Campbell Creek Pk (13,461') — standalone from Grizzly Gulch¶
At a glance — recommended day
6.5 mi · 3,573 ft gain · Class 2 · 1 peak · ~5.75 h drive
Researched: 2026-06-15
NOAA weather link: Campbell Creek Pk Weather
CalTopo research map: https://caltopo.com/m/4CBBN9L
Status in DB: unclimbed. Every ranked 13er within 4 miles is already done (PT 13,801, Quarter, Sundog, Handies, Sunshine, Whitecross, American, Half, Redcloud…) — this is the lone cleanup peak.
A grassy Class 2 13er on the divide SE of Handies. Recorded parties always bag it alongside Handies / PT 13,801 / Whitecross, but it stands alone as a short, direct out-and-back from the Grizzly Gulch TH — which is what's mapped here.
Note: the recommended route was distilled from 7 recorded GPS tracks of real trips (14ers.com · ListsofJohn · peakbagger) — all layered on the interactive CalTopo research map.
Other climbers: Emily Sharpe — not yet · Shawn D Keil — not yet
The peak¶
| Campbell Creek Pk | |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 13,461' (LiDAR; 13,454' previous) |
| Lat / Lon | 37.90666, −107.46294 |
| Class | 2 (grass/tundra) |
| CO Rank | 284 |
| Range / County | San Juan / Hinsdale |
| 14ers.com | 10399 |
| LoJ | 357 |
| peakbagger | 84977 |
| Peak DB id | 357 |
The standalone climb — Grizzly Gulch TH ⭐¶
A direct Class 2 out-and-back — no neighboring summits required. Every recorded track does Campbell Creek as part of a Handies-area multi-peak day; this is the shortest line that tags only Campbell Creek.
| Peak | Campbell Creek Pk (13,461') |
| Recommended route | out-and-back (stats in At a glance) |
| Class | 2 — mostly grass and tundra; stay on the grass to avoid loose scree/dirt near the top |
| Trailhead | Grizzly Gulch / Silver Creek TH, ~10,400' — Lake Fork (Cinnamon Pass) road; 4WD/high-clearance. Same lot as the Handies NE-slopes route, across the valley from Redcloud/Sunshine. |
Route¶
- From the Grizzly Gulch TH, take the good trail through the woods up to open tundra (the start of the Handies/Grizzly Gulch trail).
- Leave the main trail and climb south up grass slopes toward Campbell Creek Pk's north ridge. A web of game trails leads onto the ridge; stay on grass — the direct gully just below the summit is loose scree/dirt, so swing right and come back left up grass.
- Easy grass to the summit. Return the same way.
Do not descend the Campbell Creek drainage (the obvious-looking loop SE off the summit). Per the one Campbell-focused TR it's a "willow fight" with a sketchy Lake Fork river crossing — "American Basin great and Campbell Creek not so much." The clean line is the Grizzly Gulch out-and-back.
Drive + approach¶
| Drive from Boulder | ~5h 45m via Google Maps — ~5 h to Lake City, then the Lake Fork / Cinnamon Pass road (CR 30) up to the Grizzly Gulch TH. |
| Trailhead | Grizzly Gulch / Silver Creek TH, ~37.937, −107.461, ~10,400'. The Lake Fork road to here is rough — high-clearance 4WD (same access as Handies' Grizzly Gulch route). |
| Land | Handies Peak Wilderness Study Area (BLM) — no permits/fees, foot travel beyond the TH. |
Gear & season¶
- Best window: July–September. The Lake Fork road and upper basin open late; north-facing grass holds snow into early summer.
- Terrain: benign Class 2 grass/tundra — the difficulty is altitude and a bit of routefinding to stay on grass, not scrambling.
- Storms: wide-open tundra, no shelter high — early start, watch the afternoon.
- Cell: dead — carry an InReach.
Trip reports & GPX (all sources)¶
Sources confirmed logged in: 14ers.com ("letsgocu"), listsofjohn.com, peakbagger.com (Kyle Knutson). 3 14ers-library tracks (all multi-peak — Campbell + Handies/13801/Whitecross) are layered green; the standalone recommended out-and-back is magenta.
- 14ers.com: 101 member ascents; GPX library has 3 tracks (all bundle Campbell Creek with Handies-area peaks). Key TR: piper14er — "American Basin great and Campbell Creek not so much" (Grizzly Gulch start; the willow-fight warning on the Campbell Creek descent).
- listsofjohn.com: peak 357 — Class 2, San Juan/Hinsdale, isolation 1.0 mi.
- peakbagger.com: pid 84977 — ownership = BLM (Handies Peak WSA).
- climb13ers.com: no dedicated route page (sub-13,500 unranked-interest peak); class/approach corroborated by the 14ers TR + tracks.
Sources checked: 14ers.com ✓ (logged in, "letsgocu") · listsofjohn.com ✓ · peakbagger.com ✓ (logged in, "Kyle Knutson") · climb13ers.com ✓