Essence: The Spanish Peaks soar into the sky out of nowhere. From the summit of East Spanish Peak to the Atlantic coast there is no higher prominence in America. East and West Spanish Peaks are an everlasting pair and I urge you to honor that union by summiting them both (on separate hikes). West is the taller of the two by 904 feet. It ranks as a Colorado Bicentennial at 13,584 feet (LiDAR). The East peak hike is longer with more elevation gain but it's not as steep and chossy as West. After a long approach in the timber, the hike finishes with a premier ridge traverse. If you enjoy light scrambling and rock hoping the upper mountain will be your greatest pleasure. Of note, West is 2WD accessible. East requires a serious 4WD vehicle or considerably more effort on foot. Comparisons between the peaks are inevitable. To avoid redundancy, please link to the
West Spanish Peak post for additional discussion and photos, most especially
images of renowned dikes. The Indigenous Comanche called the peaks Wahatoya, "Double Mountain." Spanish explorers traveling through the region in the 1700s named
them Las Cumbres Españolas, "The Spanish Peaks." LiDAR reduced the elevation of East to 12,680 feet with a rise of 2,397 feet. Both summits are in
the 17,855-acre Spanish Peak Wilderness, managed by San Isabel National
Forest.
Travel: From US 160, mile marker 294.1, turn south on State Highway CO 12 (Highway of Legends) and measure distance from there. The junction is about ten miles west of Walsenburg. Arrive in La Veta, a rural
agricultural community, at 4.1 miles. Gas station, supplies. At the stop sign on Grand Street, turn left, leaving CO 12. Go one block and turn right on unsigned Birch Street. A graded gravel road passes Town Lakes. A magnificent dike radiates from the West peak. At 6.2 miles turn left on CR 360, "Wahatoya Valley." At 6.6 miles, turn right, following CR 360, the main road. Curve to the right with the road at 7.3 miles. At 10.6 miles go over a narrow bridge and avoid the branch to the left. At the Dead End sign, 11.4 miles, keep going. At 11.7 miles FSR 442 branches right and enters the San Isabel National Forest. All 2WD vehicles should park at the side of CR 360. This is the "Lower Trailhead." (Walking from there adds 2.1 miles and 1,460 feet.) Proceed to the right on FSR 442 only if you are driving a serious 4WD, high-clearance vehicle. The one-lane road is ridiculously steep with swales and break-over challenges. Tough tires are necessary for big rocks. The first opportunity to turn around or park is at 12.4 miles. At 13.5 miles the track turns sharply left. Turn left into the large parking area at 13.8 miles. Dispersed camping. The road is closed to further travel by a gate. Safety note: This hike isn't over until you get back down FSR 442 without burning out your brakes. 4WD Low is recommended.
Distance and Elevation Gain: Upper Trailhead: 10 miles; 3,300 feet. Lower Trailhead: 12.1 miles; 4,760 feet.
Total Time: 6:00 to 8:30
Difficulty: Trail (8.0 miles), off-trail (2.0 miles); navigation moderate; Class 2+ with mild exposure on a short section of the summit ridge.
Map: Spanish Peaks, Colorado 7.5' USGS Quad
Date Hiked: July 3, 2026
Quote: They majestically hug the distant horizon, stretching skyward like a pair of regal, rocky sentinels that mark the place where the plains end and the mountains begin. They're a matched set, an alpine version of yin and yang. Some people say they're filled with magic and mystery. They're the Spanish Peaks and they're worth getting to know a little better. Scott Smith, The Pueblo Chieftain, October 6, 2005
East Spanish Peak is decidedly shorter than its partner but it's hard to imagine a more beautiful mountain given its embracing posture and gleaming sheets of bedrock. Seen from West Spanish Peak, East is irresistible.
(Thomas Holt Ward, photo)
Route: From the Upper Trailhead, hike southeast on the Wahatoya Trail. Just before the West-East saddle, segue onto the East Peak Trail. The engineered trail is well cairned until about 11,800 feet on the southwest ridge where it disappears in large talus. Off-trail, continue up the centerline to the northwest summit ridge. Pivot and ascend southeast to the peak.
