Lost Creek Wilderness

Lost Creek Wilderness
IUCN category Ib (wilderness area)
Lost Creek Wilderness
Location	Park / Jefferson counties, Colorado, USA
Nearest city	Denver, CO
Coordinates
Area	119,790 acres (484.8 km2)
Established	January 1, 1980
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service

The Lost Creek Wilderness is a 119,790-acre (485 km²) wilderness area located in central Colorado in Jefferson and Park counties south of the town of Bailey. The area is situated entirely within the boundaries of the Pike National Forest.

The Lost Creek Scenic Area in the Wilderness is a 16,798 National Natural Landmark designated site.

Wilderness

Granite rock formations define the wilderness

The area is named for Lost Creek, a perennial stream that disappears and reappears before finally joining Goose Creek which empties into the South Platte River at Cheesman Reservoir just east of the Wilderness area. The entire water system of the area forms a watershed for the Platte River Basin. The area is notable for its many rock formations, natural arches, and rounded granite domes and knobs,. These are contained in two ranges of low alpine foothills of the Rocky Mountains: the Kenosha Mountains and the Tarryall Mountains. 12,431-foot (3,789 m) Bison Peak is the highest peak in the wilderness.

Because of its proximity to Denver, the area is quite popular for outdoor recreation in both summer and winter months. Typical activities in the area include hiking, backpacking, rock-climbing, as well as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and winter camping. There are 130 miles (210 km) of trails in the wilderness, including a section of the Colorado Trail that crosses Lost Creek then parallels the northeast boundary toward Kenosha Pass.

Colorado with Lost Creek Wilderness in red

Lost Park, as the area is sometimes called, was one of the last refuges of the American Bison in the United States.

Scenic area

The Lost Creek Scenic Area is a 16,798 acre site in the Lost Creek Wilderness created in 1963, under the 1939 "U-Regulations" in 1963, which was the precursor of the Wilderness Act. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1966. It is located in the Pike National Forest and is in both Park and Jefferson counties. Rock formations with pinnacles and spires are located in narrow gorges and on ridges. An underground stream "disappears and reappears" nine times or more at the site.