Is it right for you?
Hancock Peak is a Class 2 summit south of St. Elmo, above Hancock Lake. The marked elevation on the USGS map is 13,102 feet, but a nearby point is higher, so 13,111 is used. Like much of the southern Sawatch, it has plenty of rubble.
You walk the rough Hancock Lake road, cut southwest through the last trees to a bench, and climb a steady northeast slope of grass and rock to a rubbly summit ridge. It is Class 2 and fine for older kids.
The round trip is about 4.4 miles with 2,070 feet of gain. Monumental Peak is about 2.2 miles south along the ridge, over Van Wirt Mountain.
Plan of the day
By 7 a.m.
Be on the summit ridge by 11 a.m.
Rubble on the summit ridge.
Easy. Find the bench above the trees.
The Hancock Lake creek. Filter it.
This week on the summit
Conditions on the summit
Loading Fetching the forecast for 13,111'…—
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Afternoon storm risk is the line that matters. Everything else is comfort. In summer, plan to be off the ridge before the build-up starts, not as it starts. Forecast for the summit point, adjusted for its elevation · data from Open-Meteo.
Getting there
Hancock
Starting where US 285 and US 24 meet near Johnson Village, go about 5.6 miles south, then turn west on Chaffee County Road 162. From the US 285/US 50 junction at Poncha Springs, it's 15.4 miles north, then left. Follow 162 west about 16.4 miles toward St. Elmo. Just before the St. Elmo turnoff there's a big pullout with a toilet on the south side.
Where the road into St. Elmo branches right, stay left. The road becomes County Road 295, the Hancock Road. After 5.8 more miles you reach the old Hancock townsite, where there's a little parking at a bend to the west. It's 2WD gravel but has many potholes and one rough detour; careful drivers in cars make it, but an SUV is safer. The 4WD road to Hancock Lake is a rubble-filled streambed, fit only for short, high-clearance 4WDs or ATVs.
Fee campgrounds line County Road 162 (Bootleg, Mount Princeton, Chalk Lake and Cascade), plus Iron City on the road into St. Elmo; they fill on summer weekends. Near Hancock, you can camp at a pullout west of the road just before the parking area. 4WD rigs can reach open camping a short way up the Alpine Tunnel road.
Base towns and camping for this climb
Coming from out of state? See Lodging & Camping for how free camping works, what is closed this year and where to stay.
Before you go
Check these the week of your climb.
Official forecast
The National Weather Service forecast for the summit area, hour by hour. Look for thunderstorm chances and wind above treeline.
NWS point forecast →Directions to the trailhead
Hancock. Road conditions near the trailhead change after storms. Check your clearance and have a backup plan for a lower lot.
Get directions →Roads and highways
Closures, construction and winter conditions on the highways that get you there.
COtrip road conditions →Closures and fire rules
Trail closures, fire bans and other alerts from the Forest Service in Colorado. For the latest on your trailhead, call the local ranger district.
Forest Service alerts →Snow on the route?
From fall through early summer, any snow slope can slide. Check the avalanche forecast before you go.
Avalanche forecast →Cell signal
Most trailheads and many summits have little or no signal. Check coverage near the trailhead and carry a satellite messenger or beacon if you can.
FCC coverage map →