Mount Buckskin

Hagerman peak and Snowmass mtn. from Buckskin pass, Colorado | Adams adventure photos

Mount Buckskin rises to approximately 13,871 feet (4,228 meters) in Colorado’s Mosquito Range, standing immediately southwest of the famous cluster of fourteeners surrounding Kite Lake. Although neighboring Mount Democrat, Mount Cameron, Mount Lincoln, and Mount Bross attract most of the attention, Mount Buckskin offers a much quieter way to experience the same extraordinary alpine landscape.

The standard Northeast Slopes route begins at Kite Lake and reaches the summit in only about three miles round trip. With approximately 1,950 feet of elevation gain and mostly Class 2 terrain, Buckskin is one of the more approachable ranked thirteeners in the Mosquito Range. The short mileage should not be confused with an easy low-elevation hike, however. The trailhead begins around 12,000 feet, nearly the entire route is above treeline, and lightning, altitude, loose rock, snow, and rapidly changing weather remain serious concerns.

Mount Buckskin is also deeply connected to the mining history of Buckskin Gulch and Alma. Gold discoveries during the early 1860s created the boomtown of Buckskin Joe below these mountains, while mines, mills, roads, and abandoned workings transformed the surrounding valleys. Today, the combination of mining history, alpine tundra, broad summit views, and comparatively light summit traffic makes Mount Buckskin an excellent alternative to its much busier fourteener neighbors.

⚡ Fast Facts

Fact	Details
Mountain	Mount Buckskin
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	Park County
Mountain Range	Mosquito Range
Parent Range	Rocky Mountains
Elevation	Approximately 13,871 ft / 4,228 m
Prominence	Approximately 710 ft / 216 m
Isolation	Approximately 1.4 mi / 2.3 km
Nearest Higher Neighbor (NHN)	Mount Democrat
Colorado 13er	Yes
Modern Rank	Approximately 75th among ranked Colorado thirteeners
National Forest	Pike National Forest
USGS Quadrangle	Climax
Standard Route	Northeast Slopes
Standard Difficulty	Class 2
Round-trip Distance	About 3 miles
Elevation Gain	About 1,950 ft
Trailhead	Kite Lake
Trailhead Elevation	About 12,000 ft
Nearby Town	Alma

Mount Buckskin’s nearest higher neighbor is Mount Democrat, located only about 1.4 miles to the north-northeast. Modern LiDAR measurements place Buckskin among Colorado’s higher ranked thirteeners despite its location beside several even taller mountains.

📍 Where Is Mount Buckskin?

Mount Buckskin is located in Park County in central Colorado, approximately five miles west-northwest of Alma.

The mountain occupies the eastern side of the Mosquito Range, the narrow high range separating South Park from the upper Arkansas River Valley and Leadville area.

Kite Lake sits northeast of the summit at approximately 12,000 feet.

Immediately north lies Mount Democrat, while Mount Cameron, Mount Lincoln, and Mount Bross rise farther east and northeast.

Buckskin Creek drains eastward from this high mountain basin toward Alma and eventually joins the South Platte River system.

Because the mountain sits only a short distance from Colorado’s famous Decalibron peaks, hikers on Buckskin receive many of the same views without experiencing nearly the same level of summit traffic.

🏔️ Mount Buckskin and the Mosquito Range

The Mosquito Range contains an extraordinary concentration of high mountains.

Major summits include:

Mount Buckskin reaches almost 13,900 feet but remains visually subordinate to nearby Democrat, which rises more than 280 feet higher.

Topographically, however, Buckskin is an independently ranked summit.

Its saddle with surrounding higher terrain drops well beyond the traditional 300-foot prominence threshold used for Colorado peak lists.

That distinguishes Buckskin from neighboring Mount Cameron, which exceeds 14,000 feet but is not independently ranked because only about 150 feet separate Cameron from Mount Lincoln.

Buckskin therefore provides an interesting example of how prominence and elevation can produce very different mountain rankings.

📏 How High Is Mount Buckskin?

Modern LiDAR-based mountain lists place Mount Buckskin at approximately 13,871 feet.

Older maps may display slightly different figures, including a surveyed elevation near 13,865 feet.

High-resolution LiDAR has refined the elevations of hundreds of Colorado summits, sometimes shifting rankings by several positions.

