| Grays Peak National Recreation Trail | |
| Length: | to Grays Peak; to Torreys Peak |
| Trailheads: | Grays Peak trailhead |
| Use: | Hiking[1] |
| Elev Gain And Loss: | +/- |
| Highest Name: | Grays Peak summit |
| Highest Ft: | 14278 |
| Lowest: | Trailhead, |
| Grade: | 20% |
| Difficulty: | More difficult, Most difficult |
| Sights: | Grays Peak
|
| Surface: | Rock, smooth |
Grays Peak National Recreation Trail or Grays Peak Trail[1] lies along the Continental Divide of the Americas, part of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the White River National Forest, Summit County. Grays Peak Trail is south of Interstate 70, east of Keystone Resort and near Montezuma. Grays Peak is adjacent to Torreys Peak.
The Grays Peak Trail begins 3sp=usNaNsp=us above Interstate 70, at 11200feet. The summit of Grays Peak is 3.7miles from the trailhead. Torreys Peak is 4.15miles from the trailhead, across a saddle from Grays Peak. Grays Peak Trail ascends south through the wetland willows of Stevens Gulch. The trail passes between Stevens Mine on a lower slope of McClellan Mountain, elevation 13587feet, forming the eastern wall of the valley, and Sterling Silver Group Mine beside the trail to the right on Kelso Mountain, 13164feet. The trail climbs 900feet during the first 1.7miles to a National Recreation Trail sign indicating that the summit is 2sp=usNaNsp=us farther.
From the saddle between Grays and Torreys, Stevens Gulch is within sight. The Keystone Resort slopes of Keystone Mountain, 11641feet, North Peak, 11661feet, and South Peak, 11982feet, are west of Grays Peak. Grays Peak, 14270feet, and Mount Edwards, 13850feet, form the ridge that is the Continental Divide of the Americas east of Torreys Peak.
Wildlife in the area includes mountain goat, pika, cougar or mountain lion, mule deer, elk, marmot, coyote, ptarmigan, American red squirrel, and Canada jay. Wildflowers that bloom in the tundra area on the Continental Divide include moss campion (Silene acaulis), alpine forget-me-not (Myosotis alpestris), sky pilot (Polemonium viscosum), sea pink, old-man-of-the-mountain (Rydbergia grandiflora), and mountain gentian (Gentiana). In the Deer Creek Valley, below the tree line, the blooms of monkshood or wolfsbane, blue columbine, fireweed, and paintbrush (Castilleja) can be found.