Torreys Peak

Torreys Peak is a mountain in the Front Range region of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. It is one of 53 fourteeners in Colorado. Its nearest major city is Denver. Torreys Peak is located along the Continental Divide, as well as the division between Clear Creek County and Summit County.

Name

The first man to ascend Torreys Peak, botanist Charles C. Parry, named the peak for his botanist colleague John Torrey. Torrey actually did not see the peak until 1872, 11 years later. It is nearly always mentioned in conjunction with nearby Grays Peak.

Hiking

There are three main trails used to reach the summit. The first is actually a continuation of Grays Peak Trail to the summit of Grays Peak, which starts in Stevens Gulch. See the Grays Peak article for more information on accessing that trail.

A popular and challenging variation of this trail follows class-3 Kelso Ridge. This route splits from the Grays Peak trail 2 miles (3.2 km) from the trailhead, climbs to the 12,400-foot (3,800 m) saddle between Torreys and 13,164-foot (4,012 m) Kelso Mountain, then follows the rugged ridge about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the summit.