Best Hikes Near Silverthorne, Colorado
Silverthorne sits at the I-70 / CO-9 junction at 9,035 feet, providing the closest road access to the Gore Range and the Eagles Nest Wilderness.
Acorn Creek Trail
A quiet trail offering solitude and wildlife viewing through aspen groves, sagebrush meadows, and spruce-fir forests. Reaches the Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness with spectacular Gore Range views. One of the first trails to clear of snow in spring.
Eccles Pass Trail
Steep climb in the Eagles Nest Wilderness to Eccles Pass at 11,800 feet. The Eagles Nest area provides excellent backcountry hiking with Tenmile Range views from the pass. Backpack-friendly with camps in the upper basins.
Lower Cataract Lake Trail
Loop around Lower Cataract Lake at the base of the Gore Range. Cataract Falls drops directly into the lake. Family-friendly and accessible. Boating allowed on the lake.
Surprise Lake Trail
From the Surprise Trailhead, climb through aspen and conifer forest to Surprise Lake in the Gore Range. Quieter than the Eagles Nest popular trails. Backpacker camps in the upper basin.
Buffalo Mountain Trail
Steep climb from Lily Pad Lake area to the summit of Buffalo Mountain at 12,777 feet. The Gore Range's most accessible big summit, with full panorama of Lake Dillon, the Tenmile Range, and the Gore Range itself.
Hiking in Silverthorne: what to know
Silverthorne is the practical basecamp for the Gore Range, which is the most rugged and least-hiked of the Front Range / I-70 corridor wilderness areas. The Gores have no 14ers, which keeps the crowds thin, but they have some of the most dramatic alpine basins in Colorado.
Buffalo Mountain (12,777 feet) is the iconic Silverthorne hike: 6 miles round trip with 3,000 feet of gain to a summit directly above town. The trail is steep and unrelenting, with a final scramble through talus to the summit. The view from the top spans the entire Gore Range, Tenmile Range, and across to Grays and Torreys. Trailhead is at Ryan Gulch Road in the Wildernest neighborhood. Park early; very limited parking.
Lily Pad Lake (3.6 miles round trip, 600 feet of gain) is the easy family option from the Meadow Creek Trailhead. Two small ponds and aspen views.
Mesa Cortina Trail and Gore Range Trail provide longer backcountry days from the same Wildernest trailhead complex. Gore Range Trail is a 50-mile through-route along the spine of the range; most people do day-out-and-back sections.
Willow Lakes (10 miles round trip, 2,500 feet of gain) is the area's premier alpine basin: a chain of three high lakes under Eagles Nest peak. The trailhead is at Mesa Cortina; the route is long but mostly moderate.
For a shorter alpine option, Salmon Lake (6 miles round trip) accesses a smaller lake from the same trailhead network.
Dillon Reservoir, 5 minutes south of Silverthorne, has a 16-mile paved shoreline trail used by locals for running and easy walking. Good for acclimatization days.
Silverthorne sits high enough that altitude is a real factor for visitors driving up from Denver. Sleep here for at least one night before any 14er attempt in the area. Read our altitude sickness guide.
Weather is consistent with the rest of the I-70 corridor: afternoon thunderstorms reliable in July and August, snow lingering on Buffalo Mountain into late June. Winter shifts everything to nordic skiing and snowshoeing.