Timing advice for busy trailheads

[DrLDG]

I’m planning to hike some of the easier and very busy 14ers next month over the course of a week (Monday through Monday window), and am looking for advice on which I should really try to do on a weekday versus ones I may have a shot at parking on a weekend without camping in my car the night before! I know I’ll have lots of company on these trails no matter what, but I sure hate adding mileage hiking TO a trailhead on a dirt road because there’s no parking if I can help it.

-Mt Sherman: planning to hike Monday afternoon on my drive up, weather permitting

-Decalibron?

-Quandary: I can either take the shuttle or pay for parking so I assume this would be a good weekend one?

-Grays and Torreys? This is the trailhead I’m most worried about planning.

-Mt Blue Sky and Bierstadt? I haven’t decided on doing the combo with the ridge or separately from the different trailheads yet- I’ll have time for either way.

[Chicago Transplant]

Don't have much advice on most of these, just haven't been up the ones on your list in summer for a while.

Note that Quandary is about $25 bucks cheaper M-Th than it is F-Su to park at:
https://www.summitcountyco.gov/services ... /index.php

If the small lot at Guanella is full, you might have success across the street in another lot rather than having to park along the road. That is what I did for Square Top a few years ago in June.

[The_Ramp]

Grays/Torreys lot on a weekday is still likely going to be full or close to. I climbed on a Thursday last month and lot was packed with cars up and down road (which I believe could result in ticket or tow). If going later in week, I would suggest getting up there night before and sleeping in car. Day of is likely ok on a M-W as long as you’re early (ie parking by 5am). I’d avoid weekends entirely.

[mtree]

Sherman - You shouldn't have any problem parking regardless of day. You might have to hike an extra couple hundred yards, but no big deal.
Decalibro - Dunno. Haven't been up there in years.
Quandary - As stated by Chi-town.
Grays - Weekends, you're hiking or hitching a ride unless you're there while its dark. Weekdays are likely the same, but you might get lucky.
Bierstadt - Weekends you might have to park on road (off pavement!) or get there sick early. However, the extra hiking is fairly level and doesn't add much time or effort.

[daway8]

A few extra notes besides what's already been said:

Decalibron: note road closure for the last ~1.5mi through ~end of July. That creates extra crunch on parking space until it's done. In the meantime, weekdays are better. I imagine it'll be paid parking when completed..

Blue Sky: note that reservations are required here too (unless you hike from the Guanella Pass side)

Grays and Torreys: you should be worried - this trailhead can get nuts in summer. Arriving no later than dinner time the night before your hike might improve your odds. Weekdays might be a little less crazy. Parking on the road is very risky -they do tow people, sometimes enforced more aggressively than others. Can usually find spots at the bottom but that adds a lot of walking.

[seannunn]

I can't speak for each specific TH.
General rules for busy peaks though:

Get there very early. As Daway8 says, in some cases that might even mean the night before. I don't know if you are technically allowed to car camp overnight at any or all of these places, but if you hide really well inside your vehicle...
At a minimum, get there by 4am, preferably on a weekday. This also makes the climb easier and less crowded, gives you more time before the thunder and lightning, etc.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

[madmattd]

Decalibron: note road closure for the last ~1.5mi through ~end of July. That creates extra crunch on parking space until it's done. In the meantime, weekdays are better. I imagine it'll be paid parking when completed..

It has been paid parking for quite a while now. (I think $8 last I was there?)

[wmagnuson7]

Can I please add Longs Peak to this thread?

I understand that you have to arrive incredibly early to get a spot in the parking lot, but if you arrive at say 5:00 a.m. on a weekend morning, you can apparently park along the road leading to the trailhead as long as you are clearly off the road, correct? Maybe 0.5 miles from the trailead if you arrive around 5:00 a.m.?

I would rather hike on a weekday, but I don't have the choice given my travel schedule and fitting in other 14'ers. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated, thanks!

[mtnkub]

-Long's Trailhead: parking lot was full at 4:30 am on a recent Monday. But spots down the road were still available.
-Guanella pass: Have never had a problem parking there (even on weekends). Even when there is no more parking on the road, there typically is still parking in the overflow lot on the other side.
-Summit lake: there is a dirt lot ~0.33 mi before the main lot. i have not seen that one fill up (and it doesn't required reservations).
-Sherman: should be fine on a Monday afternoon; even if there are no spots right at the gate, there is a parking ~25 mi down that should not fill up on a Monday.

[nyker]

Maybe because I was was coming from sea level so I always had to focus on acclimatizing and initially moving slower, but also a strong fear of thunderstorms and lightning, and parking at 2wd trailheads but I pretty much started nearly every climb in the dark even in the summer, which meant usually 4:30 a.m. or even earlier. Never had an issue parking except at Longs so parked down the road more.

[Fast Jimm]

Was just at Decalibron a week ago, went on a weekday morning, would probably avoid on a weekend. Paid 8 dollars at the board with the envelopes and instructions and put the detached sheet in windshield, even though we were late, like 7:30AM, it was not a problem to park down the road with the main parking lot still closed- perhaps a 1/8th mile walk to start of trail.. Very doable, bring 8 dollars in cash for one vehicle. Winds were so wild I think many people gave up after Democrat, but can't say for sure as we just walked (blow significantly sideways) mostly alone through the late morning and early afternoon without a cloud in the sky.

The earlier kiosk, at the start of the Kite Lake Road, is dead and the phone link unresponsive or we would have logged in and signed the form there as well.

From everything I've seen about the trailhead for Grays/Torrey's, I'd say plan 6 extra miles of lugging up and back down the road from the regular trailhead. It shouldn't be a big deal vs all the hassle, parallel parkers, limited spots and other issues.

[seannunn]

Can I please add Longs Peak to this thread?

I understand that you have to arrive incredibly early to get a spot in the parking lot, but if you arrive at say 5:00 a.m. on a weekend morning, you can apparently park along the road leading to the trailhead as long as you are clearly off the road, correct? Maybe 0.5 miles from the trailead if you arrive around 5:00 a.m.?

I would rather hike on a weekday, but I don't have the choice given my travel schedule and fitting in other 14'ers. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated, thanks!

No offense but 5am is not incredibly early for a Colorado 14er. 3:30am would be early. 2:30am would be incredibly early.
I see what you are saying though. IF you slept in until 5am would you still be able to get a spot along the road? Hard to say. Probably depends on what weekday. Longs get a lot of potential climbers just about every day in the summer.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO