Mount Lincoln: The Mosquito Range's high crown and the DeCaLiBron loop

Mount Lincoln is the eighth-highest peak in Colorado and the high point of the Mosquito Range, the short north-south range immediately west of South Park. Its elevation is impressive on its own — but Lincoln is rarely climbed alone. The mountain anchors the famous DeCaLiBron loop: a 7.5-mile traverse from Kite Lake that tags Mount Democrat, Mount Cameron, Mount Lincoln, and Mount Bross in a single day. It's the most efficient way to bag four 14ers anywhere in the state.

The peak at a glance

• Elevation: 14,293 ft (4,357 m)
• Rank in Colorado: 8th of 56 peaks above 14,000 ft
• Range: Mosquito Range
• County: Park County
• Coordinates: 39.3517° N, 106.1117° W
• Standard route: East Ridge via Kite Lake (Class 2) — 7.5 mi round-trip with 4-peak DeCaLiBron loop, ~3,700 ft gain
• Public land: Pike National Forest

How Mount Lincoln got its name

The peak was named for President Abraham Lincoln shortly after his 1865 assassination — at a time when much of Colorado's mining-district topography was being formally surveyed and recorded. The high peaks of the Mosquitoes were a productive silver-mining region; the prospectors who named them tended to apply national figures of the day to their highest landmarks. Lincoln's adjacent peaks — Democrat (for the rival political party) and Bross (for William Bross, a Chicago newspaperman and Lincoln-era lieutenant governor of Illinois) — followed the political theme.

The standard route

The DeCaLiBron loop is the standard climb. From the Kite Lake trailhead at 12,000 feet, the loop ascends Mount Democrat first via a steady Class 2 trail, traverses across the Cameron-Lincoln saddle to tag both adjacent summits, and descends via the contested Bross summit on the way back to the lake. Total: 7.5 miles, 3,700 feet of gain. Plan on 6 to 9 hours.

If you only want Lincoln, the same trail tagging just the high point cuts about 2 miles and 800 feet of gain off the day.

Other ways up

The Bross summit is currently closed due to mining-claim and private-property disputes — the closure has been in effect intermittently since 2005, with periodic re-openings. The standard advice is to climb the DeCaLiBron loop ascending Bross from the Cameron-Lincoln saddle and descending the south ridge, but check current Forest Service / county guidance before climbing.

When to climb

The Colorado fourteener climbing season is short. The standard window runs from late June through mid-September — after the snow has melted off the trail and before the first serious autumn storm. Outside that window, you're committing to a winter ascent: snow travel, avalanche assessment, post-holing through drifts, and route-finding without a visible trail.

Inside the window, the rule that has saved more Colorado lives than any other is be off the summit by noon. Afternoon convective storms build over the high peaks almost daily in July and August. Lightning is the leading weather killer in the Rockies. Plan for a pre-dawn start — most experienced climbers leave the trailhead between 4:00 and 5:30 AM.

Where it sits

The peak sits in the heart of the Mosquito Range, accessed via Kite Lake from the historic mining town of Alma on CO-9. Alma was Colorado's most productive silver-mining region in the 1880s, and the road to Kite Lake passes through the ghost town of Buckskin Joe, named for an early prospector.

What climbers wish they'd known

Bross access changes year to year. Confirm current closure status with the county before relying on the full DeCaLiBron loop.

The Kite Lake road is high-clearance. Passenger cars usually park lower; plan to walk the last mile or two.

Before you go

A 14er is a long, exposed day at altitude. Read these first if you haven't already:

• Planning your first multi-day backpacking trip — same logistics apply to a long single-day summit push.
• How to choose the right trail difficulty — converting class ratings into honest fitness estimates.
• Leave No Trace, in one minute — alpine tundra heals on a geological clock. Stay on the trail.

Looking for the standard route on the map? Browse Colorado trails on the Outdoors App or jump to the Near Me view if you're already in-state.

If you liked this peak

• Mount Democrat — the loop entry
• Mount Cameron — the loop's contested fourth peak
• Mount Bross — the closed peak

Hero photograph: Mount Lincoln viewed from Colorado State Highway 9 near Alma. by Thomson200, licensed under CC0 (public domain dedication).