Santa Fe Peak

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4.8/5 (31 reviews)
Montezuma, Colorado (Summit County)
Last Updated: 07/16/2023

Trail Information

Highlights

The 4WD road to the summit of Santa Fe Peak offers truly epic vistas and truly butt-clenching thrills. At the summit, just over 13,000 feet, the trail traverses the highest and scariest shelf road this writer has ever experienced. Peering over the edge to the valley 2000 feet below (yes, really) is not for the faint of heart. Then, you have to turn around and do it again to get back down!

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

4.8/5 (31)
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6300
Open
Rated 4/5
Visited: 08/21/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Ran this trail to the scenic overlook on a Monday. Didn't go any further because we wanted to run Deer Creek, Saints John and Stevens Gulch in the same day. The views are spectacular from the scenic overlook. Well worth the drive. We saw one mountain goat on top. Great views of the Town of Montezuma as you come down.
Trail Review: Santa Fe Peak - Roger P.
Trail Review: Santa Fe Peak - Roger P.
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 08/05/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

This is one of my favorite trails in the Rockies. It just goes up and up and up, and just when you think it can't go up anymore, it goes up some more. We went on a Saturday and saw only two other vehicles the whole time, so we basically had this mountain all to ourselves. We took one vehicle past the peak and down to the Silver Wave Mine, which was probably the most challenging part of the whole drive, but what a great little road.
Trail Review: Santa Fe Peak - Joshua Scurran
Trail Review: Santa Fe Peak - Joshua Scurran
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Official Crew
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1300
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 07/23/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

This trail is absolutely gorgeous. Not as popular as some of the surrounding trails like Webster, but you still get up and can really enjoy some amazing views. It was really nice to get out of the heat. Got to see some hikers on the Continental Divide Trail which was pretty cool.
Trail Review: Santa Fe Peak - Brian Baldwin
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Official Crew
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43800
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 07/13/2023

Thanks for the report, Iceman.
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4550
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 07/13/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Santa Fe Peak is open for business Boys !! Air down shift into 4Lo and get after it. 2 years ago I got to 13k before the weather looked very bad. I bailed off and I've wanted to return every since to run it to the end. Im running a 99 F-150 on 35s fully armored up 2.5 lift. The trail is in great shape a few off camber areas but go slow in those areas and be careful it's not bad at all. The upper shelf road at 13k is amazing and I'm the first across it this year because I had to remove some rockfall to get across it. After i got to the end i hiked down to some old mining ruins that were very amazing. Just saw 2 Mt. Bikers on the trail I love this trail for some reason it gets way less traffic but it is Awesome !!
Trail Review: Santa Fe Peak - Iceman 99
Trail Review: Santa Fe Peak - Iceman 99
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