Mount Princeton: A Complete Guide to Hiking the Collegiate 14er

Mount Princeton stands at 14,197 feet on the east edge of the Sawatch Range, one of the Collegiate Peaks and the mountain that towers over Buena Vista and the Arkansas River Valley. It's usually listed as the 18th-highest peak in Colorado. The standard East Slopes route is a Class 2 climb of loose talus and tundra, and the round-trip distance depends entirely on how far you're willing to drive up a rough mountain road before you start walking.

That road is the whole story with Mount Princeton. A dirt road climbs from the valley floor past a set of radio towers and keeps going, narrower and rougher, high onto the mountain's east shoulder. Park at the bottom and you're looking at a 13-mile day. Park at the radio towers and it's about 6.5 miles. Drive a capable four-wheel-drive rig to the upper road cut and you can trim it to roughly 3 miles. Figuring out where to stop is half the planning for this peak.

This guide covers the road tiers in plain terms, the East Slopes route section by section, the gear that matters at altitude, and the timing that keeps you off the exposed slope when afternoon storms roll in. Mount Princeton is a rewarding, very visible 14er with a hot springs resort at its base, but the loose rock and the road access trip up plenty of hikers who show up unprepared.

What You'll Learn

• Quick Stats
• Getting to the Mount Princeton Trailhead
• The East Slopes Standard Route
• What to Pack
• Timing and Weather
• When to Climb
• How Mount Princeton Compares
• Common Mistakes
• Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Stats

East Slopes (standard route), measured from the radio towers:

• Elevation: 14,197 ft (about 18th-highest in Colorado)
• Radio towers parking: roughly 10,800 ft
• Round Trip Distance: about 6.5 miles
• Elevation Gain: about 3,200 ft
• Class: 2 (loose talus and tundra, no exposure of consequence)
• Time: 6 to 9 hours typical
• Difficulty: Strenuous (steep, loose, and tedious footing up high)

Best Season: Late June through September
Permit: None required
Crowds: Steady in summer, rarely as packed as the Front Range 14ers
Road: Rough dirt; passable to the towers for many high-clearance vehicles, four-wheel drive above them

Mount Princeton was named for Princeton University in the 1870s, part of the run of college names given to this cluster of the Sawatch: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Oxford, and Princeton. The chalk-white cliffs at its base, the Chalk Cliffs, and the hot springs at Nathrop make it one of the most recognizable mountains in central Colorado even for people who never climb it.

Getting to the Mount Princeton Trailhead

Mount Princeton sits southwest of Buena Vista near the town of Nathrop. The approach uses the Mount Princeton Road, and understanding its three tiers is the key to a sane day on this peak.

1. Drive to Nathrop, about 8 miles south of Buena Vista on Highway 285
2. Turn west on County Road 162 toward the Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort (Chalk Creek Canyon)
3. After a couple of miles, turn right (north) onto County Road 321
4. Follow CR 321 to its junction with the Mount Princeton Road (CR 322), which switchbacks up the mountain

Tier 1, the lower start (around 8,900 ft). If you park where the good road ends near the bottom, you'll hike the full road plus the trail, roughly 13 miles round trip with about 5,400 feet of gain. Almost nobody does this on purpose. It's a long, dull road walk.

Tier 2, the radio towers (around 10,800 ft). The Mount Princeton Road climbs about 4 miles of rough, rocky dirt to a set of radio towers. Many high-clearance SUVs and trucks make it this far in dry conditions, though it's slow going and not a place for a low sedan. This is the practical trailhead for most hikers: about 6.5 miles round trip and 3,200 feet of gain. There's room for a handful of vehicles to pull off near the towers.

Tier 3, the upper road cut (around 11,800 ft). Above the towers the road narrows, gets rougher, and turns into a genuine four-wheel-drive route for about 1.3 more miles to a road cut where the trail leaves the road. A capable, high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle driven by someone comfortable on shelf roads can reach it. From here the hike is only about 3 miles round trip, but it's steep and loose the whole way. Parking is very limited, just a few pullouts.

