Wilson Peak is a mountain peak in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. It is located in the

Lizard Head Wilderness The Lizard Head Wilderness is a wilderness area in southwest Colorado. It contains and is jointly managed by the Uncompahgre and San Juan National Forests. It is southwest of the town of Telluride and is named for a prominent rock formation ...

of the

Uncompahgre National Forest Uncompahgre National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering 955,229 acres (1,492.55 sq mi, or 3,865.68 km2) in (in descending order of land area) parts of Montrose, Mesa, San Miguel, Ouray, Gunnison, Hinsdale, San Juan, and Delta ...

, in the northwestern

San Juan Mountains The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry ...

. It is the highest point in San Miguel County, and the highest point of the Wilson massif, which includes nearby Mount Wilson and

El Diente Peak El Diente Peak is a high summit in the San Juan Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The peak is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness of San Juan National Forest, north by east ( bearing 8°) of the Town of Rico in Dolo ...

. The mountain was named for A.D. Wilson, the chief topographer with the

Hayden Survey Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (September 7, 1829 – December 22, 1887) was an American geologist noted for his pioneering surveying expeditions of the Rocky Mountains in the late 19th century. He was also a physician who served with the Union A ...

. Nearby Mount Wilson also honors him. The original indigenous name for the mountain was Shandoka, which translates to "Storm Maker", a reference to the peak's effect on local weather patterns.

Geography

Wilson Peak is in the western part of the

. The western San Juans are also known as the

San Miguel Mountains The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry o ...

or the Wilson Massif. Two additional fourteen thousand foot peaks are within of its summit: Mount Wilson () and

(). Gladstone Peak () is located on the ridge between Wilson Peak and Mount Wilson.

Recreation

Wilson Peak is climbed by hundreds each year, primarily in summer months, but winter ascents are not unusual and sometimes serve as the beginning of

backcountry skiing Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, freeriding or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine s ...

descents. Summer ascents of the peak are considered Class 3 technical climbs, meaning that scrambling over rock is required (with hand holds being used for balance) and ropes typically not employed. The easiest route begins at the Rock of Ages Trailhead (elevation ) located west of

Telluride, Colorado Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County, Colorado, San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River (Colorado), San M ...

. Forest Trail 429 climbs southeast through Silver Pick Basin to the Rock of Ages Saddle (between Silver Pick and Navajo Basins) at . Forest Trail 408 is then followed east to on the saddle between Gladstone and Wilson Peaks before the ridge is climbed northeast to the summit. Round trip distance is .

Access issues

Access to Wilson Peak has historically been difficult and intermittent due land ownership issues and the presence of historical mining claims across the mountain. Texas property developer Rusty Nichols owns a 300-acre parcel of land on the mountain and in 2005 barred access to his land and blocked the only non-technical route to the summit. In 2004 and 2006 hikers were charged $100 to climb the mountain. In 2007, the

Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

announced they had secured access to Wilson Peak for the public after purchasing 230 acres of land from Nichols. Despite this, access issues to the peak remained. In 2009, Nichols reportedly threatened climbers who were returning from the summit on Wilson Peak with trespassing charges or alternatively, to issue a

mea culpa ''Mea culpa'' () is a phrase of Latin origin that means ''my fault'' or ''my mistake'', and is an acknowledgment of having done wrong. The expression is also used as an admission of having made a mistake that should have been avoided and, in a ...

by means of an advertisement in the local newspaper. In 2011, the peak was reportedly open again. In 2015, access to the mountain was reportedly secured for the public.

Incidents

Despite its popularity, hikers to Wilson Peak should exercise caution when navigating trails. In September 2006, a small plane carrying three passengers and a pilot crashed into Wilson Peak, killing all onboard. In September 2024, 53-year old experienced hiker Herbert Wise was fatally injured when he fell 300–400 feet from Wilson Peak's Rock of Ages trail.

In popular culture

The stately and classically mountainous profile of Wilson Peak as viewed from the East and North has led to its use as a symbol of rugged mountains in advertising. Wilson Peak features prominently in many

television advertisements Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

for

Coors Brewing Company The Coors Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company based in Golden, Colorado, that was founded in 1873. In 2005, Adolph Coors Company, the holding company that owned Coors Brewing, merged with Molson, Inc. to become Molson Coor ...

which is located in

Golden, Colorado Golden is a home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the 2020 United States census. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Moun ...

. The

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...

automobile corporation also often uses Wilson Peak as a backdrop in its television commercials, particularly in advertisements for its off-road models. Because of its proximity to

, many local companies and festivals use images of Wilson Peak in the advertising to convey the beauty and mountainous nature of the area. Wilson Peak is featured prominently in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

's movie ''

The Hateful Eight ''The Hateful Eight'' is a 2015 American western thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, and Bruce De ...

''.

References

External links

*
Traditional Route, with discussion of private land restrictionsWilson Peak on Distantpeak.comA gallery of photographs of Wilson PeakTopographic mapAccess and Preservation Project for Wilson Peak
{{Colorado San Juan Mountains (Colorado) Mountains of San Miguel County, Colorado Fourteeners of Colorado Uncompahgre National Forest