The Scenic Overlook on Hwy 160 renders the very best vantage point of indelibly conjoined East and West Spanish Peaks. The drive to the East trailhead goes right by the "Big Wall," the longest dike in this image. The trailhead is in the trees below the massive north-facing bowl of West. The trail threads in and out of creeks draining the northeast slopes of West. Upon reaching the saddle, it makes for the southwest ridge. Pitch up the spine to the summit.
Keep an eye out for FSR 442 or you will blow right by it as we did. The narrow dirt track would be impassible when wet. When we returned from the hike, a car was parked at the side of the road just beyond the junction.
The hike begins on the
Wahatoya Trail at elevation 9,860 feet. The 12-mile-long trail crosses the saddle between West and East peaks, turns south and ends at the junction with the Apishapa Trail. For this hike it functions as the approach trail. The trail register was stuffed full of names but hadn't been serviced in years.
Enter the Spanish Peaks Wilderness. This classic and familiar sign is one of the most stylistic I've seen given all the mixed fonts. A note for history nerds. Some years ago I read a story in
Arizona Highways about career ranger Virgil Carroll, the man who designed the five-sided trapezoid shape for U.S Forest Service signs. His design has endured for eight decades.
Follow the contour through the woods for quite a ways, ascending just 450 feet in the first 2.2 miles to the saddle. Beetle kill is on the rampage and the path was littered with deadfall. (THW, photo)
Cross a chaotic streamway at 0.2 mile. This is the primary West Spanish Peak drainage, a south tributary of Wahatoya Creek. The trail snugs up against West and it might be tempting to
climb both in one day. Mere mortals are advised against this epic hike.
The shuttle alone would consume many hours. (THW, photo)
We saw several charming pink wintergreen plants in flower. They prefer boggy meadows but can be trailside in the montane given sufficient moisture. (THW, photo)
Absent chlorophyll,
woodland pinedrops are parasitic, living on mycorrhizal fungi which are in a symbiotic relationship with ponderosa roots. The young pinedrops shown, have probably been above the forest floor for no more than a week. We saw several plants along the trail reaching to a height of three feet. (THW, photo)
Construction crews created a passageway across an aspen-framed talus flow. You can tell it's been stable for a long time given the weathered and lichen-covered stones. (THW, photo)
Every now and then we got a glimpse of East through openings in the trees. This image is illustrative of the southwest climbing ridge and the traverse southeast to the summit. (THW, photo)
At 1.3 miles we crossed a dry drainage stuffed with mountain bluebells. It was encouraging to see a conifer nursery with two to three footers packed together. There was yet another dry crossing of a stony waterway emanating from a large bowl on West. Leave the Wahatoya Trail at a signed junction at 2.2 miles, 10,320 feet. The Wahatoya does a 90 degree crank to the south. Unfortunately, the East Peak sign was on the ground. You are now on the broad divide bridging the two mountains and must head due east toward the saddle.
Multiple grouse made a distinctive racket. Simple and frequent piles of rocks guided us through the woods to timberline. Lose a little bit of elevation into the saddle between the peaks at 2.3 miles, 10,283 feet (LiDAR). Follow the cairns as the trail undulates with the ridge.
Trail construction is masterful as it switchbacks up to meet the southwest ridge. The platform is dirt and chiprock, easy to follow, and moderately steep. It skims along the bottom of a talus run. Water bars are a lineup of large rocks, and boulders shore up the switchbacks. Sensational trail building is demonstrated when the trail meets the talus yard we'd just passed under. Flat blocks step up and cross the entire slope. Order from chaos, so remarkable.
Arrive on the southwest ridge at 3.3 miles, 11,040 feet. After a few paces we pulled off the trail to a vantage point overlooking the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and East's forever companion, West Spanish Peak. (THW, photo)
We passed through a small grove of
Rocky Mountain bristlecone at 11,340 feet. The trail on the West peak deliberately winds through an ancient grove with hundreds of bristlecones. I expect they are just as plentiful on East near treeline, but not along the trail. The immature, dark purple cone seen below is characteristic. Each scale of the cone is tipped with a thin, brittle pickle. (THW, photo)
Both West and East peaks have a longer forested approach than we are used to in the San Juan Mountains where trailheads are typically higher. Every now and then we caught a glimpse of the exquisite east face and were filled with anticipation.
