PTARMIGAN PEAK WILDERNESS

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The Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness encompasses a total of 13,175 acres on the Dillon Ranger District in the White River National Forest and is bordered on the northeast boundary by the Sulphur Ranger District of the Arapaho National Forest.  Most people heading into Summit County on I-70 from the Front Range don't realize that the mountains on their right side, immediately exiting the Eisenhower Tunnel, are the southern boundary of the Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness.  For current White River National Forest Special Orders that affect the Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness, please check the bottom of this page. 

Before taking your dog into the Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness, please check out some important information by clicking on Spike.

The imposing Williams Fork Mountains are the central attraction of the Wilderness with elevations that range from 9,127 feet to 12,757 feet near Coon Hill, just north of the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70.  The Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness has a very diverse topography ranging from aspen and lodgepole pine forests at the lower elevations of the Wilderness, then on to Englemann spruce at  the middle elevations and on up to alpine tundra at the highest elevations.  There are only a few trails that enter the Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness.  All of the trails that enter the Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness join with the Ute Pass Trail providing access to the spine of the Williams Fork Mountains from Ute Pass in the north to Ptarmigan Pass in the south.  Upon reaching the summit of Ptarmigan Pass, elevation 11,777 feet, travelers may continue northeast into the Sulphur Ranger District of the Arapaho National Forest into the Middle and South Fork drainages of the Williams Fork River.

The Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness was created by the United States Congress in 1993 as a result of the Wilderness Act of 1964.

The Friends of the Eagles Nest Wilderness is an apolitical nonprofit corporation (501(c)3) formed in May 1994 to raise in-cash, in-kind, and in-service goods to help the Dillon Ranger District of the White River National Forest maintain the Summit County portions of the Eagles Nest and Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness areas.  The Eagles Nest Wilderness consists of 82,484 acres of Summit County while the Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness has 13,175 acres.  They presently raise money through membership dues, donations and grants.  To view the Friends of the Eagles Nest Wilderness website please click on the logo below.

PTARMIGAN PEAK WILDERNESS SPECIAL ORDERS

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WILDERNESS OCCUPANCY AND USE REGULATION #2004-01