Colorado is well-known for its fourteeners! However, according to the Colorado Fourteener Initiative (CFI), roughly 260,000 people climbed fourteeners last year—the lowest level of traffic seen on the state's peaks since the CFI began collecting data nine years ago.
This traffic reflects a 6.8% drop from 2022, when there were 279,000 hikers. In addition, the CFI says this reflects "a broader trend of decreased hiking activity since the peak in 2020 during the pandemic summer when use reached 415,000 hiker days."
Mount Bierstadt and Quandary Peak were Colorado's most popular fourteeners in 2023, according to the CFI, with each seeing an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 hikers. Meanwhile, Mount Elbert and Torreys Peak each had about 20,000 to 25,000 hikers.
Out of the 260,000 hikers, about 57% climbed one of the 12 fourteeners closest to Denver.
"The remaining 46 peaks accounted for 112,000 hiker days," says CFI.
Did you make your way up one of Colorado's fourteeners last year? Are you planning on hiking any of them this year? Let us know!
