Page Type: | Mountain/Rock |
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Lat/Lon: | 39.63490°N / 105.367°W |
County: | Jefferson |
Activities: | Hiking |
Season: | Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter |
Elevation: | 8405 ft / 2562 m |
Elephant Butte is a handsome little Jefferson County peak. This small mountain dishes up a lot of bang for the buck. It’s a neat, rocky peak rising out of the flats of Elephant Park and the views from the summit of the Evans Group (including Rosalie, Epaulet, Evans and Spalding) are divine. Pack a lunch and put time aside to take in a snack and the views from this rocky perch.
Elephant Butte resides within a parcel of the Denver Mountain Parks but is access via the popular Jefferson County Alderfer/Three Sisters Park . This peak is close enough to the Denver metro and accessible enough from a major paved road to make this short day outing easy to combine with other nearby peaks, or even an afternoon reserved for chores and family.
Colorado Rank: 3,383rd highest peak in Colorado
Prominence: 385 feet
Mountain Range: Front Range
USGS Quad: Evergreen
Trails Illustrated Map: #100 (Boulder, Golden)
Rank and Prominence Reference: Lists of John
To access Alderfer/Three Sisters Park (see Red Tape for important update), travel south of Evergreen, Colorado on Highway 73. To reach the west parking lot, turn west on Buffalo Park Road (#89), approximately 1.5 miles (passing the east parking lot at mile 1). Turn right into the west parking lot (see historic ranch house and barn) at LeMasters Road.
The route depicted in the "Route Map" is very approximate. The trails are a crazy-quilt maze in this park, but well-marked. I strongly suggest obtaining a Alderfer/Three Sisters Park map to comprehend the trail system, but be aware that the trail to the summit will not appear on the Alderfer/Three Sisters Park map. There is, however, an unofficial Class 1 trail to the summit of Elephant Butte. As illustrated in the map to your right, the route is about 5 miles roundtrip and requires 1,000 feet of elevation gain.
Important update 9 September 2013 per
rkymtn: Area closed for restoration. Access from Alderfer/Three Sisters Park has been closed for restoration. Signs are posted and reference a class 2 petty offense for entering the closure area.
rkymtn - Sep 9, 2013 1:12 pm - Hasn't voted
Area closed for restorationUnfortunately, access from Alderfer/Three Sisters Park has been closed for restoration. Signs are posted and reference a class 2 petty offense for entering the closure area.
Sarah Simon - Sep 9, 2013 2:22 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Area closed for restorationWow, that's a shame that we couldn't find a way to balance public access with restoration. Thanks for the note. I will update the page to reflect this. Keep me posted if you learn of any changes to this policy! Sarah