Comanche Peak Wilderness
The 70 miles of trails that wind through this Wilderness begin flanked in ponderosa pine and aspen, and then pass through a thick forest of lodgepole and limber pine. From the trails, the Wilderness appears...
Description from Wilderness Connect (wilderness.net), where the full text continues.
| Designation | Wilderness |
| Managed by | U.S. Forest Service |
| State | Colorado |
| Size | 68,025 acres (Wilderness Connect) |
| Designated | 1980, by Congress |
| Center point | 40.5848, -105.6659 |
| Night sky | About as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 18) |
Boundary map
Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground
The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.
Weather by month
Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.
Where to camp
No federal campground sits inside the boundary. 21 are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.
Show 4 moreHide
9 more within ten miles are not listed here.
Trails
26 named Forest Service trails enter this wilderness, 154 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.
| Trail | Miles | Allowed uses |
|---|---|---|
| Beaver Creek ↗ | 24.8 | |
| Flowers ↗ | 18.7 | |
| Big South ↗ | 10.8 | |
| Lookout Mountain ↗ | 8.4 | |
| Zimmerman ↗ | 8.3 | |
| Upper Dadd Gulch ↗ | 7.2 | |
| Little Beaver ↗ | 7 | |
| Fish Creek ↗ | 6.6 | |
| Browns Lake ↗ | 5.9 | |
| Emmaline Lake ↗ | 5.8 |
Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas, refreshed September 18, 2026. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.
Explore
Nearby on the other atlases
- 5.3 miRocky Mountain National Park Administration Building ↗National Historic Landmark
- 1.2 miArrowhead Lodge ↗Bellvue, CO
- 2.7 miWind Ridge ↗Estes Park, CO
- 4 miPark Theatre ↗Estes Park, CO
- 4.2 miClatworthy Place ↗Estes Park, CO
- 4.4 miCrags Lodge ↗Estes Park, CO
- 4.4 mi
- 4.8 miDunraven Cottage-Camp Dunraven ↗Estes Park, CO
Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.
Reference
Questions people ask
How big is Comanche Peak Wilderness?
68,025 acres.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Who manages Comanche Peak Wilderness?
The U.S. Forest Service.
Source: Wilderness Connect
What state is Comanche Peak Wilderness in?
Colorado.
Source: Wilderness Connect
When was Comanche Peak Wilderness designated?
Congress designated it in 1980.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Can I camp at Comanche Peak Wilderness?
No federal campground sits inside the boundary. The nearest is Big South Campground, 0.3 miles out. 21 in all are within ten miles. Camping inside a wilderness is usually allowed away from roads, with no facilities; the managing agency page has the permit rules.
Source: Where to camp
How do I get to Comanche Peak Wilderness?
A point inside the boundary is at 40.585, -105.666. Rocky Mountain National Park is 11 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.
Source: Wilderness Connect
How dark is the night sky at Comanche Peak Wilderness?
NASA’s Black Marble night-lights image reads 18 on a 0 to 255 scale at the center point, about as dark as the ground gets.
Source: NASA Black Marble
Which national parks are near Comanche Peak Wilderness?
Rocky Mountain National Park (11 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.
Source: Nearby on the other atlases
Are there historic places near Comanche Peak Wilderness?
36 National Register listings within 15 miles, including Rocky Mountain National Park Administration Building and Arrowhead Lodge.
Source: Register Atlas
Sources
- Boundary, name, acreage, designation year, states and description: Wilderness Connect.
- Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
- Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, points inside the boundary.
- Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched on the wilderness each trail enters.
- Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
- Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.