers only to those peaks betwee ...

is located in

Arapaho National Forest Arapaho National Forest is a National Forest located in north-central Colorado, United States. The region is managed jointly with the Roosevelt National Forest and the Pawnee National Grassland from the United States Forest Service office in ...

, southeast by east ( bearing 129°) of

Loveland Pass Loveland Pass is a high mountain pass in north-central Colorado, at an elevation of above sea level in the Rocky Mountains of the Western United States. Background It is located on the Continental Divide in the Front Range, west of Denver on U ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, on the Continental Divide between Clear Creek and Summit counties. Its proximate

parent peak In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

Torreys Peak Torreys Peak is a mountain in the Front Range region of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. It is one of 53 fourteeners in Colorado. Its nearest major city is Denver. Torreys Peak is located along the Continental Divide, as well as the division b ...

Location and geography

Grizzly Peak sits along the Continental Divide on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The summit is located near

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

, east of the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel. The larger

Grays Peak Grays Peak is the tenth-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent fourteener is the highest summit of the Front Range and the highest point on the Continental Divide and the Conti ...

() and

() sit nearby, and the closest major town is

Silver Plume, Colorado Silver Plume is a Statutory Town located in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Silver Plume is a former silver mining camp along Clear Creek in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The federally designated Georgetown-Silver Plume ...

. It is also in close proximity to

Mount Sniktau Mount Sniktau is a high mountain summit in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The thirteener is located in Arapaho National Forest, northeast ( bearing 48°) of Loveland Pass in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United Sta ...

, which rises to at its peak. Other nearby points of interest include

Loveland Ski Area Loveland Ski Area is a ski area in the western United States, located near the town of Georgetown, Colorado. Located at the eastern portal of the Eisenhower Tunnel, Loveland is within the Arapahoe National Forest. It is one of the closest ski a ...

Breckenridge Ski Resort Breckenridge Ski Resort is an alpine ski resort in the western United States, in Breckenridge, Colorado. Just west of the Continental Divide in Summit County, it is perennially one of the most visited ski resorts in the western hemisphere. Br ...

, Keystone Ski Resort and the

Arapahoe Basin Arapahoe Basin ( ; often shortened to A-Basin, or simply The Basin) is an Alpine skiing, alpine ski area in the Rocky Mountains of the United States, in the Arapaho National Forest of Colorado. Arapahoe Basin is known for its extended ski season, ...

Climate

Other summits with same name

The state of Colorado actually has four other Grizzly Peaks and one Grizzly Mountain on record. The Grizzly Peak in Chaffee County, which sits in the

Sawatch Range The Sawatch Range or Saguache RangeThe place name "Saguache” is pronounced “Sawatch” . This name derives from the Ute language noun "''sawup''" meaning "sand dunes" and is spelled using the Spanish language version of this name "Saguac ...

, is the tallest of these. The Summit County Grizzly Peak is fourth-tallest of the mountains, and is thus also referred to as "Grizzly Peak D":

Hiking

The trail to Grizzly Peak, which allows hikers to reach the summit of the mountain by foot, is accessible immediately off of a parking lot at

on U.S. Highway 6. The

trailhead A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles. Modern trailheads often contain rest rooms, maps, sign posts and distribution centers for information ...

begins above the

treeline The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...

at about and rises to the peak, but reaching the summit does not necessarily require the use of extra mountain climbing equipment such as ropes. Visitors can also reach Mount Sniktau, a smaller peak, from the same point along Loveland Pass. From the summit, hikers can see Loveland Pass below them, plus views of nearby Chihuahua Lake and the Arapahoe Basin ski trails.

Historical names

*Grizzly Peak *Grizzly Peak D

References

External links

Grizzly Peak D on 13ers.comGrizzly Peak D on SummitPost
{{Protected areas of Colorado Mountains of Colorado Mountains of Clear Creek County, Colorado Mountains of Summit County, Colorado Arapaho National Forest North American 4000 m summits Great Divide of North America