West Spanish Peak, 13,626', Spanish Peaks Wilderness

Essence: The Spanish Peaks, West and East, are a conjoined pair in southern Colorado. Geographically, they are outliers of the Culebra Range, a subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. West Spanish Peak is the easternmost peak over 13,000 feet in the United States. While LiDAR has reduced its elevation to 13,584', it still has an impressive rise of 3,637 feet. It is the twelfth most topographically prominent peak in the state. Approach the southwest ridge on a Class 1 trail through an expansive meadowland and deep timber. Near treeline, the footpath passes through an ancient Rocky Mountain bristlecone grove. The trail up the southwest ridge is tricky to follow with cairned braids. Some discussion of how best to commandeer the steep and loose ridgeline is offered. We climbed both Spanish Peaks on separate hikes and highly recommend doing so. Of the two, West is a shorter hike with less elevation gain but nevertheless, it is more demanding. West is 2WD accessible. East requires a serious 4WD vehicle. West Spanish Peak is the highpoint in the 17,855-acre Spanish Peak Wilderness, managed by San Isabel National Forest.

Travel: This hike starts with the fascinating drive to the trailhead. State Highway CO 12, also known as the Highway of Legends National Scenic Byway, begins at the junction with US 160 north of La Veta and ends 82 miles later in Trinidad at Interstate 25. From US 160, mile marker 294.1, turn south on CO 12 and measure distance from there. Pass through La Veta, a rural agricultural community, at 4.1 miles. While in town, turn right then left, following signs for CO 12. Pass through the town of Cuchara at 15.6 miles. Enter San Isabel National Forest at 16.6 miles. At Cucharas Pass, 21.5 miles, turn left at the sign for Cordova Pass. Cordova Pass Road is well graded gravel. Turn left at the signed split at 24.1 miles. The road is labeled FSR 46 at 24.4 miles. Decent tires are recommended from there for rock on the road. The grade to Cordova Pass at 27.4 miles is consistently gradual. You must pay the $10 day use fee (2026) to park in the large dirt lot! Vault toilet, no water. Pleasant shaded campground with picnic tables and fire pits, $15. 

Distance and Elevation Gain: 8.0 miles; 2,700 feet

Total Time: 5:00 to 7:30
Difficulty: Trail, off-trail; navigation moderate; Class 2+ with no exposure
Maps: Cucharas Pass; Herlick Canyon; Spanish Peaks, Colorado 7.5' USGS Quads 

Date Hiked: July 1, 2026
Quote: Mountains stand as towering storytellers of the earth, holding the deep history of time within their stone, trails, and peaks. Anonymous

 

Seen from the Scenic Overlook on Hwy 160, West Spanish Peak is a bulky bastion with delicate dikes spinning out from the hub. Goemmer Butte is the conspicuous and picturesque volcanic neck standing 570 feet above the surrounding fertile rangeland. Even at 13,584 feet, the West peak is ranked among Colorado's esteemed bicentennials. It just makes the cut as the 197th tallest peak in the state. (Thomas Holt Ward, photo) 

Route: From Cordova Pass, hike northeast on the West Peak Trail. Use what trail fragments are helpful, or free-range up the southwest ridge to the summit ridge. Ascend east to the peak. 

East and West Spanish Peaks are an inseparable pair. It is impossible to think of one without the other. Their importance for humans, both settled and migrating, has endured timelessly. For Indigenous tribes, the peaks are home ground. The Comanche people called them Wahatoya, meaning "Double Mountain." For Spanish explorers traveling through the region in the 1700s, they represented the unknown frontier and the promise of fortune. They named the mountains Las Cumbres Españolas, "The Spanish Peaks." The Americans followed: trappers and buffalo hunters, gold seekers on their way to California, cattlemen and farmers, and geologists and topographers with the Hayden Surveys.

