Humboldt
Peak
Routed from OpenStreetMap · elevations USGS 3DEP
Humboldt Peak was named for the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, who never visited Colorado. The name traveled with German immigrants who arrived in the Wet Mountain Valley in February 1870 under Carl Wulsten, a Prussian-born Civil War veteran, to found a short-lived cooperative colony they called Colfax. In 1874 prospector Leonard Frederick found silver on the peak's west slope and named his claim the Humboldt mine; settlers extended the name to the mountain above it.
No first ascent of the summit itself was recorded during the mining era, and no later climb has been documented well enough to name a party or date. The peak is generally regarded as the least difficult of the Crestones group, a ranking that likely made an early, unrecorded ascent by area prospectors or shepherds more probable than on its steeper neighbors. The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative has since rebuilt its summit trail and restored alpine terrain worn by decades of foot traffic.
Easy 2WD dirt to the lower TH at 8,800'; then 2.7 mi of rough, rutted high-clearance 4WD to the upper TH gate at 9,950' (2025–26 reports: bumpy, pick lines carefully). Route stats below start at the upper TH; the lower TH adds ~5.5–6 mi and ~1,150'.
No fee or permit — San Isabel National Forest. The road was permanently gated at the current upper TH in 2009; winter closure is at the bottom near the lower TH (typically Dec–spring). 4WD road conditions are the main variable. Source: 14ers.com South Colony Lakes trailhead page, with 2025–2026 condition reports, checked July 2026.
Peak data: Humboldt Peak — Wikipedia