Torreys Peak

Start at the Stevens Gulch trailhead at 11,280 feet. Cross the bridge and follow the wide Grays Peak trail up the valley below Kelso Mountain for about 2 miles. Near 13,000 feet the trail forks: left switchbacks to Grays, right climbs directly to the Grays-Torreys saddle. Most people summit Grays first, descend 560 feet to the saddle, and climb Torreys' south ridge, about 560 feet on a good trail. Taking the saddle trail first and doing Torreys before Grays works equally well. The pair runs about 8.5 miles round trip with 3,500 feet of gain.

The saddle catches wind and weather from the west, and it is the decision point: if storms are building, descend from the saddle rather than continuing. Both summits are busy; expect a few hundred people on a July Saturday. Kelso Ridge leaves the standard trail at the Kelso saddle and climbs Torreys' northeast ridge with a knife-edge section near the top; it is solid Class 3 and a fine step up from the trade routes for people with scrambling experience, but not in wind or wet.

Take I-70 to the Bakerville exit and drive 3 miles up the Stevens Gulch road. The road is rough and rutted; high-clearance vehicles make it, and many passenger cars stop at the lower lot near the highway and walk, adding about 3 miles and 1,000 feet each way. The upper lot fills before 5 AM on summer weekends and cars line the road below it. No fee or permit as of this writing.

The trail is dry from late June through early October. Snow lingers on the north-facing switchbacks below the Grays summit and in the saddle into early July. Grays and Torreys are the most climbed winter fourteeners in the state, but the road is gated at Bakerville in winter, the approach up Stevens Gulch crosses avalanche paths, and the standard route above 13,000 feet is a different mountain in wind.

The thunderstorm pattern is reliable from mid-June through August: on the saddle by 10, off both summits by noon.

Camping is allowed at the trailhead and in dispersed spots along the road below it, with no fires. Georgetown, Silver Plume, and Idaho Springs are 20 to 30 minutes away with gas, food, and lodging. Mount Bierstadt, the other beginner fourteener in the Front Range, is over Guanella Pass from Georgetown, and many visitors do the two trips on consecutive days. Read the Grays Peak guide on this site for the full approach.