Restrooms: None on the road or the route. Take care of that in Buena Vista or Nathrop.

Cell service: Spotty on the lower road, unreliable up high. Download your maps before you leave the valley.

A note on the road: It's narrow with steep drop-offs and blind corners, and it's a two-way road with almost no room to pass. Drive slowly, use the pullouts, and yield downhill. If the road makes you nervous, park lower and walk. There's no shame in it, and a scraped oil pan five hours from a tow truck ruins the whole trip.

The East Slopes Standard Route

From the radio towers, the East Slopes route walks the upper road to the road cut, contours across an open basin below a rocky subpeak, then grinds up the loose east slopes to the summit ridge. It's well-traveled and the line is easy to follow, but the upper mountain is a tedious slog of loose talus that wears people down.

Section 1: Radio Towers to the Road Cut (Miles 0 to 1.3)

From the towers, keep walking up the rough four-wheel-drive road. It climbs steadily through the last of the trees and out onto open slopes, gaining about 1,000 feet over 1.3 miles. If you drove to the upper road cut, you skip this stretch and start here.

Watch for the point where the trail leaves the road, cutting off to the left (west) toward the basin below the peak. It's usually cairned. This is an easy junction to miss on the way down when you're tired, so take a mental snapshot of it now.

Section 2: The Traverse Across the Basin (Miles 1.3 to 2.4)

The trail leaves the road and contours across the head of a broad basin, staying roughly level as it swings below a rocky subpeak on Princeton's east ridge (marked Tigger Peak on some maps). This is the most pleasant walking of the day: tundra and scattered rock with the summit rising ahead.

Enjoy it, because it ends. The trail curves around toward the base of the east slopes, where the real climb starts. Notice how the traverse runs so you can find it again on the descent; the return route contours back this way rather than dropping straight down the slope.

Section 3: The East Slopes Talus Climb (Miles 2.4 to 3.0)

Here's the part people remember. The trail turns uphill and climbs the east slopes over loose talus and scree, gaining altitude fast on footing that slides underfoot. The path braids into a web of use trails through the rock, and there's no single clean line. Pick your way up, follow cairns where you find them, and expect two steps up for every step and a half of progress.

This is Class 2 climbing, meaning you'll use your hands for balance on a few blocky sections but there's no exposure that would hurt you if you slipped. What makes it hard isn't danger, it's tedium and altitude. The loose rock is tiring, and you're doing it above 13,000 feet where every move costs more.

Trekking poles help enormously here, both going up for balance and coming down to save your knees on the slide.

Section 4: The Summit Ridge and Summit (Miles 3.0 to 3.25)

The slope eases as you gain the broad summit ridge. Turn toward the high point and follow the rocky ridge the last short distance to the top. The footing stays rocky but the grade relents, and after the talus grind the summit feels close.

The top of Mount Princeton is a rocky crown with big views in every direction:

• Mount Antero and Mount Shavano to the south along the Sawatch crest
• Mount Yale, Mount Harvard, and Mount Columbia to the north
• The Arkansas River Valley and Buena Vista far below to the east
• The Sangre de Cristo Range on the eastern horizon across the valley
• A wall of Sawatch and Sangre 13ers filling the middle distance

Because Princeton juts out toward the valley, the view down to Buena Vista and the river is more dramatic than from peaks buried deeper in the range. Sign the register, eat, and keep an eye on the sky.

Section 5: The Return (Miles 3.25 to 6.5)

Same route in reverse. Descending the loose east slopes is slower and more annoying than climbing them; the scree slides and tired legs get sloppy, so take it slow and keep your poles out. Find the traverse back across the basin rather than dropping straight toward the road, then rejoin the road at the cut and walk it back to the towers.

From the radio towers, plan on 6 to 9 hours car to car depending on your fitness, the crowds on the loose sections, and how long you linger up top.