 

From the summit of East Spanish Peak to the Atlantic coast, you will find no higher point on the continent. The mountains can be seen from the Great Plains east of Trinidad and from Colorado Springs in the north to Raton, New Mexico in the south. For pilots, the peaks serve as a natural landmark for identifying the location of La Veta Pass, one of the lowest passes through the 3,000-mile-long Rocky Mountains. (Thomas Holt Ward, aerial photo, 2006) 

   

Photographed from CO 12, the romantic pair are dusted in dawn light. There was absolutely no way we could even conceive of climbing one but not the other. (THW, photo) 

The radial dike swarm contains over 500 dikes ranging from one to more than 100 feet in width, and extending for a maximum distance of almost 14 miles. (THW, photo)

 

One of the legends associated with CO 12 is the Myth of Devil's Stairsteps. The placard at the mile marker 11 pullout reads: "Eons ago, when the earth was new, the Devil sneaked out of his fiery home to survey the world. He found an easy way up by climbing the Devil's Stairsteps in the pristine Cuchara Valley. As he viewed the beauty of the earth from the peaks of the twin mountains, he plotted how to make the world his own. The gods, however, learned about his plan and banished the Devil from this beautiful valley. The Devil reluctantly retreated down the Stairsteps, never to return." (THW, photo) 

 

J. J. Cordova had a road built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. It ran from Cucharas Pass over Cordova Pass to Aguilar. When we arrived there was one car in the lot. Because of the handy 2WD access West is climbed more often than East. We encountered six people throughout the day. 

 

The trail register hadn't been attended to in goodness knows how long. The pages were full and disintegrating. Head northwest on the totally flat West Peak Trail. (THW, photo) 

 

The Spanish Peaks were designated a National Natural Landmark in 1976 for their exceptional igneous dikes. 

(THW, photo) 

Enter the Spanish Peaks Wilderness at 0.4 mile and emerge into a meadow so vast it is readily apparent from all points henceforth. 

We stayed straight where the trail to Vista Point veered left. However, we did cut over to it on our return (not figured in the stats or on my map). It was definitely worth the effort to see the handsome mountain and southwest climbing ridge detailed in afternoon light.  

At 0.6 mile the Levy-Krier Trail branches left.

The Class 1 dirt singletrack is easy walking with occasional weathered rocks in the lane. At 0.75 mile it rides the top of the runout of the southwest ridge. Fluttering aspen filtered light. Now and then a short path darted off to a viewpoint. Taken from 11,300 feet, dikes radiate from the mountain. (THW, photo) 

The footpath descends with the ridge to 11,220 feet. Soon thereafter, at 1.7 miles, the Apishapa Trail branches right and heads three miles southeast to Cordova Pass Road on the Apishapa River ("Quarreling River," Cheyenne). 

Western wallflower is typically bright yellow. The Silverton wallflower is deep purple. And, it seems the Spanish wallflower is orange. (THW, photo) 

A series of well constructed switchbacks manage an otherwise steep lift. When the terrain mellows the trail does a beautiful S turn. Shallower switchbacks commence and transport you into the positively ancient world of the Rocky Mountain bristlecone at 11,800 feet. Watch for ribbons of gold on older trees where the bark has cracked. The oldest bristlecone in Colorado has lived almost 2,500 years. (THW, photo) 

Trail engineers deliberately routed us by this triple-trunked bristlecone. (THW, photo) 

The grove is in the krummholz ("crooked wood"), contributing to the squat and gnarled countenance of this elder. 

(THW, photo)

As the forest departed, a great wash of light illuminated our quest and we felt a sense of familiar enchantment and anticipation.

Arrive in the sparkling alpine world at 2.9 miles, 11,920 feet. A rock mound that no doubt grows taller with every passerby, marked this significant location. All that remained was to climb the southwest ridge, pivot, and ascend east to the peak. Mounting 1,700 feet over 1.1 miles is steep by any standard. 

How you attack the southwest ridge is up to you. We prefer to stay on the ridge crest unless there is a compelling reason to divert. We decided to ascend on the spine and descend on the trail. To begin, the trail continues on from the rock mound, marked by large cairns. They meld into the background rock and are hard to detect on the ascent. But descending, both the cairns and trail were clear enough. 