Climb13ers currently places Mount Buckskin at approximately #75 among Colorado’s ranked thirteeners, compared with approximately #76 on older pre-LiDAR lists.

The exact ranking can vary slightly depending on the elevation dataset and prominence convention being used, but Buckskin comfortably qualifies as a ranked Colorado thirteener.

📈 Prominence and Isolation

Mount Buckskin has roughly 700 feet of topographic prominence, depending on the specific elevation dataset used.

Its nearest higher terrain lies toward Mount Democrat, approximately 1.4 miles to the north-northeast.

Those numbers are modest compared with highly isolated Colorado summits such as Mount Silverheels, but they are more than sufficient to establish Buckskin as a distinct ranked mountain.

The summit is particularly interesting because of the high terrain surrounding it.

From the top, hikers can look directly toward fourteeners that rise only a short distance away, creating the unusual feeling of being nearly 13,900 feet high while still looking noticeably upward toward neighboring mountains.

🥾 Hiking Mount Buckskin

The standard route climbs Mount Buckskin’s Northeast Slopes from Kite Lake.

Current route statistics are approximately:

Route Detail	Approximate Measurement
Trailhead	Kite Lake
Trailhead Elevation	About 12,000 ft
Summit Elevation	About 13,871 ft
Round-trip Distance	About 3 miles
Elevation Gain	About 1,950 ft
Difficulty	Class 2
Exposure	Low
Rockfall Risk	Low
Route-Finding	Relatively straightforward

Climb13ers measures a very similar route at approximately 3.2 miles and 1,850 feet of gain.

The small differences simply reflect variations in GPS tracks and exact starting and turning points.

Either way, this is a short but steep high-altitude climb.

🥾 Northeast Slopes Route

From Kite Lake, hikers begin by following the trail west toward the high basin beneath Mount Democrat.

After a relatively short distance, the Mount Buckskin route separates from the busier fourteener trail.

Hikers descend slightly toward Buckskin Creek, cross the drainage, and begin climbing south and southwest across Buckskin’s broad northeast-facing slopes.

The lower mountain consists primarily of tundra.

There is no need to seek out difficult rock. Climbers can generally choose a straightforward line across grassy and rocky alpine terrain while gaining elevation steadily.

Higher on the mountain, tundra gradually gives way to:

Scree
Talus
Embedded rocks
Loose alpine rubble

The route eventually reaches Mount Buckskin’s summit ridge.

From there, hikers continue toward the mountain’s actual high point.

🏔️ Mount Buckskin Has Two Summit Areas

Mount Buckskin’s broad upper ridge contains two notable summit areas, which can create some confusion for hikers.

The northwestern summit lies along the connecting ridge toward Mount Tweto and Mount Democrat.

The true summit lies farther southeast along the crest.

Older USGS mapping marked the southeastern high point at approximately 13,865 feet, while modern LiDAR data places the mountain around 13,871 feet.

Hikers should therefore continue southeast along the upper ridge to the actual high point rather than assuming the first major summit encountered is necessarily the top.

The ridge travel is generally straightforward in good weather and adds only a modest amount of distance.

🥾 Combining Mount Buckskin and Mount Democrat

Experienced hikers can combine Mount Buckskin with Mount Democrat.

The two mountains stand only about 1.5 miles apart.

However, the connection is less straightforward than the easy Cameron-Lincoln ridge used on the Decalibron.

From Democrat, hikers must descend southward and work toward the basin around Lake Emma before climbing Buckskin.

The slopes between Democrat and Lake Emma include loose rock, gullies, and terrain where route selection matters.

For that reason, hikers seeking the easiest possible Buckskin outing may prefer simply using the Northeast Slopes route from Kite Lake.

Strong climbers comfortable with off-trail travel can nevertheless create an interesting two-peak day involving one ranked fourteener and one ranked thirteener.

🥾 Loveland Mountain Approach

Another possible route approaches Mount Buckskin by way of Loveland Mountain.

This alternative begins farther down Buckskin Gulch and climbs toward the broad eastern ridges before continuing toward Buckskin.

Loveland Mountain is not independently ranked, but its ridge provides a natural approach to the main summit.

This route has historically been useful during winter because seasonal snow often prevents vehicles from reaching the upper Kite Lake trailhead.

