Kiowa Peak
13,126' · closed to climbers
Kiowa Peak is closed to climbers
Kiowa Peak lies inside the City of Boulder's protected watershed. The public is not allowed in, and people caught trespassing have been fined. We don't describe a route.
Kiowa Peak rises east of the Indian Peaks crest, above the lakes that supply Boulder's drinking water. New mapping lowered it by about 150 feet, to 13,126 feet.
For decades the city has kept this area closed to everyone except its own staff and approved researchers. Older trip reports you may find online don't make it legal.
Wheeler Basin, west of the peak inside the Indian Peaks Wilderness, is legal to visit with the right camping permits, but the watershed boundary starts where the big couloir above the basin levels out. Nearby legal 13ers include South and North Arapaho, Old Baldy, Navajo and Apache.