Wilson
Peak
Routed from OpenStreetMap · elevations USGS 3DEP
Wilson Peak carries the same name as its higher neighbor Mount Wilson, both honoring A.D. Wilson, the Hayden Survey's chief topographer — a duplication that led an early Colorado Mountain Club historian to propose renaming the second peak for Franklin Rhoda, Wilson's survey companion, in recognition of Rhoda's own San Juan first ascents. It never was. Before surveyors arrived, the mountain carried a Ute name, Shandoka, meaning "storm maker," a reference to its effect on weather moving through the range.
Public access to the standard Rock of Ages route was cut off in 2005, when Texas developer Rusty Nichols barred the only non-technical approach across his roughly 300-acre parcel; the Trust for Public Land bought about 230 of those acres in 2007, and public access was reported secured again by 2015. Wilson Peak's real fame, though, comes from advertising: its profile has appeared on Coors beer packaging and in Coors television commercials since the mid-2000s.
2WD: ~5 mi of dirt on Dunton Rd (FR 535) off CO 145 south of Lizard Head Pass (14ers.com mwil6/eldi4). Wilson Peak's route instead uses Rock of Ages TH (10,350 ft; OSM 37.8834,-108.0184) via Silver Pick Rd/FR 622/645 — good clearance needed for the Big Bear Creek crossing, usually passable by mid-July (14ers.com).
Lizard Head Wilderness, no fee or permit (GMUG/San Juan NF). Rock of Ages Trail #429 crosses former mining parcels on a rerouted public alignment — stay on the designated trail (fs.usda.gov Rock of Ages #429; 14ers.com silv0, checked 2026-07). Kilpacker side is straightforward 2WD.
Peak data: Wilson Peak — Wikipedia