Ups and downs
More people bagged 14ers last year but not as many as pandemic peak

More people hiked Colorado’s 14ers last year, but the number is still far fewer than the state’s pandemic peak-bagging peak.

The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative says an estimated 265,000 people hiked that state’s fourteeners in 2024. That’s an increase of 5,000 – or 1.9% – from 2023. However, it’s still about 36% lower than the 14er hiking peak of 415,000 in the pandemic summer of 2020.

Compared to 2023, hiking use in 2024 fell in three mountain ranges: Sawatch Range (-8.9%); Sangre de Cristo Range (-15%); and the Tenmile Range (-1.9%). However, hiking use was up in four ranges: Mosquito Range (+55%); San Juan Mountains (+9.2%); Front Range (2.4%); and the Elk Mountains (+20%). 

With 14 fourteeners, the San Juan Mountains are the third-busiest in the state behind the Front Range (Pike’s and Long Peak) at 86,500 hikers in 2024 and the Sawatch Range (Mount Elbert and the Collegiate Peaks) at 76,500. In 2024, the San Juans saw 35,500 hikers, an uptick from 2023 but still far below the 2020 peak of 69,000.

“One of the things that’s been driving it recently in the last, say, four years, has been the opening and closing and reopening of some of the 14ers that crossed private land,” Colorado Fourteeners Initiative Executive Director Lloyd Athearn said. 

Athearn cited reopening of the DeCaLiBron Loop near Alma, between Fairplay and Breckenridge, in particular. The hike in the Mosquito Range includes access to four 14ers: Mount Lincoln, Mount Democrat, Cameron Peak and Mount Bross.  

It was estimated that 15,300 trips were taken on the DeCaLiBron Loop in 2024 after 7,000-10,000 the year prior. 

Landowner John Reiber reopened Mount Lincoln for a full season in 2024. In 2023, the Fourteeners Initiative, Conservation Fund and Forest Service acquired 300 acres in the range to allow access to Mount Democrat. Reiber, who owns mining claims across several 14ers, had left the mountains closed due to liability concerns.   

“That was done in response to a lawsuit with an injured mountain biker on an unofficial path on the Air Force Academy property,” Athearn said. 

In September 2008, mountain biker Jim Nelson suffered injuries after crashing into a sinkhole on a trail on Air Force Academy property. The district court ruled in his favor, and he was awarded $7.3 million in damages. In a previous appeal, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court reversed the decision, saying the Academy was protected under the Colorado Recreational Use Statute. 

But in 2019, the federal court ruled the Academy knew about the sinkhole and did nothing to provide proper warning. That prompted property owners to close access to 14ers. 

As for the open 14ers, the most popular in 2024 were Mount Bierstadt and Quandary Peak. Both had between 25,000 - 30,000 hikers. The 12 closest 14ers to the Denver metro area accounted for 54% of statewide hiking use, which amounts to 144,344 hiker days. The remaining 46 14ers accounted for 120,656 hiker days. 

The most popular peaks in the San Juans in 2024 were Handies Peak, Mount Sneffels and Uncompahgre Peak, each seeing between 5,000-7,000 hikers.

It’s estimated that hiking Colorado’s 14ers brought in $71.9 million in economic activity in 2024 the Initiative said.

Athearn said work is still being done  to open the rest of the state’s few remaining closed 14ers. The work is being done by the Initiative as well as the Fix CRUS Coalition, consisting of nonprofits, businesses, governments and individuals working to modify the state’s recreational use statute (CRUS) to provide stronger liability protection for landowners.

Mount Lindsey, in the Sangre de Christos, is the most recent 14er to be re-opened. After nearly four years of being closed to the public, permitted access returned late this past winter.

The land is owned by conservationist Louis Bacon and the Trinchera Blanca Ranch, who granted access to the mountain after creating a digital waiver system.

“People from all over the world love these 14er peaks. You know, they are, for the most part, so accessible,” Athearn said.

The following story was edited to add local context. For more from Colorado Public Radio, go to: www.cpr.org.