South Ridge from Eureka Gulch

Overview

Bonita Peak stands northeast of Silverton, on the west side of the Animas valley, roughly midway from the Eureka townsite to Animas Forks. With a high-clearance vehicle to the top of Eureka Gulch, it's a short Class 2 hike.

You cross a flat basin east of the summit to the saddle between Bonita and unranked Emery Peak, then climb rocks to the south ridge. The last 50 yards or so is a rocky, narrow catwalk with some mild exposure.

The round trip is about 2.6 miles with 1,265 feet of gain, about two hours. Emery and Proposal Peak continue south along the ridge; there's a hard notch on Emery's north end to get around. Lake Emma, shown on old maps, drained into the mine below it decades ago and is gone.

Plan of the day

Getting to the trailhead

From Silverton, drive east through town and bear right at the fork one block past the courthouse onto County Road 2 (labeled 110 on some maps). Pavement ends after about 2 miles, and good gravel continues 4.2 miles to Howardsville. Go north another 4.3 miles to the Eureka townsite. Past there the road crosses the Animas River to its west bank and gets rockier as it climbs a shelf. About half a mile past the crossing, turn sharp left up Eureka Gulch on BLM 4508 (County Road 25). Drive up the gulch, southwest and then west, about 3.5 miles to an old switchback. A newer stretch of road bypasses it; turn left onto the old road and park at the bend. A high-clearance vehicle should make it, but conditions change.

There are no Forest Service campgrounds up here, and summer weekends are crowded. There's a lot of private land, so watch for signs. Popular open camping areas are near Howardsville across from the Maggie Gulch road, and at Eureka on the east side of the river, which is now a pay campground. Bring everything you need. There are better primitive sites on the spur road to the South Fork of the Animas trailhead, or you can camp right at the switchback, which is open with no shelter.

Next: the route, step by step →

The route

1. 1

   Old switchback 12,030' · 0 mi

   Walk west-southwest across the flat basin east of the summit.

2. 2

   Steeper slope 12,500' · 0.5 mi

   Climb the steeper slope toward the saddle south of Bonita.

3. 3

   Bonita-Emery saddle 13,000' · 0.9 mi

   From the saddle, turn north and climb steep rock to the summit ridge.

4. 4

   Catwalk 13,230' · 1.2 mi

   The last stretch of ridge is narrow and rocky. Take your time.

   Watch for: Narrow ridge with some exposure.

5. 5

   Summit 13,286' · 1.3 mi

   Good views south to Tower Mountain.

Getting down

Go back south off the summit ridge, then drop straight east down a talus gully into the basin, past a small tarn, to the car.

If things go wrong

The basin and the car are close below.

3D flyover

See the trail on video

Other routes

Every way up Bonita Peak we list, with its class.

• Bonita Peak South Ridge this routeClass 2 2.6 mi