Trip report
Jul 15, 2026 — Carbon Peak is a high-prominence lump, one of a cluster of similarly-shaped peaks known as laccoliths located in the West Elk Mountains outside the Crested Butte. Of these, Carbon Peak is one of the less-impressive, but I was tired and this offered an unofficial trail without crazy stats, so it worked out well for the day. The drive in from the south is graded dirt suitable for any car.
I started with a short walk along the old railroad grade, looking back toward the Anthracite Range. A plaque read: “You are standing on the grade of the narrow gauge Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad. In the fall of 1882, the railroad had reached Gunnison and soon was extended up Ohio Creek to the Elk Mountain coal fields. With plans to eventually reach the Pacific Ocean, construction of the grade continued up Ohio Pass. Construction stopped in early 1883, and the rock wall and the culverts under the balloon loop were never completed. Rails were never placed any farther than a few miles north of Baldwin”.
At the end of the railroad grade, I reached a sign for the Carbon Trail and left the old railbed behind. The trail reached the northern saddle of Carbon Peak, where the main trail continued contouring left. I needed to cross a little land bridge at the saddle instead. Once across, the trail wrapped around a side-hill cut and gained a long finger on the northwest side of Carbon Peak. It was easy to follow and clearly gets plenty of use from mountain bikers, so this wasn’t one of those Colorado routes where I had to spend brain power figuring out whether a faint line was actually a trail or just an especially determined game path.
I followed the finger higher at a reasonable grade up the western slope of Carbon Peak, spending most of the time in the forest. There were a few more openings higher up, and eventually I approached the west ridge. From there, the route became more of a straightforward ridge walk to the summit.