Starting lower dramatically increases the day’s mileage and elevation gain, however.

Winter conditions also add avalanche hazards, deep snow, wind, and navigation challenges.

🚗 Getting to Kite Lake

The standard route begins at Kite Lake, reached from Alma by Park County Road 8.

From Colorado Highway 9 in Alma, hikers turn west and follow the Buckskin/Kite Lake road approximately six miles into the mountains.

The road becomes rougher near its upper end but is commonly manageable by ordinary vehicles when dry and in good condition.

Recent August 2026 trailhead reports indicate that the major construction project on the Kite Lake road and parking area has been completed.

A new parking area accommodating roughly 100 vehicles is now available, and recent visitors have reported that normal two-wheel-drive vehicles can reach the trailhead under dry conditions.

The parking area can still fill extremely early on summer weekends because most visitors are climbing the Decalibron peaks.

Mount Buckskin hikers therefore benefit from the same early start that is recommended for thunderstorm safety.

🌩️ Why an Early Start Matters

Mount Buckskin may involve only about three miles of hiking, but nearly the entire route is exposed above treeline.

Colorado’s summer thunderstorms often develop during late morning and afternoon.

Once on Buckskin’s northeast slopes or summit ridge, hikers have almost no meaningful lightning shelter.

An early start reduces this risk and provides additional time for navigating loose terrain.

Climbers should turn around if thunder develops, even when the summit appears close.

A 13,800-foot ridge is one of the worst possible places to remain during an electrical storm.

🪨 Geology of Mount Buckskin

Mount Buckskin lies within the Climax quadrangle, an exceptionally complex part of central Colorado.

The Mosquito Range is composed largely of Precambrian crystalline rocks that formed more than a billion years ago.

These ancient basement rocks include varieties of:

Granite
Gneiss
Metamorphic rocks

Younger sedimentary formations were later deposited across portions of the region.

Still later, magma intruded the crust during episodes of igneous activity, producing dikes, sills, and intrusive bodies.

These geological processes played a major role in creating the mineral deposits that eventually made the mountains around Alma, Leadville, and Climax internationally famous mining districts.

🌎 Building the Mosquito Range

The modern Mosquito Range developed through multiple episodes of mountain building and faulting.

Colorado Geological Survey mapping indicates that the range probably existed as a topographic high during the Laramide Orogeny, which began during Late Cretaceous time.

The present relief of the range, however, reflects substantial later uplift.

Normal faulting associated with the Rio Grande Rift helped raise the Mosquito Range relative to nearby basins.

On the western side of the range, movement along major faults produced thousands of feet of displacement.

Erosion subsequently stripped away enormous volumes of rock.

Rivers, glaciers, landslides, frost, and gravity continued sculpting the high ridges into the landscape hikers see today.

❄️ Ice Age Glaciation

Glaciers profoundly modified the upper Buckskin and Kite Lake landscape during the Pleistocene.

Kite Lake occupies a glacial cirque basin surrounded by high peaks.

During colder Ice Age conditions, snow accumulated faster than it melted and eventually compressed into moving glacier ice.

Glaciers flowed downhill, excavating bedrock and transporting enormous amounts of sediment.

Their work helped create:

Cirques
U-shaped valleys
Moraines
Steep headwalls
Alpine basins
Lakes

The upper Buckskin Creek landscape still preserves many of these glacial features.

Modern snowfields are tiny compared with the ancient glaciers, but seasonal snow continues to influence water supply, vegetation, erosion, and hiking conditions.

⛏️ Buckskin Gulch Mining History

Mount Buckskin rises above one of Colorado’s most historically important early gold-mining districts.

Gold discoveries in Buckskin Gulch during the early 1860s triggered a major rush into the mountains west of present-day Alma.

The story centers on a prospector named Joseph Higginbottom, remembered as “Buckskin Joe.”

Historical geological reports credit Higginbottom with early gold discoveries in Buckskin Gulch around 1860 or 1861.

One especially rich location became the Phillips lode, among the first important hard-rock gold discoveries in this portion of Colorado.

A mining rush followed.

🏚️ The Boomtown of Buckskin Joe

Within a remarkably short period, a settlement developed around the new mines.

The community was officially known at times as Laurette, but the name Buckskin Joe became much more widely used.

