Gunnison National Forest – Central Colorado | Biking, Boating, Camping, Hiking & Fishing

Gunnison National Forest covers a whopping 1,672,136 acres in Central Colorado. It’s consists of a variety of wilderness terrain, covering vast distances of some remote places.

From Gunnison, CO the forest spreads out on both sides offering a tremendous bit of everything. Soak in the fall colors while driving on Kebler Pass in Crested Butte.

Main Attractions

Bowerman Ghost Town by Pitkin	Cottonwood Pass Buena Vista-Almont	Kebler pass Crested Butte
La Garita Wilderness Monte Vista	Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Aspen	Powderhorn Wilderness Gunnison
Raggeds Wilderness Crested Butte	Silver Thread Byway Lake City-Creede	Taylor Park Reservoir Almont
Tincup Pass Nathrop-Almont	Waunita Pass Pitkin

Sagebrush steppe west of Cochetopa Pass, Colorado

Cochetopa Pass – Saguache-Gunnison

Cumberland Pass – Pitkin-Tincup

Marshall Pass – Poncha Springs-Sargents

Monarch Pass – Poncha Springs-Sargents

North Pass – Saguache-Gunnison

Slumgullion Pass – Lake City-Creede

Activities: Biking, Boating, Camping, Fishing, Hiking, Hunting, Picnicking, OHV, Scenic Drives, Winter Rec – Cross Country Skiing, Snowmobiling, Snowshoeing

Nearby Activities: There are a slew of scenic drives within the Gunnison National Forest. Cottonwood Pass pass begins just east of Almont, which is north of Gunnison. It winds it’s way over to the San Isabel NF and Buena Vista. Camping is easy to spot on the drive. From there you can continue north onto Kebler Pass, a stunning seasonal 2WD cruise from Crested Butte to Paonia. Camping, hiking and off-highway-vehicles are commonplace.

Or head south to Gunnison to drive the Silver Thread Scenic Byway. This stunning highway connects US 50 at Blue Mesa Reservoir with US 160 and South Fork to the south. It passes by Lake City and Creede. The route passes 3 national forests.

Those with high clearance four wheel drive should consider the notorious Tincup Pass. It’s a gnarly 4×4 pass over the Continental Divide near Pitkin. It connects with Saint Elmo ghost town near Buena Vista, on the other side. There is lots of camping around Pitkin. An easier 4WD road is Waunita Pass. It’s a shorter pass connecting Pitkin with Waunita Hot Springs. Dispersed camping can be found on most of the drive. Other recreation includes biking, hiking, and 4×4/ATV roads. To access, take County Road 887 from Doyleville or go right over the pass from Pitkin. Bowerman is a one shack ghost town on the drive.

The Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness is one of Colorado’s original national wilderness areas designated in 1964. It contains six of the toughest 14’ers in Colorado to summit. Part of it’s located in the White River National Forest.