Fossil Ridge Wilderness

Here is a small but almost perfect mountain kingdom, with raw granite towering above several beautiful shallow lakes and long valleys carved by ancient glaciers and replete with pine, spruce, fir, and aspen. The limestone ridge rises above 13,000 feet, climbing well beyond the tree line, and contains the fossilized remains of numerous prehistoric sea creatures. Above Lamphier Lake, a slim cut in the bare rock called Gunsight Pass — barely shoulder-width — opens the ridge for foot travel from South Lottis Creek's drainage to Crystal Creek's drainage. Square Top Mountain, approximately 12,500 feet high and about an hour's worth of climbing above Lamphier Lake, allows a virtually unparalleled view of almost half of Colorado's fourteeners. Elk and deer abound, but the truly fortunate catch glimpses of a small group of mountain goats or a larger herd of bighorn sheep. The lakes are stocked with trout. Searching for gold, miners dug at several sites still scarred by their efforts. There are about 22 miles of maintained trails. Designated in 1993 and managed by the U.S. Forest Service.