London Mountain

July 19, 2023

London Mountain | 13,194 feet

5 miles; 1700 feet elevation gain

Total time: 2 hours 50 minutes

London Mountain is a short but very enjoyable 13er. I read reviews that it was boring and unexciting but I completely disagree! This was the last day of our big five day hiking trip so we wanted something a little easier before heading home and I love this stunning valley.

The drive to Mosquito Creek Trailhead is accessible in a 2WD but there are two deep puddle crossings shortly before the trailhead. The trailhead isn't a marked location, but it is obvious where you should park. If you have a high clearance 4WD and off roading experience you can cut some hiking distance off by continuing to drive up Mosquito Pass to the mine. Side note: the pass is still closed to Leadville due to a snow field shortly after the mine. The pass is very wet, essentially a creek of running water, right now and has a lot of water erosion and large rocks. I attempted to drive a little higher and almost got stuck in a stock 4Runner. I was thankfully able to turn around and park at the first curve in the road after the trailhead.

From here you hike up the road about 1.5 miles to the turn off for London Mountain. From here it is about 1 mile to the summit. It quickly becomes a scramble with some moderate route finding around multiple rock towers. There is a faint trail but it is not always clear especially around the rock towers. I highly recommend studying the route images on 14ers.com in order to avoid ending up in any unnecessarily exposed sections. Once you pass through this area it is an easy grassy ridge walk to the summit. The views from the summit looking down into the entire basin are stunning, there are many alpine lakes and an insane amount of wildflowers.

This route is great for a short day or to combine with the other peaks in the basin: Kuss, Mosquito, Treasurevault and Tweto. This area is also full of alpine lakes if you want to add just a little extra distance on!

Hike Details:

Trailhead: 2WD trailhead accessible in any car. 4WD with high clearance can help you shorten the hiking distance.

Camping: a few dispersed campsites along Mosquito Pass.

Fees & Reservations: none.

Bathrooms: no bathrooms at the trailhead.

Trash: no garbage at the trailhead.

Dog-friendly: this route is dog friendly but does include some scrambling and some exposure along the ridge line.

Recent Conditions: see 14ers.com peak conditions.

Forecast: mountain-forecast.com (nearest peak forecast).