Carpenter Peak is the highest point in Roxborough State Park located in the town of Littleton, Colorado. The summit is just over 7,000ft and offers views down into Roxborough and of the Front Range and Denver. Carpenter peak is great smaller hike for families and beginner hikers. Carpenter Peak can be hiked year round but expect occasionally closures due to muddy trail conditions.
Carpenter Peak Quick Facts
Carpenter Peak Trail Rating: ★★ (2/5 stars)
Distance: 6.28 miles RT
Elevation Start: 6,198 ft
Summit: 7,170 ft
Total Elevation Gain: 1,000 ft
Estimated Time to Complete: 3-4 Hours RT (1-2 Hours Up, 1-2 Hours down)
Difficulty: Easy What does this mean?
Class: Class 1
Season: Year Round (Expect Snow December – March)
Directions to Carpenter Peak
Trailhead: Roxborough State Park
Getting Here: Carpenter Peak is most commonly accessed through Roxborough State Park located in the town of Littleton, Colorado. Although Carpenter Peak can be hiked outside the park, that trail to the summit is 9+ miles and in my opinion probably not worth it. Roxborough State Park can be entered into your favorite navigation app.
Parking: Parking will typically not be an issue here as there are several large lots to park in around the park. There are multiple bathrooms available at the park’s main trailhead as well.
Fees: There is a $10 fee to enter the park or you can buy an annual Colorado State Park Pass for $80.
Summary
Dogs: Unfortunately, no dogs are allowed in Roxbourgh State Park.
Camping: No camping is allowed in Roxborough State Park.
Make it a Loop: Although Carpenter Peak is an out and back hike, it is easily paired with other trails in Roxborough State Park that can form a loop. View complete map of park here.
Trail X Factors: Lack of Wilderness
If you haven’t left the couch in a couple of years, Carpenter Peak is a good intro hike before you tackle Pikes Peak or another 14er. However, since the peak is located fairly close to Littleton neighborhoods, the summit views may not live up to your expectations (or at least mine). Instead of spanning forest views and more mountains than you could ever count, you may see some neighbors of the peak shooting hoops or swimming in their pool. This is not to say the hike should be avoided, there are ample spots along the way in which you feel secluded and part of nature.
Hike Tip(s): Unlike most Colorado mountains, Carpenter Peak’s summit temperate will probably be exactly the same as Denver’s. If you are looking for a spot to cool off from the scorching summer heat, hike Carpenter Peak in the early morning or later evening otherwise you may be sweating buckets (raises hand) on the 3.14 miles up to the summit.
Best Views: The best views that Carpenter Peak offers are into Roxborough State Park on the way up. Take advantage of the many clearings to take some aerial shots down into the state park. There is also a great chance to see eagles and other native birds along the way, so keep that in mind when choosing a lens to bring. Since Carpenter Peak is a fairly short hike, you can bring some additional lens and accessories and not hate yourself for adding extra weight to your backpack.
My Trip to Carpenter Peak: July 2016
When I moved to Colorado, Roxborough State Park was one of the first hikes I tackled. At the time, when choosing a trail in the park I saw that Carpenter Peak was 3 miles to the summit and immediately thought “NOPE!” However, this trip to the park I was looking for a longer hike and Carpenter Peak was the perfect option.
Jackie and I arrived to the park around 1PM and there were about 20 other cars in the lot. Since most people who visit the park do not hike Carpenter Peak, we only ran into 2 other people on the entire hike up to the top. The hike up the summit offered several openings were we had great views of the beautiful red sandstone that makes up much of the geology of Roxborough State Park. After about a mile or so, we reached Carpenter Peak’s only false summit; the real peak of the mountain was visible in the distance.
This next section of the hike was counter-intuitive because the trail traveled down and away from the summit. However, the shade that this small leg of the trail provided was a much needed reprieve from the 90+ degree temps and otherwise exposed hike. We continued to work our way through some small trees and shrubs until the trail reached the other side of the valley we had traveled through. The remainder of the trail would follow shoulder of this small valley until we eventually reached the summit of Carpenter Peak.
The summit was full of flies which I was not sure if was a regular occurrence or just due to the fact that I had sweat off approximately 60 pounds of water and smelled like death. In either case, they were not super pleasant. The summit did offer several spots to enjoy the views and rocks to scramble on. My 5 year old self enjoyed climbing all over the rocks to snap photos.
After about 15 minutes of swatting off flies enjoying the summit to ourselves we eventually made the trek back down to Roxbourogh State Park. On the way Jackie claimed she saw a hummingbird and I said she was probably hallucinating from the hot temperatures. Sure enough, 5 minutes later a hummingbird appeared RIGHT in front of us and hung out for several minutes, feeding on the wildflowers. Mother nature seems to enjoy seeing Jackie tell me, “I told you so.”
The remainder of the descent from Carpenter Peak was fairly uneventful and after 35 minutes or so we were back down into the park. Overall, Carpenter Peak was okay, but certainly not one of my favorite hikes. Carpenter Peak is a solid option if you do plan on visiting Roxborough State Park but bring lots of water and sunscreen and temper your summit expectations.
