Culebra Peak

From Alamosa or Walsenburg, take U.S. 160 to the town of Fort Garland and...

• Turn south on Highway 159 and drive just over 15.5 miles to reach the town of San Luis.
• Near a Conoco gas station, turn left on 4th Street (P.6 Road) and drive 4.0 miles to the town of Chama.
• Turn left on the L.7 Road.
• Drive 3.6 miles on L.7, cross a bridge and turn right on the 25.5 Road (dirt).
• Drive 0.5 mile on 25.5 and turn left on the M.5 Road.
• Drive 0.9 mile on M.5 to reach the Cielo Vista Ranch at the North Headquarters gate.
• The gate will be closed/locked and ranch representatives will meet you for an escort to the ranch headquarters, usually at 6am on the morning of your hike.
• Once through the north HQ gate, continue 2 miles to the ranch headquarters for check-in.
• Leave HQ on the AWD/4WD road (It's 4.4 miles to the upper trailhead).
• At 0.1 mile, stay right.
• After about 2.5 miles, the steepness of the road eases.
• After 3.4 miles, reach "Four Way" at 11,250'. Plenty of parking here if you choose this as your starting point.
• To reach the upper trailhead, continue straight to the end of the road at 4.4 miles.

Culebra Peak is privately owned, and all hikes must be booked in advance through the Cielo Vista Ranch website and start at the ranch. Cielo Vista charges a $150 fee, which must be paid upon arrival or through their website. In recent years, hiking has been allowed from January through July, but availability may vary, so it's essential to contact the ranch for the latest details. There are no other legal routes to Culebra's summit and those who try are trespassing.

 1 and  2 are distant views of Culebra from the northwest. Once you enter the ranch ( 3), much of Culebra stays hidden until you ascend above 11,000' on the dirt road. From the ranch headquarters, drive approximately 3.4 miles to a junction known as "Four Way" ( 4,  5). Then continue 1 mile east along the road to reach the upper trailhead, located at 11,650' ( 6,  7).

There is no established trail up Culebra and hikers usually choose a direct route up the northwest slopes to reach the northwest ridge. Begin by descending slightly south from the upper parking area, crossing the stream, and heading southeast toward the slopes above ( 8). As you climb, move away from the stream and follow a gentle ridge along the south side of the creek ( 9). Above tree line, continue southeast toward the top of the slopes ( 10,  11). At approximately 13,350', you'll reach the ridge crest near a large cairn ( 12,  13). From here, much of the remaining route is visible, though the summit itself is still out of sight ( 14).

Turn right and head south past the large cairn, navigating through rocks before descending to a 13,200-foot saddle ( 15,  16). Remain on the ridge as it leads east toward a false summit ( 17). While the ridge has a couple of rough sections, route finding is straightforward. Continue climbing over mostly stable rock ( 18) to reach the top of the false summit , at 13,900' ( 19). The true summit is now less than half a mile away ( 20). Descend slightly, pass over a small hump, and make your way up the final pitch ( 21,  22) to reach the summit ( 23,  24).