Stone Cabin
Campground
Campground · 3.3 mi from the trail
Colorado · Hiking · Buffalo Peaks Wilderness · Near Leadville
Buffalo Ridge
- 7.5 mi
- round trip
- 1,666 ft
- climb
- 12,095 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
Caution today
Agency alerts are in effect for this area; weather is good · USFS, OpenWeather · checked 1 h ago
Is Buffalo Ridge open right now?
Closure in the area
There's a closure order in Leadville Ranger District. It doesn't name Buffalo Ridge, so check the source for the area it covers.
Willow Fire Area Closure
Agency closure covering Leadville Ranger District · Order 02-12-01-26-39 · USFS · Leadville Ranger District
FSR 286, Radical Hill, is closed due to washouts and unsafe conditions
Agency alert covering Pike and San Isabel National Forests · USFS · Pike and San Isabel National Forests
Interlaken Hotel and Annex Area closure
Agency alert covering Leadville Ranger District · Order 02-12-01-26-19 · USFS · Leadville Ranger District
Interlaken Hotel Tree Hazards
Agency alert covering Pike and San Isabel National Forests · USFS · Pike and San Isabel National Forests
Sharpe Fire Update
Agency alert covering Pike and San Isabel National Forests · USFS · Pike and San Isabel National Forests
As of · Source: USFS · Leadville Ranger District. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
Buffalo Ridge is a hard hike in Colorado's Buffalo Peaks Wilderness, part of the Leadville Ranger District of the Pike and San Isabel National Forests. The trail is an out-and-back of about 7.5 miles, with a one-way elevation gain of 1,666 feet, starting at a low point of about 11,200 feet and reaching a high of about 12,100 feet. The Forest Service manages the land, and the trail is natural-surfaced and open to horses. Summer is the most comfortable time to go. Typical averages from the nearby Climax weather station, which sits about 750 feet lower, show July highs around 67°F with lows near 40°F and no snow days. Winter is harsh, with highs in the upper 20s and snow on about half the days from December through February. The Hayden Gulch Trailhead is the parking for this route, and the trail is open year-round. Stone Cabin and Weston Pass Campground are both about 3.5 miles away, and the Rich Creek hike is about a mile off.
Around this trail
Add any of these when you start a tripSleep close Eat after Two Mile Brewing
Bar
On your way back · 15 mi
If it rainsLongled, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsHistoric frontier synagogue building
Places © OpenStreetMap contributors · Photos: Longled, CC BY-SA 3.0 (commons)
More in LeadvilleGo with a guide
- Mineral Belt Trail Guided WalkRoamze · $25 per person · 15 mi away
- Arrowhead Point Campground and Cabins12 mi away
- Rich CreekHiking1.2 mi
- Low PassHiking3.2 mi
- Stone CabinCamping3.3 mi
- Weston Pass CampgroundCamping3.6 mi
- Pump StationRock climbing6.1 mi
- The Black BoulderRock climbing6.7 mi
- Twelvemile CreekCanoeing7.6 mi
- Sunnyside Fishing SiteLake fishing8.2 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
Mount OxfordHiking · ~18 min drivePhoto: gregor_y, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
Harvard Columbia ScrambleHiking · ~19 min drivePhoto: kalestews, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)
Mt. Belford - Missouri GulchHiking · ~19 min drivePhoto: Mark Crockett, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)- Tumble Creek CutoffHiking · ~7 min drive
- Iowa PeakHiking · ~18 min drivePhoto: gregor_y, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
Colorado TrailHiking · ~14 min drivePhoto: markbyzewski, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)- Ridgeview Spur Trail 656.AHiking · ~6 min drive
- Trail 397AHiking · ~9 min drive
Mount BelfordHiking · ~18 min drivePhoto: jl_2, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)- Missouri GulchHiking · ~18 min drivePhoto: gregor_y, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
Best time to visit Buffalo Ridge
No month here meets our mild-weather rule. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
27° / 3°
15 wet · 15 snow
Feb
29° / 3°
15 wet · 15 snow
Mar
35° / 8°
14 wet · 14 snow
Apr
40° / 15°
13 wet · 13 snow
May
49° / 25°
10 wet · 8 snow
Jun
61° / 34°
8 wet · 2 snow
Jul
67° / 40°
13 wet
Aug
64° / 39°
15 wet
Sep
58° / 32°
11 wet · 2 snow
Oct
47° / 21°
9 wet · 7 snow
Nov
35° / 11°
12 wet · 12 snow
Dec
27° / 3°
15 wet · 15 snow
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Climax, CO, 22.5 mi away at 11,344 ft. The station sits about 800 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
