Mount Blue Sky from Summit Lake: an Easy 14er

Mount Blue Sky, formerly known as Mount Evans, is the easiest 14er in Colorado. It is also the highest paved road in the US and one of the few Colorado 14ers you can drive directly to the top so you can reach 14,000+ ft without having to hike at all. Here’s your full guide for the easy hiking trail from Summit Lake to Mount Blue Sky 14,267 ft.

Trail Stats: Hike Mount Blue Sky from Summit Lake

HIKE TO: Mount Blue Sky (Mount Evans) 14,267 ft & Mount Spalding 13,848 ft
TRAIL: Mt Blue Sky Trail/ West Ridge
TRAILHEAD: Summit Lake
MILES: 2.7 miles one way
TIME: 2:45 hr
DATE I WENT: 8/17/22 
DIFFICULTY: easy-moderate
ELEVATION GAIN: 1,379 ft
ELEVATION: 14,276 ft (according to my GPX)
HIKE PERMIT: no, but timed entry reservations are currently required, see below
LOCATION: Mount Blue Sky Wilderness Area, Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forest, Colorado

Mt Blue Sky Permits

Advance reservations are required to enter Mount Blue Sky Recreation Area starting 7 am- get your Summit Lake Park ticket on recreation.gov.

Timed entry reservations: 75% of the tickets will be available to book online 30 days out. The remaining 25% will be available to book online two days in advance and released at 8 am MT.

How to get to Mount Blue Sky

The Mt Blue Sky Scenic Byway gains 7000 ft of elevation in 28 miles so be prepared for altitude sickness if you are not used to high elevation. If you are visiting from Denver, it’s about an hour away but if you want to make it a full day out, I’d recommend driving CO-103 and stopping by Mestaaehehe Mountain Fire Lookout before or after; it’s another easy hike and could help you adjust to the altitude easier instead of going straight up to 14k ft.

Why Hike a 14er and not drive

There are two 14ers in Colorado you can literally drive right up to: Mount Blue Sky and Pikes Peak. So why hike to Mount Blue Sky from Summit Lake instead of driving right up?

The quick answer: it’s a short, beautiful, easy hike, and you get to summit a 13er on the way. But really, if you’ve been enjoying the scenic drive thus far, it’ll be good to get out and stretch your legs with a nice little hike and enjoy some other views you won’t get from the drive-up summit.

What to expect: Mt Blue Sky from Summit Lake Hike Description

The trailhead elevation at Summit Lake is 12,850 ft so even though the hike to Mount Blue Sky summit is only 2.7 miles one-way with not much elevation gain, it can still be a slow-going hike if you’re coming from a low elevation. Honestly, the altitude kicked my butt a little right from the start. There’s just something about 12k ft only in Colorado that gets to me.

From the parking lot, you’ll see the trail starting up on the West Ridge across from Summit Lake. The trailhead starts at the end of the parking lot, beyond the restrooms. Follow the obvious trail until you gain the ridge. Don’t let the term “ridge” scare you — it’s very wide and flat up there; it’s more like hiking on the top of a hill than a really exposed ridgeline.

The trail is not well marked with signs but look for cairns as there is a somewhat used trail there to follow. It helps to have a GPS track downloaded to follow and know a bit of route finding, but once you get to the ridge on the top of the hill, the trail is easy to follow.

Bonus 13er Peak: Summit Mount Spalding 13,848 ft on the way

There is a goat trail on the left side of the mountain but make sure you hike the proper trail on top of the ridge crest for an easier hike. The hike is entirely exposed above the tree line. Mount Spalding is 1.12 miles and 1,013 ft of elevation gain from the trailhead at Summit Lake. You can also choose to just hike this peak and head back if you don’t feel like continuing on, and then drive to the summit of Mt. Blue Sky.

From Mount Spalding, the trail drops downhill just a little bit before you enter the boulder field to the summit of Mount Blue Sky. There’s a used trail and cairns to guide the way along this class 1-2 section but be mindful of your surroundings – a boulder came down on a hiker’s hand who we passed on the trail.

You will know when you are on the summit of Mount Blue Sky – it’s the one with the crowds. You’ll see the observatory, road, and parking lot as you approach the few switchbacks leading to the summit.

Once you are done hiking, you can return the way you came or hitchhike down to your car. If you walk the road down, it’s just over 5 miles and if you are lucky, you may see some mountain goats and sheep up there!

One of our friends hitchhiked back to our car and drove up to pick us up.

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