The Colorado 14ers Ranked From Best to Worst

Over the past 10+ years, I have hiked all 58 Colorado 14ers, repeating many along the way. Between snow lines, new routes, repeat routes and snowboard descents, I have now hiked over 140 14ers. This process has led me to be able to rank the 14ers from Best to Worst in a ranking that will have no debate at all (insert sarcasm). Let me know what you think about this ranking in the comments and watch my full video for the complete rational behind each peak! I will be using a tiered ranking system with S being the best 14ers and F being the worst 14ers. Each mountain is not ranked in the Tier itself.

F Tier Colorado 14ers – 3

• Mt Bross
  • Can’t legally summit, boring, same views as rest of DeCaLiBron (this acronym still makes no sense to me)
• Culebra Peak
  • Pay to play and for that reason, I am out.
• Challenger Point
  • ABYSMAL trail conditions with long approach, loose/dangerous/1 million social trails. Very similar views to Kit Carson. Personal grudge with this mountain.

D Tier Colorado 14ers – 10

• Grays Peak
  • Lost Rat is a fun ski line and snow climb but it melts out quickly. Standard route is not it. However, multiple ways to approach (Loveland, From the South etc.)
• Torreys Peak
  • Ditto to above, but more ski and snow climb lines.
• Mount Democrat
  • Great intro 14er but boring overall experience. North Couloir saves this from being a F experience.
• Mt Oxford
  • Steep, loose trail but beautiful views and approach. Have to regain elevation on steep, loose trail.
• Mt Belford
  • Steep, loose trail but beautiful views and approach. Slightly better than Oxford due to less elevation gain.
• Mt Antero
  • Great approach from Browns Creek, but long – standard trail is bad and boring. Top weird with mining claims.
• Mt Lincoln
  • Arguably an F Tier mountain but I was feeling nice…
• Mt Sherman
  • Cool mining artifacts at start but when the road to the trailhead takes longer than the hike, that is never a good thing.
• Mount Cameron
  • Not really a 14er anyway…
• Mt Bierstadt
  • Once heard someone call it the Walmart of 14ers, that made me laugh. Always crowded/hard to find space on the mountain, debated between landing in F.

C Tier Colorado 14ers – 16

• Mount Blue Sky
  • Multiple approaches + mountain goats on top. Driving to summit and somewhat boring hiking land this in the middle.
• Mt Yale
  • Multiple approaches on decent trail conditions. Good views but no really exciting terrain.
• Quandary Peak
  • Lots of ski lines, fun scrambling but permit system is a real bummer.
• Redcloud Peak
  • Beautiful San Juan views but hiking somewhat loose and boring.
• Sunshine Peak
  • Same grade as Redcloud since they are right next to each other…
• La Plata Peak
  • Ellingwood Ridge is a classic but a slog. North Couloirs are tough to access.
• Mt Princeton
  • Could be a D mountain in retrospect…
• Kit Carson Peak
  • Solid scrambling on North Ridge but longer approach and the descent down Challenger is awful. Conditions in its South Gully leave a lot to be desired. Beautiful views of Sangres and Sand Dunes National Park.
• Humboldt Peak
  • Great outing in both the Summer and Winter, easy to backpack as well. Rough approach road.
• Mt Columbia
  • Slightly worse than Harvard due to lack of fun scrambling. Trail so much better thanks to CFI.
• Ellingwood Point
  • Long approach but multiple to choose from. Not the most memorable mountain.
• Little Bear Peak
  • Easily a C+ mountain. However, lots of loose rock and a long approach knock it down significantly.
• Maroon Peak
  • C+ experience but steep approach, permit system and loose terrain knock this down to a C for me. However, beautiful views and the traverse is fun.
• North Maroon Peak
  • Almost exactly the same notes as above but I didn’t love the ledges descent either.
• Mt Wilson
  • Fun adventure for long day or multiple but traverse and terrain itself is full of loose terrain.
• El Diente Peak
  • Same notes as above.

B Tier Colorado 14ers – 18

• Handies Peak
  • B+ mountain just wish it had some scrambling.
• Mt Snefffels
  • Could easily be an A mountain if wasn’t as crowded and poor trail conditions on standard route. Stunning summit views.
• Mt Massive
  • Easily linkable, less crowds than Mt Elbert, good to ski, subpeaks.
• Mt Shavano
  • Angel is a classic snow line, new re-routed trail – just no super fun terrain and summit views are just okay.
• Tabeguache Peak
  • Neighbor to Mt Shavano, B- mountain.
• Missouri Mountain
  • Improving the trail conditions near ridge and summit would easily bump this to an A mountain. But that loose dirt/rock/scree is no fun.
• Castle Peak
  • Nice lollipop loop – good to pair with another 14er and beautiful views.
• Conundrum Peak
  • Fun snow line, easy to link – descending without snow can be challenging.
• Pyramid Peak
  • Permit system stinks, but love the goats, views and some fun features on the mountain.
• Windom Peak
  • Bit more of walkup, loose quality B+
• San Luis Peak
  • Remote. Feels like a true adventure even with lackluster trail.
• Mt Lindsey
  • Good scrambling near top, beautiful approach, lots of water features along the way.
• Uncompahgre Peak
  • Walk up but fun in Spring, Winter (when accessible) and Summer/Fall. Looks badass from far away.
• Mt Harvard
  • Scrambling near summit saves this from a C mountain. Link up to Columbia more fun on the Harvard side.
• Blanca Peak
  • B- mountain but with ability to do both Gash ridge and Little Bear Blanca traverse + standard route makes this one a solid B for me.
• Mount of the Holy Cross
  • Great loop with multiple routes, iconic ski line and fairly remote for this area.
• Wilson Peak
  • Multiple approaches some fun scrambling but rock quality near summit leaves something to be desired.
• Pikes Peak
  • Winter access, great for trail running, multiple routes and ability to refuel on the summit. Know that people will hate this landing here but Pikes just feels different for me than other 14ers.

A Tier Colorado 14ers – 7

• Crestone Peak / East Crestone
  • Re-gaining elevation and the scrambling slightly less fun than its neighbor but other than that an near perfect mountain experience.
• Capitol Peak
  • True sense of an adventure with long day or backpacking trip. Fun scrambling and knife edge is very dramatic. However, rock quality near summit is not great and there can be bottlenecking on knife edge.
• Mt Elbert
  • Lots of routes to link, accessible year round, fun ski lines but there is no fun scrambling and can be quite popular.
• Snowmass Mountain
  • Some of the best views on any Colorado 14er hike, including Snowmass Lake which is one of the best in the state. However, rock quality on the ridge leaves some to be desire and without snow you deal with A LOT of loose rock.
• Eolus
  • Fun scrambling, bit of route finding, remote, sense of adventure, insane summit views. However, loose trail conditions exist and its quite a journey to get back to the mountain by foot or train.
• North Eolus
  • Ditto to above with less scrambling.
• Sunlight Peak
  • Leap of faith is one of the most exilerating moves on a Colorado 14er, standard route. However, same cons to above and there is more loose trail on the way to the summit area.

S Tier Colorado 14ers – 4

• Crestone Needle
  • Great rock quality and fun scrambling, beautiful approach, stunning views from top. No notes…
• Wetterhorn Peak
  • Fun scramble on top, unique crossover, secluded and multiple ways to access its standard route. Admidatley, a nostalgia pick for me.
• Huron Peak
  • Easy approach, A+ views, variety of terrain, the best intro 14er IMO.
• Longs Peak
  • A million different approaches, year round access, ability to easily link up routes, multisport possibility and solid overall rock quality overall. Longs Peak is the best 14er in Colorado in my opinion.