At its peak during the early boom, the town reportedly contained around a thousand residents and briefly served as the county seat.

Mining was initially extraordinarily productive.

However, the easiest oxidized ores were soon depleted.

The deeper sulfide ores were more difficult to process with the available technology, and the boom quickly faded.

By the middle of the 1860s, much of Buckskin Joe had been abandoned.

Later mining continued elsewhere throughout the Alma district, but the original settlement never regained its early importance.

📜 Why Is It Called Mount Buckskin?

Mount Buckskin’s name is closely tied to Buckskin Gulch and the mining settlement of Buckskin Joe.

Joseph Higginbottom acquired the nickname “Buckskin Joe,” apparently because of his association with buckskin clothing.

His early prospecting discoveries gave the nickname to the mining settlement and surrounding landscape.

Buckskin Creek and Buckskin Gulch retained the name.

The high mountain above the drainage subsequently became Mount Buckskin.

There is an interesting historical wrinkle: neighboring Mount Democrat was itself reportedly once known as Mount Buckskin before receiving its modern political name.

As a result, “Buckskin” has been associated with more than one summit in this small section of the Mosquito Range during Colorado’s mapping history.

⛏️ The Alma Mining District

Mining did not disappear when Buckskin Joe declined.

The broader Alma mining district became one of Colorado’s major mineral-producing regions.

Gold, silver, lead, and zinc deposits were worked throughout:

Buckskin Gulch
Mosquito Gulch
Mount Bross
Mount Lincoln
Mount Democrat
Surrounding ridges

The Paris Mill, lower in Buckskin Gulch, was completed in 1895 to process gold and silver ore from nearby mines.

It survives today as an important Park County historic site.

Numerous other abandoned mines, roads, prospect pits, waste piles, and foundations remain scattered through the surrounding mountains.

⚠️ Abandoned Mine Hazards

Hikers exploring Mount Buckskin should be cautious around historic mining features.

Old workings may contain:

Open shafts
Unstable tunnels
Rotten timbers
Collapsing rock
Hidden pits
Contaminated water
Dangerous gases

Some historic sites also lie on private property.

The U.S. Forest Service specifically warns visitors in Buckskin Gulch that routes cross a mixture of National Forest and private land and that old mine workings may be hazardous.

Never enter an abandoned mine.

Remaining on established public routes is safer for both visitors and future access.

🌲 Flora and Fauna

A Mount Buckskin climb provides an almost entirely alpine experience.

Kite Lake lies around 12,000 feet, already several hundred feet above normal treeline in this part of Colorado.

Hikers therefore encounter little or no conventional forest on the standard route.

The landscape instead consists of:

Alpine tundra
Wet meadows
Willow patches
Talus
Scree
Boulder fields
Snowmelt streams
Rocky ridges

Trees survive only in protected lower locations.

Near treeline elsewhere in the Mosquito Range, Engelmann spruce may form low wind-shaped krummholz before disappearing from the highest slopes.

🌼 Alpine Plants

The Mosquito Range contains one of Colorado’s most important concentrations of alpine plant communities.

Vegetation commonly includes grasses, sedges, golden avens, cushion plants, low willows, mosses, and specialized wildflowers.

These plants must survive:

Extreme wind
Intense ultraviolet radiation
Freezing nights
Heavy snow
Short summers
Thin soils

Many grow only a few inches tall.

What looks like a sparse patch of vegetation may represent plants that have survived for decades in exceptionally difficult conditions.

Hikers should use durable rock, established paths, and already-disturbed surfaces whenever possible.

🌱 Rare Mosquito Range Mustard

One of the most notable plants of the surrounding range is the Mosquito Range mustard, also known as Penland alpine fen mustard.

This tiny perennial is found nowhere else on Earth outside a restricted area of central Colorado’s high mountains.

It typically grows above 12,000 feet in wet alpine areas supplied continuously by melting snowfields.

The species is federally listed as threatened.

Roads, trails, mining activity, vehicle tracks, and other disturbance can change delicate water-flow patterns and damage the wetlands on which these plants depend.

Mount Buckskin hikers may never knowingly see the plant, but its presence in the broader Mosquito Range is an important reason to avoid trampling wet alpine areas.

