Palisade Mountain Summit

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Views · Wildlife

The Palisade Mountain trail begins at a Forest Service gate. There is a small parking area along Snowtop Drive with room for 3-4 vehicles. Do not park at the Forest Service gate!

The trail begins with an easy 0.2 mile hike through a pretty meadow where wildlife can often be seen. This area also has many wildflowers during the warmer months. Just past the meadow, the trail begins to climb more steeply on an easy-to-follow route. Continue on this route for approximately 0.75 miles through beautiful forest land. At this point, you'll need to follow cairns closely as the trail become harder to follow. This area also includes two small but steep rocky canyon sections that are a little more difficult. Within 0.1 miles from the summit, you hike through a small level burn area.

From here, the way to the summit is only clear by following cairns. The final 25 yards is a fairly steep scramble over large boulders to the summit. The views from here are incredible in all directions. There is a pvc tube containing a summit register at the top.

Many wildflowers, including indian paintbrush and columbine, can be seen during the warm summer months. Many times deer can be seen along the way. Palisade Mountain is a fairly active area for black bears and mountain lions as well, so be alert. Rattlesnakes have also been seen in the area. Many types of birds are in the area as well.