North Bald Mountain

Overview

North Bald Mountain is the third tallest of the three Bald Mountains (and also the third tallest named peak in the Laramie Mountains.) It is also the least "bald" of the three summits, as the summit rock pile barely sticks above the trees.

From the summit you have great views in all directions: to the south you see 11,002' Middle Bald Mountain and 11,003' South Bald Mountain in the foreground and the Mummy Range in the background; to the southwest is the Never Summer Range; to the west are the Medicine Bow Mountains; to the west-northwest is the Park Range; to the northwest you can see the Snowy Range in Wyoming; and to the east are lower foothills.

Getting There

There are numerous ways of getting here, so I will just describe the way I used, and list a few other ways, as well.

Take Highway 287 north from Fort Collins to Livermore. Turn left onto Red Feather Lakes Road at Livermore and go 24 miles to Red Feather Lakes. Turn left onto Deadman Road and go 6.9 miles to the Killpecker Trailhead, which is on the left side of the road just before the North Fork Campground. Hike 2.7 miles up the Killpecker Trail to the second intersection with Killpecker Road (NF300), where you turn right and hike southeast up the road for 0.6 miles to where it makes a sharp turn toward the west. As you walk up the road, you will be able to see North Bald Mountain to the east (a little to the left of straight ahead.) At this sharp turn, you must go off trail to get to the summit. I found that the best route is to start the off-trail portion by heading southeast toward the saddle southwest of North Bald Mountain; it is a bit difficult to do this off trail portion, as there are a lot of big fallen trees. Upon reaching the saddle, you next head northeast toward the ridge between the summit and a rocky area to the south of the summit. Upon reaching the ridge, the forest opens up and it is pretty easy to find the summit to the north. The summit rock pile barely sticks above the trees. For some reason there is some wood and twisted wire at the summit; I'm not sure what it's for.

You can also get near the base of the peak by taking the North Lone Pine Trail for a ways and then cutting off trail. You can also drive up Killpecker Road (NF 300) to the off trail point, but there isn't much place to park. Or you can approach it from the south via the very rugged Elkhorn Baldy Road (NF 517).

Red Tape

You can get within at least a mile of the base of the mountain by hiking, horseback, bicycle, motorcycle, ATV, or snowmobile. For more information check with the US Forest Service. There are also brown signs at the beginning of each trail/road, that indicate which type of transportation is permitted on the trail/road. The Killpecker Trail permits hiking, horseback, biking, motorcycle, and snowmobiles (although it is a difficult trail to do with the latter three forms of transportation, as it is narrow and rocky in spots.)

Camping

This peaks is in multi-use national forest. Camping is permitted almost anywhere, but please be sure to use low impact camping techniques. Contact the US Forest Service for the most current information on camping regulations.

External Links

North, Middle, and Laramie Mountains High Point Photo Album

Want to Contribute?

I definitely would appreciate any help and contributions others may bring to this site. It's small for now, but hopefully it has greater things in its future!

Seasonal Information

Possible Forest Service access roads in the area are:
Deadman Road as far as Pearl Beaver Road
Killpecker Road (NF 300)
Bald Mountain Road (NF 517)

For the most up-to-date information on road openings and closures, visit the US Forest Service Road Conditions Website.

Images

View North Bald Mountain Image Gallery - 1 Images