🐾 Alpine Wildlife

Wildlife inhabiting the Mount Buckskin region may include:

American pikas
Yellow-bellied marmots
White-tailed ptarmigan
Brown-capped rosy-finches
Bighorn sheep
Mountain goats
Elk
Mule deer
Coyotes
Golden eagles
Ravens

American pikas are especially characteristic of talus slopes.

Their sharp calls often reveal them long before hikers see them.

Rather than hibernating, pikas collect plants throughout the short summer and store vegetation beneath rocks for winter.

Marmots take the opposite strategy and spend much of the cold season hibernating underground.

🐐 Mountain Goats and Bighorn Sheep

Both mountain goats and bighorn sheep may occur in the broader Mosquito Range.

They should not be confused.

Bighorn sheep are native to Colorado, while mountain goats were introduced to the state during the twentieth century.

Both species are remarkably adapted to rugged mountain terrain.

Visitors should give either animal plenty of room.

Feeding wildlife can change natural behavior, encourage animals to approach people, and create long-term management problems.

🌦️ Best Time to Hike Mount Buckskin

For most hikers, the easiest climbing conditions occur from July through September.

By midsummer, the northeast slopes are often largely free of snow.

Conditions vary substantially from one year to another, however.

Heavy winters can leave lingering snowfields into summer, while autumn storms may cover the mountain surprisingly early.

July and August also coincide with Colorado’s summer monsoon.

That makes thunderstorms the primary warm-season weather concern.

🌩️ Lightning Safety

The entire upper mountain is exposed.

If thunder is audible, hikers should not remain on Mount Buckskin’s summit ridge.

Clouds can grow rapidly over the Mosquito Range, sometimes transforming a clear morning into an electrical storm within a relatively short period.

Warning signs include:

Increasing cumulus clouds
Darkening skies
Sudden wind changes
Falling temperatures
Hail
Distant thunder

The short route makes an early turnaround easier than on many longer thirteeners.

Taking advantage of that option is far safer than trying to beat an approaching storm to the summit.

❄️ Winter on Mount Buckskin

Mount Buckskin is also climbed during winter, but the outing becomes significantly more serious.

Kite Lake Road is not normally accessible to vehicles all the way to the summer trailhead during snowy conditions.

A lower starting point adds mileage and elevation gain.

Winter hazards can include:

Avalanches
Wind slabs
Cornices
Hard-packed snow
Ice
Severe wind chill
Whiteout conditions
Deep drifts

The Mosquito Range is notorious for powerful winter winds.

Anyone traveling in avalanche terrain should consult the current Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecast and carry the knowledge and equipment appropriate for winter backcountry travel.

⚠️ Hiking Safety

Mount Buckskin’s short mileage can make the peak seem deceptively easy.

The trailhead begins around 12,000 feet and the summit approaches 13,900 feet.

Important precautions include:

Begin early.
Check mountain weather before leaving.
Verify current Kite Lake road conditions.
Bring waterproof and insulating layers.
Carry sufficient food and water.
Use strong sun protection.
Carry offline navigation.
Watch for altitude sickness.
Avoid abandoned mine workings.
Respect private-property boundaries.
Protect fragile tundra and wetlands.
Check avalanche conditions during snowy seasons.
Turn around when weather or health deteriorates.

Hikers arriving directly from low elevations should be especially cautious about altitude.

Headache, nausea, unusual fatigue, dizziness, and loss of coordination can indicate altitude illness.

Worsening symptoms require descent.

🌄 Views from the Summit

Mount Buckskin’s summit provides excellent views despite being surrounded by taller mountains.

Immediately north, Mount Democrat dominates the skyline.

Beyond it lie Mount Cameron and Mount Lincoln.

Mount Bross forms another major landmark farther east.

Below, hikers can look across Kite Lake, Lake Emma, Buckskin Creek, and the heavily glaciated high basin.

Westward views extend toward the upper Arkansas River Valley and the immense Sawatch Range.

To the east lies South Park, one of Colorado’s great high intermountain basins.

The mountain’s location slightly removed from the Decalibron crest also provides an excellent perspective toward the famous fourteener group rather than simply looking outward from it.

🏔️ Mount Buckskin vs. Mount Democrat

Mount Buckskin and Mount Democrat are close neighbors but provide very different hiking experiences.