The trail flanks the initial rise on the southeast.

The track returns to the ridgeline and then skirts a series of short cliff bands again on the southeast. It is not a constructed trail but rather, a social trail that has been supplemented with helpful cairns. The navigation for this segment of the hike is rated moderate because the trail is both elusive and braided.

 

It felt invigorating to be cairn hopping in the alpine. The rock was sharp-edged and there were grassy patches but no tundra expanses. This is pica habitat and sure enough we saw one. Low and behind me is the initial meadow. Six ranked thirteeners can be seen in the Culebra Range to the west. Trinchera Peak (toward the right) is the tallest at 13,522' (LiDAR). Culebra Peak, a fourteener, is south off-image. (THW, photo)  

The geology of the Spanish Peaks is complicated. The diversity of rock seen on just this ridge alone is astounding. The peaks were formed by volcanic activity deep underground around 24 million years ago. That may account for breccia seen on the surface. West Spanish Peak is an erosional remnant of a predominantly quartz igneous stock.

There are multiple routes and cairned braids starting at 12,200 feet. When the Class 2 trail swerved off the ridgetop we stayed on the centerline. Our tracks up and down are very close but the experience was way different. On the ridge we stepped up through bigger rock, Class 2+. It was great fun attending to each step. We saw some unusual stone, and engaged intimately with the mountain. (THW, photo)  

The slope was steep and the mix of talus, scree, and fine rock slid underfoot. We clambered up through smooth, jet-black blocks. 

At about 12,900 feet we were back on the main trail. It's subtle and mostly on talus but you can make it out toward the right in this image. Steepness decreased and footing was easier. My partner is closing in on a large bivouac.

From the bivouac at 13,300 feet it's only another 200 feet to the ridge pivot.   

A couple of hikers were descending on-trail from the summit ridge. That made it a popular mountain by our standards. 

This gives you a good idea of what the slick trail looks like as it swirls down the ridge.  

We contacted the summit ridge at 3.7 miles, 13,500 feet. I recommend making a short diversion to the west end to look down on dikes radiating out from the mountain. Isolated Goemmer Butte is jutting from the valley floor.

From the pivot, the summit is a mellow stroll away. (THW, photo)

Arrive on the comfortable, spacious crest at 4.0 miles. Both West and East have a reputation for being buggy. A consistently stiff wind spared us the annoyance. 

 

We walked a pleasurable few paces east until the summit ridge started to drop off. The vantage point shifted and highlighted the west face of East Spanish Peak. We had every intention of climbing both peaks, regardless, but when we got a good look at the gleaming white sheets of stone, it was an irresistible compulsion. We'd been cautioned against climbing both peaks in one long day. As a friend said, "It is a monster hike and a car-drop from hell." 

(THW, photo) 

Northwest is the Blanca Group in the 220-mile long Sangre de Cristo Range. Four of the ten fourteeners in the Sangres are in the cluster: Blanca Peak (the highest at 14,350'), Ellingwood Point, Little Bear Peak, and Mount Lindsey. 

(THW, photo) 

We were fortunate to have decent visibility and air quality on the hike. The American West is a tinderbox and wildfires are on a rampage this summer. The Aspen Acres Fire to the northeast started incinerating everything in its path two days before our hike. (THW, photo) 

We slipped and slid swiftly down the makeshift trail on the southwest ridge. There's a certain purity and simplicity above treeline. Soil, rock, sky. Back in the timber, we paused for a time in the ancient bristlecone grove. Really old trees talk slowly. Old happens on different time scales. A trail blaze was practically obliterated by its ever-growing host. The Double Mountains lived in isolation for eons before humans arrived. Just imagine the stories these mountains could tell!  

 

People today take comfort in the Spanish Peaks. I don't know how better to say it. I have several friends who, upon learning we were going to climb the peaks, started spilling stories. Memories about traveling west across America on back roads as children. Seeing the Spanish Peaks, so spectacularly tall, off in the distance, dreaming of both adventure and arrival home.