Kit Carson Mountain

Kit Carson Mountain rises to 4,319 m in Colorado. Crestone Peak stands 4,359 m to the southeast, 1.3 miles off. The nearest named place is Challenger Point, a peak 0.2 miles away. Frontier Pathways passes 13 miles off.
The story
Kit Carson Peak, officially known as the Kit Carson Mountain, is a high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 14,165.2-foot (4,318 m) fourteener is located 5.2 miles (8.4 km) ESE (bearing 102°) of the Town of Crestone in Saguache County, Colorado, United States. The name Kit Carson Mountain is used for both the massif with three summits (Columbia Point, Kit Carson Peak and Challenger Point), or to describe the main summit only. The mountain is named in honor of American frontiersman Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson. The Crestones are a cluster of high summits in the Sangre de Cristo Range, comprising Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, Kit Carson Peak, Challenger Point, Humboldt Peak, and Columbia Point. They are usually accessed from common trailheads.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q3382311, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 4319 m
How to reach it
- 13.2 mi off the Frontier Pathways, National
Named places within 25 miles
- Challenger Point: 0.2 mi
- Columbia Point: 0.2 mi
- Obstruction Peak: 0.8 mi
- Crestone Peaks: 1.2 mi
- Crestone Peak: 1.3 mi
- Baca Grande Park: 4.8 mi
- Little Pearl Pocket Park: 5.4 mi
- Hermit Park: 12.8 mi
- Memorial Park: 12.8 mi
- Summit Park: 12.9 mi
- Patton Spring: 15.8 mi
- Bailey Spring: 16.0 mi
- Cedar Spring: 16.6 mi
- Trover Spring: 17.4 mi
- Mosca Spring: 17.8 mi
- USFS CORNER: 10.4 mi
- The 38th Parallel: 16.8 mi
- Welcome to Hooper: 21.9 mi
- Veterans Memorial: 22.0 mi
- Hooper Town Park: 22.0 mi
- Crestone Town Hall: 5.4 mi
- All Aboard Westcliffe: 12.9 mi
- SILVER CLIFF MUSEUM: 13.8 mi
- Beckwith Ranch: 15.3 mi
- Grand Sand Dunes Sign: 19.9 mi
- Rock dedicated to L.B. "Bill" Casselman: 21.9 mi
- Colorado Gators Reptile Park: 23.9 mi
- Copperstain Cliff: 2.7 mi
- Phantom Terrace: 5.3 mi
- Venable Falls: 6.6 mi
- Great Sand Dunes National Park: 12.8 mi
- Double Dipper: 13.1 mi
- Hot Springs: 21.9 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 15.9 miles of Kit Carson Mountain. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crestone Peak | SE 134° | 4,359 m | 1.3 mi |
| East Crestone Peak | SE 131° | 4,359 m | 1.3 mi |
| Crestone Needle | SE 126° | 4,329 m | 1.7 mi |
| Challenger Point | W 281° | 4,294 m | 0.2 mi |
| Humboldt Peak | E 95° | 4,289 m | 2.6 mi |
| Mount Adams | N 356° | 4,248 m | 1.9 mi |
| Columbia Point | ESE 104° | 4,242 m | 0.2 mi |
| Obstruction Peak | E 96° | 4,205.9 m | 0.8 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:07 | 18:40 | 19:15 |
| June solstice | 05:41 | 19:50 | 20:29 |
| September equinox | 06:51 | 18:26 | 19:01 |
| December solstice | 07:16 | 16:06 | 16:47 |
Local time (America/Denver).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 21 | 27 | 36 | 42 | 51 | 61 | 66 | 63 | 57 | 45 | 32 | 22 |
| Precip in | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Crestone 2 SE, 5 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/358945056
Day trips start here
- Great Sand Dunes National Park · 18 mi
Take the scenic way to Kit Carson Mountain.
Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.