Feature	Mount Buckskin	Mount Democrat
Elevation	~13,871 ft	~14,154 ft
Peak Type	Ranked 13er	Ranked 14er
Standard Difficulty	Class 2	Class 2
Typical Trailhead	Kite Lake	Kite Lake
Crowds	Usually light	Often heavy
Typical Round Trip	~3 miles	Longer
Main Attraction	Quiet ranked thirteener	Colorado fourteener / Decalibron

For hikers primarily interested in solitude rather than checking off a fourteener list, Buckskin can be the more enjoyable summit.

Its lower popularity also makes it a useful introduction to off-trail Colorado thirteeners without requiring a long expedition.

🌄 Why Mount Buckskin Is Special

Mount Buckskin is easy to overlook.

It stands beside a cluster containing three ranked fourteeners and an additional unranked 14,000-foot summit. Most people driving up Buckskin Gulch are focused on Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross before they ever leave the parking lot.

That makes Buckskin particularly appealing.

The mountain provides a ranked Colorado thirteener, nearly 1,900 feet of climbing, broad alpine tundra, glacial scenery, fascinating mining history, and excellent summit views in a compact outing that receives far less traffic than the nearby Decalibron.

Its history also connects directly with the earliest mining boom around Alma.

Buckskin Joe, the vanished settlement in Buckskin Gulch, the Phillips lode, the Paris Mill, and the maze of old mines surrounding the mountain all tell the story of people pursuing mineral wealth in an environment that seems almost impossibly harsh.

Today, the priorities are different.

Visitors come for mountain scenery, wildlife, hiking, geology, and quiet. Rare alpine plants and fragile tundra remind hikers that the landscape is more than a recreational playground.

For anyone exploring the Mosquito Range beyond its famous fourteeners, Mount Buckskin is one of the best places to start.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How high is Mount Buckskin?

Modern LiDAR-based resources place Mount Buckskin at approximately 13,871 feet (4,228 meters).

Is Mount Buckskin a Colorado fourteener?

No. Mount Buckskin is a ranked Colorado thirteener.

What is Mount Buckskin’s nearest higher neighbor?

The nearest higher neighbor is Mount Democrat, approximately 1.4 miles to the north-northeast.

How prominent is Mount Buckskin?

Modern peak data gives Mount Buckskin roughly 700 feet of topographic prominence, comfortably exceeding the 300-foot threshold traditionally used for ranked Colorado summits.

What mountain range is Mount Buckskin in?

Mount Buckskin is located in Colorado’s Mosquito Range, part of the larger Rocky Mountains.

Where is Mount Buckskin?

The mountain is in Park County, Colorado, west-northwest of Alma and immediately southwest of Kite Lake.

How difficult is Mount Buckskin?

The Northeast Slopes route is generally rated Class 2 with low exposure and relatively straightforward route finding.

How long is the Mount Buckskin hike?

Current 14ers.com information gives approximately 3 miles round trip with about 1,950 feet of elevation gain. Climb13ers estimates about 3.2 miles and 1,850 feet.

Where does the Mount Buckskin hike start?

The standard route starts at the Kite Lake Trailhead west of Alma.

Can Mount Buckskin be climbed with Mount Democrat?

Yes. Experienced hikers can combine Buckskin and Mount Democrat, although the connecting terrain requires more off-trail navigation than the normal Decalibron ridges.

Is Mount Buckskin crowded?

Usually far less crowded than the nearby Kite Lake fourteeners. Most visitors to the trailhead are attempting Mount Democrat or the Decalibron.

Does Mount Buckskin have more than one summit?

Yes. The mountain has two prominent high points along its upper ridge. The true summit is the southeastern high point.

Why is it called Mount Buckskin?

The name is connected with Buckskin Gulch and the historic mining settlement of Buckskin Joe, which was named for early prospector Joseph “Buckskin Joe” Higginbottom.

Was Mount Democrat once called Mount Buckskin?

Historical accounts indicate that the mountain now known as Mount Democrat was also once called Mount Buckskin before receiving its current name.

Is Kite Lake Road open?

As of late August 2026, recent trailhead reports indicate that the road is open to the trailhead following construction and that the new parking area is operational. Conditions can change, so hikers should check a current trailhead report before visiting.

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