Evans Summit Trailhead

RESERVATION REQUIRED
A reservation is required to park in the Mt. Evans summit lot, near 14,000', and must be purchased through recreation.gov PRIOR to the day of your hike. It's $17. Look for the --Mount Evans + All Recreation Sites Vehicle Ticket-- on the system. These tickets are based on a 2-Hour entry window that you select; however, the earliest entry window you can select is 8:00-10:00am and you may be looking to start your hike earlier. Unless the weather is bad and they have to close the road, prior to 8am you'll find the gate open and unstaffed. You still need to have a ticket to drive in early. So, reserve a 8:00-10:00am slot, print it out and display it on your dash when you drive in early and park at the summit.

Tickets are good for 3 consecutive days, at the same entry window. That probably doesn't do you much good but keep this in mind if your first day gets weathered-out and you'd like to return on one of the next two days.

More Information at the USFS

Location

Range: Front Range
Coordinates: 39.58766, -105.64205
14ers: Mt. Evans, Mt. Bierstadt
Elevation: 14,140'

Road Difficulty

0 (0=Paved, 6=Very Difficult 4WD)
2WD paved to the TH.

Driving Directions

Take Exit 240 at Idaho Springs on Interstate 70. Drive south on Colorado 103 for 13.5 miles to Echo Lake. Show your reservation and drive ~14 miles to reach the Mt. Evans summit parking lot. There are restrooms here.

Winter Access

Closed at Echo Lake Lodge.

More Info

Parking: Reservation required - see notes.
Camping: None in the area.
Restrooms? Yes
Fees? Yes

Trailhead added by BillMiddlebrook

Status Updates
2022-09-24 Posted By: iceman1212 Info: FYI - it looks like the pulloffs near the fee parking area at summit lake trailhead are part of the fee area and require a reservation displayed. received a warning for not showing fee pass when parking in one of the nearby pulloffs.
2022-07-06 Posted By: BillMiddlebrook Info: Reminder: If you plan on parking at the Mt. Evans summit lot, you’ll need to book a reservation ahead of time. Even if you plan on going up the road very early.
2020-11-12 Posted By: Beardo Info: Highway 5 continues to be closed for 2020. In addition access from Mt Bierdst and Echo Lake is also prohibited per National Forest Services.		1
2017-07-05 Posted By: scribbles Info: Plenty of open spaces at 8am on a Wednesday. Typical Summit Lake potholes still exist. Accessible by all vehicles.
2014-09-09 Posted By: JQDivide Info: The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) closed the top portion of the Mount Evans Highway - State Highway 5 - for the season on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014, at 8 a.m. CDOT closes the five-mile segment from Summit Lake to the top of Mount Evans (14,264 feet) the day after Labor Day, per agreement with the U.S. Forest Service. The remaining 10 miles, from Echo Lake (State Highway 103) to Summit Lake, will remain open until early October unless weather creates adverse driving conditions.