Address Co Rd 1260, Silverthorne, CO 80498, USA Similar Eccles Pass, Dillon Reservoir, Rocky Mountains, Ptarmigan Peak, Mount Powell | ||
Buffalo Mountain Trail is in the southern Gore Range, part of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Eagles Nest Wilderness, Summit County. Buffalo Mountain Trail is north of Interstate 70, west of Highway 9, in Silverthorne. Buffalo Mountain Trail ascends the east ridge of Buffalo Mountain from a trailhead in Wildernest subdivision, west of Silverthorne and Dillon Reservoir.
Buffalo Mountain, 12,777 feet in elevation, is one of the most visible promontories of Summit County, being situated immediately north of Frisco at the gap that marks the southern end of the Gore Range. Looking like a fattened herbivore curled on its side beneath a covering of winter snows, Buffalo Mountain overlooks Silverthorne, Dillon, Keystone, and Frisco. Buffalo Mountain Trail ascends through a lodgepole pine forest, past exposed rock formations, into a steep boulder field of krummholz. The trail continues along the east-facing ridge to a nearly flat tundra near the summit. Buffalo Mountain offers views of the Ten Mile Range to the south, Grays Peak, 14,270 feet, and Torreys Peak, 14,267 feet, to the southeast, and the Ptarmigan Wilderness. Greatest Hikes in Central Colorado: Summit and Eagle Counties, a hiking guide by Kim Fenske, provides a description of Buffalo Mountain Trail.