At 4.1 miles, 11,640 feet, the trail breaks free of the trees. Big breath. Yes! Sparseness and crystalline light flooded me instantly with lucidity and elation. The summit is 0.9 mile afar with roughly 1,000 feet of climbing remaining, a moderate rate of ascent.
A tall pile of stones marks both egress from the forest and exit to the return trail. To begin, the honest to gosh constructed trail continues. Deliberately chipped rocks define the path. (THW, photo)
The trail took us off the ridgeline to the southeast for a short distance. We are ridge purists but went with it because the trail was undeniably helpful.
The trail returned to the centerline at 11,800 feet and then disappeared in chunkier talus. (THW, photo)
Patches of green were sparse and yet big game left their mark on the ridge. We were alongside the sheets of bedrock we'd seen from the summit of West. During the Pleistocene Epoch glaciers began to move. Boulders were snatched out from the walls and used as gouging and grinding tools, along with the scouring pressure of the ice itself. The ice chewed great gulfs out of the mountain's flanks, leaving the sculpted mountain shimmering. (THW, photo)
The Spanish Peaks began forming 24 million years ago when two masses of
magma were pushed closer to the earth's surface by plate tectonics. The
magma solidified into igneous rock beneath the earth's surface. As the rock was forced upwards the overlying, softer sedimentary rock cracked in a radial pattern. The cracks were filled with magma. As the
sedimentary layers eroded away the crack
fillings were exposed as dikes. The Spanish Peaks have one of
the most spectacular dike systems in the world. Over 500 dikes
radiate out from the peaks. The mountains themselves are an erosional remnant of a predominantly quartz igneous stock. (THW, photo)
We encountered just two other hikers. This man is one with the world of stone. (THW, photo)
As we approached the pivot onto the summit ridge, big white blocks were stable underfoot. (THW, photo)
Below, two hikers are at the swivel where the southwest ridge meets the northwest summit ridge. Although tempting, from what we can determine, Goemmer Butte on the valley floor is on a private ranch owned by a local family.
(THW, photo)
At 4.5 miles, 12,340 feet, make the turn onto the summit ridge. The pitch lets up significantly. (THW, photo)
Rock sheets wrap up one side and down the other. The Aspen Acres Fire (image-right) was raging southwest of Pueblo and as the day grew on visibility decreased. (THW, photo)
Jumbled rocks are up on end, their sharp edges pointing to the sky. Balance test! A little skill and patience will amplify enjoyment.
Scamper over speckled rock, orange rock, and peek deep into crevices.
Wildfire smoke was taking its toll but the Blanca Group remained visible to the northwest. Four of the ten fourteeners in the Sangre de Cristo Range are in the cluster:
Blanca Peak (the highest at 14,350'), Ellingwood Point, Little Bear
Peak, and Mount Lindsey. (THW, photo)
The ridge narrows to about four feet on the final push. Some hikers may feel a sense of mild exposure. Footing is good and solid.
Round off on East Spanish Peak at 5.0 miles. The roomy, welcoming crest was marked with a square block balancing on a big pile of fractured book-like stones. We searched around but didn't find a peak register.
West Spanish Peak, East's tall and strapping companion is looking ever so handsome. It makes a captivating impression on those who have not yet stood on the equally enticing double.
The southwest ridge takes aim on Culebra Peak, Colorado's southernmost fourteener. On a clear day the 220-mile long Sangre de Cristo Range would be seen extending well into New Mexico.
We had been warned the summit is buggy on a calm day. The ladybugs were fine, minding their own business. But the gnats were truly annoying. Within minutes they were exploring the interior of my pack, caught up in my hair, and they turned the block on the summit cairn black. Between the bugs and thick smoke rolling in, we didn't enjoy much top time.
Returning, our blissful, one mile trek above treeline was over in a millisecond, followed by four long miles of forest walking. A personal note is in order. When I was a kid, my parents took me and my three siblings on eight-day backpacks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains every summer. My father would inevitably search for trailheads that got us up above timberline the quickest. He passed his adoration for the treeless alpine onto his children.
