South Arapaho Peak | Indian Peaks Wilderness Colorado

Hiking South Arapaho Peak 13,397 feet (4,083m) located in the Indian Peaks Wilderness in Colorado on September 17, 2023. This is one of my favorite mountain peak hikes.
Directions to Trailhead:
From Peak to Peak highway on the south end of the town of Nederland, head west on Eldora Road and keep following this road through the small town of Eldora. Past the town the road is named 4th of July road and it's a bumpy 5 mile dirt road up to the trailhead. In the busy season on the weekends the road might be closed to cars. There is a shuttle but it doesn't go all the way to the 4th of July Trailhead.
Round Trip Distance: 8.4 miles (13.5m) from the 4th of July Trailhead
Elevation Gain: 3,238 feet (987m)
Difficulty: This one will give you a workout and it ends with a fun rock scramble for the last 700 feet of vertical.
Conditions:
Beautiful day
Camera equipment used:
GoPro HERO8 Black (4K30 Wide FOV)

[@dancer2]

Dope hike

[@hmongCAM]

The hike looks challenging but the view is amazing. Thanks for sharing. Your new friend ❤❤❤

[@AustinsADV]

It’s a fun one, thanks for watching!

[@atravelpath]

What a summit, reminds me a bit of Lassen Peak. So cool seeing the lakes. Nice one!

[@AustinsADV]

Thanks! I actually like this summit more than most of the 14ers that I’ve been up.

[@thevigarfeeling]

Hey sorry we watched this yesterday and forgot to comment. That road is crazy bumpy! We have never heard of anything like the 4th of July pass. Another really great hike. It didn’t look like a super long one which sometimes are the best. Wahhh that drop is crazy on the summit but the views are incredible. Another great one Austin. Loving your work always. Oh and it was great to see pictures of you when you walk it before. Have the best week 😊

[@AustinsADV]

Thanks Mike & Chelsea! I agree, the length of hikes like this are perfect, doesn’t take all day to get amazing views. It’s very nice early in the summer when the valley is full of wildflowers. Have a great week!

[@gabicerrahikes]

Great content austin!

[@AustinsADV]

Thanks Gabi!

[@zecanard]

How bad is the 4ᵗʰ of July Road? I had to start from the Rainbow Lakes (east) side (which adds significant and boring mileage), because everyone makes it sound like 4ᵗʰ of July requires a Monster Truck. If what you showed is as bad as it gets, I’ve driven my Civic down much worse. There’s a lot I’d like to see in that area, but haven’t tried because I’m worried about road conditions. I really enjoy your videos, by the way. They’re fun, and cut out a lot of dead airtime. I think you’d enjoy going to North Arapaho if you do this again.

[@AustinsADV]

Hey, thanks for the complements on the videos! I'd like to go to North Arapaho sometime, just need to get an earlier start. The road is pretty much like you see in the video, mostly just a bunch of holes to navigate around, it's not a 4wd road or anything like that, just have to take it slow. Get there early because when the parking fills up, they stop cars at the school and make you take a shuttle bus, but it only goes to the Hessie trailhead. They let me pass on the motorcycle because they thought I could find a small place to park.

[@zecanard]

Thanks for the quick response! Yeah, the shuttle also stops running too early in the evening, which is a big problem.

[@AustinsADV]

@zecanard Yeah, I think it stops at 6pm, and it’s a long walk back to the school.

[@alexwbakker]

I've seen Tesla Model 3s in the parking lot on that parking lot. IMO, that's pushing your luck because those cars don't have spare tires...but if you took some good lines and took your time, you'd be fine. OTOH, it's more fun in a jeep/suv where you don't have to worry about it.