W0C/FR-164 (Visitor Point)
2896 m / 9501 ft
Sep 26, 2013 First Activation
Mar 28, 2014 Second Activation

by KX0R

Visitor Point is like a secret SOTA peak in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. This seldom-climbed summit is close to the Denver metro area. Although the mountain is partly surrounded by private land, the access and summit are in the State Park.

Drive to Golden and head west up Golden Gate Canyon. The road is on the north side of Golden at a light on highway 93. It’s about 15 miles up curvy paved Road 70 to the State Park. About a mile before the Visitors Center, the road runs across a low pass, with Visitor Point above on the right. There is even a road there marked Golden Gate Drive, but it leads into a private development. Stay on the main highway, and drive north and down into the Ralston Creek drainage. At the bottom, right after the road crosses the creek, there is a signed junction, and the Visitor Center is just 100 yards to the right, next to the creek. There are some interesting exhibits in the building, as well as restrooms and helpful State Park people. At the Visitor Center you can buy a Park Pass, which you must display in order to park your car in the Park.

Amazingly, there is no trail from the Visitor Center to Visitor Point, which stands 1300 vertical feet up to the southeast. Most of the route is off-trail, but the navigation is not difficult. A compass and topo map are required; a GPS with a map-set is useful here.

Park at the Visitor Center and follow the Nature Trail / Bear Trail that heads east from the parking lot, along the south side of the creek.

After only about 100 yards, there is a marked junction. Turn right, follow the nature trail about 100 feet into a small draw, and head off the trail and uphill to the southeast. Climb the obvious ridge on the east side of the draw, and try to follow an old abandoned trail that leads south up the ridge for a short distance. There is no marked route to the summit, and most of the climb consists of picking your way up the north side of the mountain through a forest of lodge-pole pines and aspen trees. This is a “bushwhack trip”, except that there aren’t many bushes.

There is a rocky steep section part way up, but it’s easy to switchback east and get around it. There are bits of game trails that provide useful routes here and there. Although the summit is always hidden by the forest, just head southeast and uphill and you’ll get there. There are no cliffs or talus – just a classic north-slope montane forest. In summer it’s a refreshing, shady morning hike, and in winter it’s a moderately-difficult off-trail snowshoe ascent. With deep powder it could be a tough route to do – but when I went up there in late March, the snow was crusty most of the way, and the 1 to 2 feet near the top covered up many logs and rocks, making for a very reasonable snowshoe trip.

Visitor Point’s summit is a pleasant forested ridge about a hundred yards long. The actual high point is hard to identify – but operating in the Activation Zone, within 75 vertical feet of the top, is easy. A nice open area is available near the eastern end of the summit ridge, right below some rocks that may be the actual peak.

There are sheltered, sunny spots among the rocks, with plenty of space to run a wire along the ridge, and some good trees are conveniently located.

This mountain is an excellent HF radio site, open in all directions; for VHF/UHF it’s probably OK, but higher peaks to the east probably reduce coverage of the Denver Metro Area and nearby communities.

The mountain falls away in most directions, and there’s a nice view south from the east end of the ridge. Centralia Mountain and Mount Tom stand higher to the east.

Very few people climb this obscure summit – I saw no register, no jar, no fire ring, and no summit cairn. Visitor Point offers a special, private SOTA experience – the off-trail access is a small price to pay for an easy activation on such a pleasant summit!

73

George Carey Fuller
KX0R

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!! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers... there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required - enjoy!