Williams Fork Mountains

A smaller range located in Colorado's massive Front Mountain Range, the Williams Fork Mountains are a group located between the Blue River and the Williams Fork of the Colorado River of Summit County.

The Williams Fork Mountains consist of gentle slopes, except for a small area located near Coon Hill, which has some dramatic steep areas. These mountains are made up of rolling ridgelines covered in alpine tundra, making it very easy to take a walk across the range. The large areas of tundra are bursting with alpine wildflowers in the summer - a beautiful sight. Because the mountains are so gentle, they are perfect to visit during the winter months.

A section of the Williams Fork Mountains is protected - this area is called the Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness and contains 13,175 acres of land. The mountains became a wilderness area in 1993, although the final designation didn't end up covering the 54,000 acres in the original proposition. The main reason was because the east flanks of the Williams Fork Mountains provide a large amount of water to the city of Denver.