Byers Peak

September 21, 2024

Byers Peak | 12,799 feet

9 miles; 2933 feet elevation gain

Total time: 3 hours 50 minutes

Another mountain that has been on my list for a long time! Byers Peak is the prominent peak you can see from downtown Fraser, CO. We spend a lot of time in Fraser so I have been starring at this mountain for years and finally made time to climb it. The road to this trailhead is mostly a maintained gravel road, in the summer. The last mile is the only rocky section that requires more concentration but I saw all kinds of cars at the trailhead. This road is not accessible in the winter months! Parking is on the side of the road and is limited, but I would guess this trail does not get overly busy given the location.

The first 1.8 miles of this hike are on an old road, this segment allows bikes which many people utilize to cut time off their hike. There is even a bike rack at the end of the road. However, it was a very easy start to the hike and a runnable trail to finish. The first mile had 420 feet of elevation gain and the second mile had 300 feet of elevation gain. Once you leave the road and enter the forest the trail becomes more steep, but is a well marked trail the entire way to the summit. Mile three has 600 feet of elevation gain and you reach the tree line around 3.4 miles, 11.5K feet. From here the incline is much more dramatic as you climb 1100 feet during mile 4 and another 500 feet in the last 0.5 miles to the summit. There is one section on the final summit block, about 0.2 miles from the summit, that requires a little bit of route finding and scrambling. I would call it difficult class 2 terrain, Nyx had no problem navigating it.

A lot of this trail is in the forest, the most dense yet lush forest I have ever hiked in. Once you are above the tree line this is when the views start. The views are incredible in every direction and it was especially beautiful to look down on the fall colors of Fraser and Winter Park. I was the first one one on the trail, starting at 6:30am, and ran into about 10 groups on the way down, only one other group with dogs. The final 2 miles were lovely to run down, a great way to end a beautiful day!!