Gunnison National Forest

The Gunnison River was once one of the wildest in the West, draining a huge swath of central Colorado’s high country and carving deep gorges, including Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Dams and water diversions have tamed the Gunnison, but luckily visitors can explore her massive basin in this namesake National Forest.

On its west side, the forest begins high on the craggy peaks of the Continental Divide and slopes downhill into the Gunnison Basin. West of the Divide is Taylor Park Reservoir, constructed in 1936. This popular recreation area offers 2,000 acres of boating, fishing and other water sports, in a large valley that can only be described as stunning. In summer, this area can be reached from the east via Cottonwood Pass, a drive worth it for the views alone.

Farther west, the forest stretches into the beautiful Elk Mountains around the ski town of Crested Butte. These are the ancestral Rockies, ancient and crumbling one stone at a time. Hikers can embark on innumerable day trips in this area, as well as longer adventures into the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. You can even hike to Aspen in a day, though most who do so arrange a shuttle car or pay for one. Four-wheel-drive enthusiasts and mountain bikers can reach Aspen via Pearl Pass. In the 1970s, riders on this trek helped invent the sport of mountain biking.

Heading west even further, the forest spreads into the massive West Elk Wilderness, home of The Castles, a collection of spires that looks like a fortress on a hill. This is untamed country. The forest ends where the hills give way to the town of Paonia.

Once winter sets in, Kebler Pass closes and most of these mountains become inaccessible but for lengthy ski or snowshoe trips. Two exceptions: Mount Crested Butte, known for some of the scariest and steepest in-bounds terrain in Colorado; and Irwin Guides, a snow cat, backcountry ski operation.

To the south, the National Forest forms a crescent from the rustic town of Lake City northeast to Monarch Pass, through the La Garitas, a sub-range of the San Juan Mountains. The mountains give way to the Cochetopa Hills, one of the lowest stretches of the Divide in Colorado. Hikers on the Colorado Trail often describe this as one of the most boring stretches of the trail.

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Our Favorite Trails

Scenic Drives

Recommended season(s): Year-round (Kebler and Cottonwood passes close for the winter, so Crested Butte can only be reached from the south).

—R. Scott Rappold