The Lizard Head Wilderness is a wilderness area in southwest Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. It contains 41,309 acres (167 km²) and is jointly managed by the Uncompahgre

Uncompahgre National Forest

Uncompahgre National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering 955,229 acres in parts of Montrose, Mesa, San Miguel, Ouray, Gunnison, San Juan, and Delta Counties in western Colorado...

 and San Juan National Forest

San Juan National Forest

The San Juan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering over 1,878,846 acres in Archuleta, Conjeos, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, Montezuma, Rio Grande, San Miguel and San Juan Counties in western Colorado. It borders the Uncompahgre National Forest to the north and the Rio Grande...

s. It is 10 miles (16 km) southwest of the town of Telluride

Telluride, Colorado

The town of Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains...

 and is named for a prominent rock formation that is said to look like a lizard's head. Lizard Head

Lizard Head

Lizard Head is a mountain in Colorado, one of the 637 peaks above 13,000 feet in elevation in the state...

 itself is 13,113 feet (3,997 m) and is a volcanic spire of crumbling rock. Due to the steepness of the cliffs and the poor quality of the rock for fixing ropes, only experienced mountaineers

Rock climbing

Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...

 should attempt to summit the spire. Another 37 miles (59 km) of trails in this infrequently visited wilderness, are also strenuous and should be attempted by more advanced backpack

Backpack

A backpack is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be exceptions...

ers.

The area includes three prominent fourteeners: El Diente Peak

El Diente Peak

El Diente Peak is a fourteen thousand foot mountain peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness in the San Miguel Mountains of the San Juan Mountains, in Dolores County approximately north of Rico....

 (14,159 ft / 4316 m), Wilson Peak

Wilson Peak

Wilson Peak is a mountain peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness of the Uncompahgre National Forest, in the southern San Juan Mountains. It is the highest point in San Miguel County...

 (14,017 ft / 4272 m), and Mount Wilson

Mount Wilson (Colorado)

Mount Wilson is a fourteen thousand foot mountain peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness in Dolores County approximately 10 miles north of Rico and 10 miles southwest of Telluride. It is the highest peak in the San Miguel Mountains, a subrange of the San...

 (14,246 ft / 4342 m). The area includes the headwaters of the west fork of the Dolores River

Dolores River

The Dolores River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 250 mi long, in the U.S. states of Colorado and Utah....

.

External links

• Lizard Head Wilderness, hiking trails and map, at Sangres.com
• Wilderness.net wilderness information