Mt. Elbert
Trip Guide & 3D Map
Sawatch Range · Difficulty, season, and access — then explore the 3D terrain
Planning snapshot
Mt. Elbert is a 14,440 ft summit in the Sawatch Range (USA). PeakAtlas rates it day hike (Walk-up); best season is Jul–Sep. No special summit permit. Typical staging is Leadville (12 mi). PeakAtlas lists 3 OpenStreetMap lodging pins near the summit — coverage is often thinner outside well-mapped regions. Use the 3D map and trip checklist before you go.
- Elevation
- 14,440 ft
- Prominence
- 9,073 ft
- Difficulty tier
- Day hike
- Best season
- Jul–Sep
- Permits
- No special summit permit
- Staging
- Leadville · 12 mi
- Mapped lodging
- 3 OSM places
- Listed trails
- 2
As of 2026-07-31 · Figures come from the PeakAtlas3D catalog: surveyed elevations and prominence, curated difficulty tiers, best-season windows, permit notes, staging-town distances, trail lists, and OpenStreetMap lodging near each summit. Not live weather, quotas, or prices.
Compare: Mt. Whitney vs Mt. Elbert · Longs Peak vs Mt. Elbert
How hard is Mt. Elbert, and what do you need before you go?
Mt. Elbert is listed as Walk-up with a best season of Jul–Sep. Use the difficulty, permit, and staging details below before you commit to a date.
- Difficulty
- Walk-up
- Best season
- Jul–Sep
- Access / staging
- Leadville, Colorado
How tall is Mt. Elbert, and where is it?
- Location
- Colorado, USA
- Elevation
- 14,440 ft
- Prominence
- 9,073 ft
- Mountain range
- Sawatch Range
- Difficulty
- Walk-up
What makes Mt. Elbert notable?
Colorado’s high point and the highest summit in the Rockies — a long walk-up with altitude.
Mount Elbert is a non-technical Sawatch Range walk-up and Colorado’s state high point. Standard North and South Mount Elbert trails are strenuous because of length and altitude, not scrambling. Stage from Leadville or Twin Lakes; start early for thunderstorms, and treat 14,000 ft as the main difficulty.
After you check trip readiness for Mt. Elbert, explore the summit on PeakAtlas3D’s interactive 3D topographic map in the Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA.
Closest places
- Leadville — Colorado via CO-24
- Leadville North — USA
- Aspen — USA
Notable trails & routes
- Northeast Ridge
- East Ridge