Snowdon Peak Out and Back

About

The Snowdon Peak Out and Back trail is a 6.3-mile difficult hike near Silverton, Colorado, on the Western Slope. The trail reaches an elevation of 12,978 feet and typically takes about four hours to complete. Parking is available at the trailhead, which is shared with nearby peaks such as West Needle Mountain and the Twilight Group. The route begins on Crater Lake Trail #623, covering 1.1 miles of switchbacks through a pine forest. After the switchbacks, the trail flattens near a meadow where hikers must choose the left fork to head east. The upper section features steep, grassy terrain with no switchbacks and requires Class 3 to 5 scrambling near the summit. The talus field can be hard to follow, making routefinding a key challenge. Cairns mark parts of the trail along the ridgeline and east face, though specific paths can be difficult to identify in steep rock and tundra sections. The trail is accessible year-round, though conditions vary by season. From the summit, hikers have 360-degree views extending from Purgatory to Silverton, with visibility of the Needles, Engineer Mountain, and Molas Lake.