Colorado hiking maps?

[Diapensia]

I'm going to be spending a week hiking in Colorado later this summer. I've never been there.

Does anyone have any recommendations for hiking maps?
Do any stand out above the others? Is there a nice cohesive set like the AMC White Mtn maps?

Thanks.

 

[RoySwkr]

The mountainous areas of Colo are much more extensive than the Whites or even all of New England

Most of the better hiking areas are covered by TI maps
http://www.natgeomaps.com/ti_colorado.html

 

[roadtripper]

Are you going to try to climb a 14-er? Get this book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/15..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=08RZG405BWBX8M2954K8

This book is also awesome:
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Summit-Hikes-Colorado-Little-Known/dp/0899974082/ref=pd_sim_b_2

 

[una_dogger]

National Geo puts out some really nice maps of the various Colorado Wilderness Areas. Have a GREAT time!

 

[Diapensia]

Thanks guys!

Good to know the NatGeo maps are my best bet.

I do have the 13er and 14er Roach guides. Got the 14er 2nd ed last year as a gift, and I see the 3rd is out now; oh well.

The "best of summits" book looks good - I'd not seen that one and will definitely get it. I am hoping to do a couple of the big peaks, but it's not the goal, and I've been looking for info on some of the smaller summits.

 

[una_dogger]

Not sure where you are headed, but I will put another book plug in..I've found this book indispensible for planning backpacks -- I've used it to plan 3 backpacks in the Colorado Wilderness Areas -- really comprehensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Colorados-Wilderness-Areas/dp/1565790529

 

[audrey]

When we were in the San Juans a few years ago, I used a NatGeo Trails Illustrated map (#141) for Silverton/Lake City etc. It was all I needed plus information from Summitpost. My Roach's 14ers book is too old and did not accurately describe the nasty approaches to trailheads. Next time I'd rent a little ATV-type buggy in Lake City! Caribou Valley Road is a cakewalk in comparison.

 

[Little Rickie]

Anyone familiar with the Colorado Springs area? I'll be there in a few weeks.

 

[Snowflea]

It really depends on where you're going in Colorado. It's kind of a large area.

I've been playing in the CO mtns. for the past few weeks and have been using a variety of maps: Sky Terrain, Mountain Maps, Latitude 40, Nat. Geo, the 14er and 13er books, etc. There doesn't seem to be a tidy compilation similar to the White Mtn. Guide/Maps.

Roach has a new third edition of his excellent 14er book, highly recommended, and I'd be interested to see if any of his classifications have been changed. I just did Crestone Needle the other day and was surprised that it was only a Class 3. I found it sketchier than Capitol. What a summit though!! Likewise, Lindsey seemed harder than Class 2+. Only three more left...

 

[Craig]

I'm a big fan of the Delorme Atlas & Gazetteer for getting around in CO. It covers the entire state, shows the topography and all the varies forest service roads you need to get to the TH. Buy it online at WM cheap.
The Delorme coupled with NG state topo for CO and I'm good to go. And of course Roaches book.

Stinky -

The needle was quite "airy" from north eh?

 

[Diapensia]

As it turns out, I've not figured out yet exactly where I'm going. It's been sort of a chicken and egg problem w/ getting maps and deciding where to go.

Right now I'm thinking central or north CO, though that may not narrow it down all that much.

 

[weatherman]

If you're in downtown Denver at all, go to REI and check out the huge map selection. (huge selection, not huge maps. ) The people they have to help you at the map desk know a lot too. Some of the available maps are better than the Nat Geo selection, depending on where you're going, especially for winter trips, which yours isn't, but possibly useful anyway.

Snow is finally melting, though >11,000 feet north of I-70 still has some pretty significant cover. I must have killed 500 kittens on July 4th weekend with my postholing. Wildflowers are ~2 weeks behind schedule this year- approaching peak in the next couple weeks rather than right now. You mention central and north...My wife saw 7 moose in RMNP on Saturday!!! (and we spent plenty of time in Maine before we moved...) Trail Ridge Road is open and gorgeous, though still too much rotten snow to take coffee-table book quality pictures.

Enjoy.

Stinkyfeet, I just got the 3rd edition for a present and the classifications of the ones you describe haven't changed. I haven't had the time to hike any 14ers this year yet but have a couple friends who have hiked around 50, and their descriptions of the Crestones are a lot trickier than my experience with Katahdin's Knife Edge (which is my definition of a class 3). Then again, I really hate exposure.

Weatherman

 

[roadtripper]

If you're in downtown Denver at all, go to REI and check out the huge map selection. (huge selection, not huge maps. ) The people they have to help you at the map desk know a lot too. Some of the available maps are better than the Nat Geo selection, depending on where you're going, especially for winter trips, which yours isn't, but possibly useful anyway.

Snow is finally melting, though >11,000 feet north of I-70 still has some pretty significant cover. I must have killed 500 kittens on July 4th weekend with my postholing. Wildflowers are ~2 weeks behind schedule this year- approaching peak in the next couple weeks rather than right now. You mention central and north...My wife saw 7 moose in RMNP on Saturday!!! (and we spent plenty of time in Maine before we moved...) Trail Ridge Road is open and gorgeous, though still too much rotten snow to take coffee-table book quality pictures.

Enjoy.
Weatherman

Is this an epic snow year for Colorado? Seems crazy to me to have this much snow still leftover. I thought most 14-ers were typically snow-free by mid-July usually?

 

[MichaelJ]

If you're in the Boulder area, absolutely go to Neptune Mountaineering, even if just to browse the gear, see a few historical displays, and talk with the pros.

 

[Bhoody]

site

Check out this web site if interested in the 14ers. It has a ton of info, including maps and pics of routes...

http://www.14ers.com/

 

[DougPaul]

My wife saw 7 moose in RMNP on Saturday!!! (and we spent plenty of time in Maine before we moved...)

If you like large ungulates in RMNP, elk is the beast... I have seen hundreds (I think, certainly more than I could count) at once in Beaver Meadows. The car was surrounded and we could hardly move.

I've also seen the roadsides crowded with them when I drove to a trailhead before dawn.

Doug

 

[brianW]

I have been using the "national geographic" maps for my outdoor adventure in the mountains of GA, NC and TN and am very pleased with them. As mentioned they have them for CO, might want to try them.

http://www.natgeomaps.com/trailsillustrated

 

[weatherman]

If you like large ungulates in RMNP, elk is the beast... I have seen hundreds (I think, certainly more than I could count) at once in Beaver Meadows. The car was surrounded and we could hardly move.

I've also seen the roadsides crowded with them when I drove to a trailhead before dawn.

Doug

Yeah, I didn't mention the elk because they are like squirrels up there. On the other hand, if you come from a land with few squirrels, they are interesting! Moose, on the other hand, are rarer. Unless you go to Alaska, I guess.

Is this an epic snow year for Colorado? Seems crazy to me to have this much snow still leftover. I thought most 14-ers were typically snow-free by mid-July usually?

Indeed it is. I think the high country got its second or third most snow ever (well, since records were kept), and the most in about 30 years. On the other hand, down here we had our second least snowy winter since 1872! La Nina is weird, weird, weird.

 

[DougPaul]

Yeah, I didn't mention the elk because they are like squirrels up there.

Yeah. There is no shortage...

Doug

 

[rup]

Any ranger station will have oddles of detailed geo mpas for sections of the forested state