First 14er, looking for Camping access

[JennyJ]

We would like to find a good first 14er with close pop up camping availability coming from highway 24.
I am looking at La Plata Peak or Mt. Yale and am open to suggestions.

Looking at RT miles to be about 8-10, close camping with a pop up. We have a AWD santa Fe so we can manage light off-roading if needed.

Suggestions for a good first time 14er with info on camping are appreciated. We would be getting there Friday evening so good camping availability is a must.
Thanks!

[huffy13]

Camp at Winfield, you can get there with a pop-up. LaPlata, Huron is right there and you can head back down county road 390 just a few miles and get Belford, Oxford or Missouri...all fall within your criteria.

[Cruiser]

I'd try to get a reservation at the Collegiate Peaks Campground so that you could have a go at to Mt Yale. It's a good little campground with easy access to the trailhead and town. But it's pretty popular on summer weekends so availability may be tricky.

[JennyJ]

Thank you! It looks like to complete La Plata we would be going up the less popular route. Have you taken that route before and have any feedback? Seems like it is just fine for a first 14er!!

Camp at Winfield, you can get there with a pop-up. LaPlata, Huron is right there and you can head back down county road 390 just a few miles and get Belford, Oxford or Missouri...all fall within your criteria.

[JennyJ]

Thanks!! So am I seeing this correctly....the route from Collegiate for Yale is the East Ridge that is 10.5 RT with 5000 elevation gain? I like the idea of having a reserved camping spot to go to but....I am thinking that might be a big more than we want to take on for our first 14er =(. I appreciate the info and after we concure our first I will have this info for later on.

I'd try to get a reservation at the Collegiate Peaks Campground so that you could have a go at to Mt Yale. It's a good little campground with easy access to the trailhead and town. But it's pretty popular on summer weekends so availability may be tricky.

[Cruiser]

Nah, you'd just drive up towards Cottonwood Pass to Denny Creek Trailhead for the Southwest Slopes route on Yale. It's 9.5m and 4300' so it's not a super quick one but it is a nice hike with great views from the summit.

That said, if you don't mind boondocking then camping near Winfield and taking that Southwest Ridge route on La Plata would be pretty nice too. It has a very good trail to follow through the woods and really makes for a shorter day on La Plata than the Northwest Ridge. You probably couldn't get all the way to the trailhead in a Santa Fe but I bet you could drive within 1/4 mile of it without too much trouble.

[huffy13]

Thanks!! So am I seeing this correctly....the route from Collegiate for Yale is the East Ridge that is 10.5 RT with 5000 elevation gain? I like the idea of having a reserved camping spot to go to but....I am thinking that might be a big more than we want to take on for our first 14er =(. I appreciate the info and after we concure our first I will have this info for later on.

I'd try to get a reservation at the Collegiate Peaks Campground so that you could have a go at to Mt Yale. It's a good little campground with easy access to the trailhead and town. But it's pretty popular on summer weekends so availability may be tricky.

Mt. Yale is not all that hard and would make for a great first time 14er. So don't let the RT distance intimidate you into not doing that one.

I can not vouch for LaPlata's SW ridge route, but I can vouch for Huron and it is a great hike. Winfield is a first come, first serve place, but I have never seen more than about 8-10 other campsites being used at one time there...and it is a pretty large area. It has vault toilets and Clear Creek is a good source of water.

[Jim Davies]

I'll second Huron from Winfield. Good camping, excellent summit, and an easy to follow route.

[JennyJ]

This is all great information...thank you so much!!