Mount Yale

Our Work CFI completed major trail construction and restoration on Mt. Yale from 2008-2011, opening a new trail on Denny Creek and restoring the old Denny Gulch trail. Due to annual traffic on this peak, the standard route is maintained regularly by CFI and partner organizations.

Recommended Route Denny Creek Route—use of this route will help to reduce impacts to this Fourteener’s fragile alpine environment. For detailed route information including pictures, maps, and elevation profiles, click here.

Route Information and Additional Resources Do not confuse the Denny Creek Route with the Denny Gulch Route. Overuse of the Denny Gulch Route created significant erosion and environmental damage, along with loose rock hazards. The Forest Service has closed the Denny Gulch Route. The trailhead is twelve miles west of Buena Vista on Cottonwood Pass Road, Colorado 306. The Denny Creek Trailhead is one mile west of Collegiate Peaks Campground, where the closed Denny Gulch route used to originate. Follow the well-marked Denny Creek Trail. The route travels north and crosses Denny Creek at about a mile and then northwest another 1/4 mile to a right fork that leads up Delaney Gulch and ultimately gains Yale’s southwest ridge. Follow the ridge hiking north to a saddle at 13,500 feet. From that saddle it is a half-mile climb on a trail that is south of the ridge crest. On the approach and on the return, stay on this trail from the saddle to the summit.

The above information does not replace the need to consult additional maps and Colorado Fourteener Guidebooks for more detailed route descriptions. We suggest checking multiple resources before departing on any hike. Keep in mind that not all guidebooks list this recommended route and that each guidebook’s description or route name may vary slightly.

Peak Specific Environmental and Safety Concerns This area subject to Wilderness Area regulations: Group size limit is 15. No camping or campfires within 100 feet of trail or streams. Dogs must be leashed at all times. No motorized or mechanical equipment. Do not shortcut the trail, this can lead to severe erosion problems.