Mt. Belford

While Mount Belford's standard Northwest Ridge is a non-technical Class 2 walk-up, it is not recommended for absolute beginners. The trail is famously steep and unrelenting, forcing you to climb roughly 4,500 vertical feet in just 4.5 miles to the summit. The middle section consists of a brutal, continuous staircase of switchbacks over loose dirt and rock that demands excellent cardiovascular physical conditioning and leg stamina.

Adding Mount Oxford turns your day into a serious high-altitude endurance challenge. The peaks are connected by a wide, saddle ridge that drops down to 13,500 feet. Traversing from Belford's summit over to Oxford and back adds roughly 3 miles round-trip and a grueling 1,000 feet of extra vertical elevation gain—meaning you have to hike back up Belford's steep ridge a second time on your return. Hikers often save the Belford-Oxford combination hike until they have good conditioning and have completed a solid list of other 14er hikes.

Yes. Mount Belford begins at the Missouri Gulch Trailhead located directly off Chaffee County Road 390. The dirt road leading to the trailhead is well-graded, wide, and easily accessible to most standard 2WD passenger vehicles during the summer. However, parking space in the main lot is limited and fills to maximum capacity very early in the morning on summer weekends, so arriving early is highly recommended. If you get there and it's full, parking is allowed along one side of the road, just be sure you're off the road and not blocking traffic in any way.

Yes, high-endurance hikers sometimes combine all three Missouri Gulch 14ers into a massive single-day trip. Attempting this loop requires you to summit Belford, traverse the high saddle to bag Oxford, return back over Belford's shoulder, descend to Elkhead Pass, and then complete a separate, steep Class 2 push up Missouri Mountain. This forms a grueling 15-mile day with over 7,400 feet of total vertical climbing, requiring elite physical conditioning, flawless pacing, and an extremely early start to beat afternoon storms.