Mt. Yale Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features River/Creek · Views · Waterfall · Wildflowers · Wildlife

With an excellent trail, gentle grades relative to other 14ers, and a round trip under 10 miles, this is perhaps one of the best Sawatch 14ers for ambitious runners. Fast runners can expect 2.5-3 hrs round trip for the full Mt. Yale run - take away about 15-30 mins on the Browns Pass Trail.

From the junction with the Brown's Pass Trail, follow signs and head uphill to the right. Continue up the trail through the forest. Eventually, you'll be running parallel to a stream. Cross the stream at 11,200 ft and continue through some small meadows on switchbacks as the trees begin to thin and the grade gets steeper. Reach tree line at 12,000 ft. Continue along excellent trail, passing by numerous boulders on either side of the path at the bottom of a basin. From here, the remainder of the route is visible. Work your way north before the trail winds to the right along some rocks. Continue up some steep switchbacks to reach a saddle just shy of 14,000 ft. Turn right and scramble along some easy, low-grade rocks to the summit, just another 200 ft up.

With a lush forest down low, and plenty of wildflowers up top, this is a scenic run. Expect marmots and pika, and a good chance of mountain goats and deer.