Mount Blue Sky
Mount Blue Sky rises to 4,350 m in Colorado. Grays Peak stands 4,352 m to the west-northwest, 9.8 miles off. The nearest named place is Mount Blue Sky Summit, a attraction 0.1 miles away. Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway passes 16 miles off.
The story
Mount Blue Sky (previously Mount Evans) is the highest peak in the Mount Evans Wilderness in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 14,266.1-foot (4,348 m) fourteener is located 13.4 miles (21.6 km) southwest by south (bearing 214°) of Idaho Springs in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States, on the drainage divide between Clear Creek in Arapaho National Forest and the North Fork South Platte River in Pike National Forest. The peak is one of the characteristic Front Range peaks, dominating the western skyline of the Great Plains along with Pikes Peak, Longs Peak, and nearby Mount Bierstadt. Mount Blue Sky can be seen from over 100 miles (160 km) to the east, and many miles in other directions. Mount Blue Sky dominates the Denver metropolitan area skyline, rising over 9,000 feet (2,700 m) above the area. Mount Blue Sky can be seen from points south of Castle Rock (65 miles or 105 km south), as far north as Fort Collins (95 miles or 153 km north), and from areas near Limon (105 miles or 169 km east). The mountain was previously named for the second governor of the Territory of Colorado, John Evans. However, due to Evans's involvement in the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, there were years of discussion over renaming Mount Evans. On September 15, 2023, the United States Board on Geographic Names officially changed the mountain's name to Mount Blue Sky.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q1950460, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 4350 m
How to reach it
- 16.1 mi off the Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway, National
- 27.0 mi off the Top of the Rockies, National
Overlooks nearby
- Carol Karlin Overlook · 16 mi
- Panorama Point · 20 mi
- Buffalo Herd Overlook · 20 mi
- Denver Mountain Parks · 24 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Summit Lake: 0.7 mi
- Echo Lake Park: 5.5 mi
- Library Corner Park: 8.6 mi
- Dinger Park: 8.7 mi
- City Park: 8.8 mi
- Mount Spalding: 1.0 mi
- Mount Warren: 1.3 mi
- Epaulet Mountain: 1.4 mi
- Mount Bierstadt: 1.4 mi
- Gray Wolf Mountain: 2.2 mi
- Historic Georgetown Span Sign Structure: 8.8 mi
- Jim Bridger: 12.3 mi
- The Goat: 12.7 mi
- Steve Canyon Statue: 12.8 mi
- Dinosaur Play Sculpture: 16.4 mi
- Mount Blue Sky Summit: 0.1 mi
- Abyss Trailhead: 6.4 mi
- Geneva Creek Iron Fens: 9.2 mi
- Echo Mountain: 9.3 mi
- Colorado and Southern Railway No. 60: 12.6 mi
- Waldorf Interpretive Site: 7.3 mi
- OLD TOWN JAIL 1883: 8.6 mi
- Brewery Spring: 8.7 mi
- Clear Creek Rec Center: 12.5 mi
- Ralph Carr Memorial Highway: 14.1 mi
- Hamill House Museum: 8.6 mi
- Georgetown Firefighting Museum Alpine Hose No 2: 8.6 mi
- Georgetown Energy Museum: 8.6 mi
- George Rowe Museum: 8.8 mi
- Fire Station #1: 12.5 mi
- Duck Creek Picnic Area: 6.2 mi
- Chicago Forks Picnic Ground: 6.7 mi
- Juniper Pass: 6.8 mi
- Ponder Point Picnic Area: 6.8 mi
- Eagles Aerie: 7.2 mi
- Bakerville: 11.2 mi
- Silver Creek: 11.6 mi
- Saints John: 12.7 mi
- Russell Gulch: 14.3 mi
- Nevadaville: 15.5 mi
- Angel's Ridge: 3.8 mi
- Pavillion Point: 8.1 mi
- Meditation Rock: 14.3 mi
- Red Wall: 14.4 mi
- Rocky Point: 22.1 mi
- Abyss Lake Scenic Area: 0.7 mi
- Ralston Creek State Wildlife Area: 22.3 mi
- Lookout Mountain Preserve and Nature Center: 23.1 mi
- Cucumber Gulch Preserve: 23.5 mi
- Elk Falls: 13.5 mi
- Maxwell Falls: 14.2 mi
- Sweet Beach Cove: 22.4 mi
- Frisco Bay Marina Beach: 23.7 mi
- Rosary Garden: 23.3 mi
- Golden Community Garden: 24.6 mi
- Arapaho Spring: 10.5 mi
- Keyhole Rock: 23.0 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 10.2 miles of Mount Blue Sky. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grays Peak | WNW 289° | 4,352 m | 9.8 mi |
| Torreys Peak | WNW 292° | 4,351 m | 10.2 mi |
| Mount Bierstadt | WSW 254° | 4,287 m | 1.4 mi |
| Mount Spalding | NW 319° | 4,222 m | 1.0 mi |
| Mount Edwards | WNW 293° | 4,218 m | 8.7 mi |
| Square Top Mountain | W 273° | 4,201 m | 6.5 mi |
| Argentine Peak | WNW 283° | 4,186 m | 7.3 mi |
| Gray Wolf Mountain | NNW 335° | 4,148 m | 2.2 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:07 | 18:39 | 19:15 |
| June solstice | 05:36 | 19:54 | 20:34 |
| September equinox | 06:51 | 18:26 | 19:01 |
| December solstice | 07:20 | 16:00 | 16:42 |
Local time (America/Denver).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Aug.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 22 | 22 | 27 | 33 | 42 | 52 | 57 | 56 | 49 | 39 | 29 | 22 |
| Precip in | 1.0 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.2 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Cabin Creek, 6 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 204716 — Mount Blue Sky, Clear Creek County, Colorado.
OpenStreetMap element node/358945044
Day trips start here
- Idaho Springs · 13 mi
- Breckenridge · 22 mi
- Golden · 25 mi
Take the scenic way to Mount Blue Sky.
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