San Isabel National Forest
Mt. Harvard

Mount Harvard is another 14er in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of the Sawatch Mountains. Harvard shares a ridge with Mt. Columbia and a lot of people climb Mt. Harvard first, then drop down below the top of that connecting ridge for the traverse to Columbia before descending the western slopes of Columbia and returning to the cars they left at the North Cottonwood Trailhead (that being the nearest trailhead to both peaks). Doing the traverse at the top of the connecting ridge is partially a Class 4 adventure, but the middle section of the ridge has some Class 5+ sections. But if you drop down below that ridge and follow the trail, it's never harder than Class 2.

Elevations:

• Trail beginning: 9,880'
• High Point: 14,420'
• Trail ending: 14,420'

Access: From the stop light on US 24 in Buena Vista, go north on US 24 for 0.4 miles and then turn west on Crossman Avenue (Chaffee County Road 350). Measuring from that turn, go 2.1 miles to the junction with Chaffee County 361 and turn north. Follow that road as it turns to dirt and turns to the northwest. At 3.0 miles from US 24, make a sharp turn south onto CR 365. That will go south for a bit and then turn west, passing the San Isabel National Forest boundary at mile 5.4. Pass the Harvard Lakes Trailhead, pass the Silver Creek Trailhead and stop at the North Cottonwood Trailhead at the end of the road at mile 8.2 (from that turn off of US 24 back in Buena Vista). The last 2 miles can be pretty bad for low clearance/2WD so don't be crazy, sometimes it's just better to walk...

Notes: From the trailhead, cross the bridge over the creek and go west. At about 1.5 miles you'll come to a trail junction just past a creek crossing. Turn right (north) and follow that trail up into Horn Fork Basin, past Bear Lake (the lake is beautiful if you want to make the side trip). The trail keeps on north, then northeast, slowly working it's way up to treeline. Then the trail heads up a series of grassy benches on the western edge of Harvard's south face until it reaches the summit.

If you're just climbing Harvard and then heading back to your car, the round trip is about 12.6 miles. If you do Harvard and then the traverse to Columbia, the round trip is about 13.5 miles.

USGS Maps: Mt. Harvard, Mt. Yale