Pike National Forest Colorado

The Pike National Forest is located in the Front Range of Colorado, United States, west of Colorado Springs including Pikes Peak. The forest encompasses 1,106,604 acres (4,478 km2) within Clear Creek, Teller, Park, Jefferson, Douglas and El Paso counties. The major rivers draining the forest are the South Platte and Fountain Creek. Rampart Reservoir is a large artificial body of water located within the forest. The forest is named after American explorer Zebulon Pike. 

Pike National Forest Wilderness areas:  There are three officially designated wilderness areas lying within Pike National Forest that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Two of them extend into neighboring National Forests. 

·         Buffalo Peaks Wilderness, 67.83 square miles (partly in San Isabel NF)

·         Lost Creek Wilderness, 187 square miles

·         Mount Evans Wilderness, 116.3 square miles (mostly in Arapaho NF)

The Pike National Forest, San Isabel National Forests and Cimarron, Comanche National Grasslands offer a variety of campgrounds in which few of the most popular camping sites. 

·         Campground Camping Areas

·         Cimarron National Grassland

·         Cimarron Recreation Area

·         Cimarron Campground

·         Leadville Ranger District

·         Halfmoon Recreation Area

·         Elbert Creek Campground

·         Halfmoon East Campground

·         Halfmoon West Campground

·         Twin Eagle Campground is seasonally available

Pike National Forest is managed for multiple resources use including range, minerals, wildlife, water, fire, developed and dispersed recreation. The Pike National Forest offers sightseeing, hiking, lake fishing, boating, picnicking and cross-country skiing at the 500-acre Rampart Reservoir.

The north end of Pike National Forest is marked by Mount Evans (14,264 feet elevation) and is surrounded by the 73,000 acre Mount Evans Wilderness. Mount Bierstadt, another of Colorado's "fourteeners" at 14,060 ft. elevation is also located in the Mount Evans Wilderness. The Pike National Forest also contains the Lost Creek Wilderness.

The city of Colorado Springs is located at the base of Pikes Peak. It is the second largest city in Colorado and the 41st largest city in the United States. Colorado Springs is a full-service city and one of the fastest growing cities in Colorado. Colorado Springs is located about 70 miles south of Denver.