20 Attractions to Explore Near Juniper Pass

Echo Lake Park is a park located along the Mount Evans Scenic Byway about 33.5 mi west of Denver, Colorado. The park provides a stone shelter with picnic tables and barbecue grills on one end of the lake, and the 1926 Echo Lake Lodge and an Arapaho National Forest campground are found at the other. Access to backpacking trails, including the Chicago Lakes trail and Lincoln Lakes trail, can be found adjacent to the lake. The park is part of the Denver Mountain Parks system.

Chief Mountain Trail is a 3.1 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Idaho Springs, Colorado that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from June until November. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

Mount Goliath is a peak high on the shoulders of Mount Evans located outside of Idaho Springs within the Arapaho National Forest. Here in this fragile alpine environment Denver Botanic Gardens oversees the highest cultivated garden in the U.S., managed in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service. Amid grand mountain vistas, the 1.5 mile Pesman Trail winds through subalpine and alpine areas of bristlecone pines and wildflowers.

The Mt Goliath Natural Area is located 16.5 miles south of Idaho Springs on the Mt Evans Scenic Byway. It protects the largest, northernmost stand of Bristlecone Pine trees in North America, and is internationally recognized as one of the purest locations to study alpine ecology.While bristlecone pines highlight this area, it also supports localized micro-climates with plants found nowhere else below the Arctic Circle.

Echo Mountain is a ski, snowboard and tubing area located in Clear Creek County, west of Evergreen, Colorado. It is the closest ski area to the Denver metro area.The main lift, the Hot Laps Special, is a fixed-grip triple that has a turn around time of 4 minutes 39 seconds. The entire mountain is wired for sound so music can also be played. The two lodge buildings are of modern industrial design featuring many windows overlooking the slopes, corrugated metal walls and exposed ceilings.

Squaw Mountain is a high mountain peak at an elevation of 3.493m above the sea level, located in Clear Creek County, in the U.S. state of Colorado. At the summit of Squaw Mountain there is an array of communication towers, plus a two story stone lookout tower, built in 1925. Visitors should be prepared for high altitude conditions. Summertime temperatures average 70 degrees but can drop as low as 30 degrees at night or during the frequent summer afternoon thunderstorms

Lincoln Lake is a 98 acre lake located in Washburn County. It has a maximum depth of 27 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. It makes a great spot for a hike. The trails are well marked. With the lake as a backdrop and beautiful rock outcroppings and so more.

Squaw Pass Road (now Mestaa’Ėhehe Pass) is a beautiful, scenic high mountain pass that travels through Clear Creek County in Colorado. The road is at an elevation of 2,984 meters and it winds its way through the mountains, offering stunning views of the surrounding area. The road is also popular for its many switchbacks and hairpin turns, which make for an exciting drive.

The Mount Evans Scenic Byway, just 60 miles west of Denver, is the highest paved road in North America. A day trip to the top is a journey that snakes and climbs through nearly 9,000 feet of elevation gain, from the high plains of Denver through five climate zones to the 14,264-foot summit of Mount Evans, one of 54 peaks in Colorado that soar to 14,000 feet and above – the famous “fourteeners.”

The Phoenix Gold Mine is an authentic trip into Colorado mining history. This is a working gold and silver mine owned and operated by third-generation hard-rock miner Alvin "Al" Mosch. As we found out, the mine's temperature hovers between 42 and 54 degrees F. year round, so it's good to wear a jacket no matter what month you arrive. Miners still push tons of gold and silver ore along the narrow-gauge rails in small underground ore cars, just as they did 150 years ago.

The Chicago Lakes are located south of Idaho Springs in the Mt Evans Wilderness Area. These spectacular alpine lakes lie .65 miles and 313' apart in a broad valley beneath Mt Evans, Mt Spalding and Mount Warren. Visitors will enjoy stunning alpine scenery and wildlife that includes moose, elk, bighorn sheep and mountain goat.

This largest water wheel in the state of Colorado, was constructed in 1893 by Charlie Tayler. Tayler used this water wheel to power an ore processing stamp mill at his gold mining operations on Ute Creek. It was moved to its present site in 1946, a gift to the people of Idaho Springs by his estate. It was restored during the spring and summer of 1988 by volunteers and private contributions. It was dedicated during Gold Rush Days, July 16-17, 1988.

Argo Gold Mine & Mill is a national historic site located about 45 minutes from Denver. featuring an intact gold mill built at the entrance of the Argo Tunnel. The tunnel was built between 1893 and 1910 to drain the gold mines in Virginia Canyon, Gilpin Gulch, Russell Gulch, Quartz Hill, Nevadaville, and Central City and allow easier ore removal. It began in 1893 with the construction of the Argo Tunnel. After 17 years it reached Central City, about 4.5 miles away.

Gray Wolf Mountain is a high thirteener in northern end of the Mount Evans Wilderness. Gray Wolf Mountain is connected to the more popular Mount Spalding by a high and gentle expanse of rolling tundra. In spite of this demure southern appearance Gray Wolf has been deeply gauged by glaciation and the cliffs rising above the Chicago Lakes and Hells Hole are quite spectacular. The Hells Hole escarpment in particular is rugged and handsome. In spite of these cliffs many routes exist that skirt them.

Summit Lake Park is a park located along Mount Evans Scenic Byway about 64 miles west of Denver, Colorado. The park is 160 acres in size and contains alpine tundra. Land to the east of the lake is in a state of permafrost which helps to prevent drainage of the area. During the summer, the park is filled with wildflowers, some of which have not been found anywhere else outside of the Arctic Circle. The park is named after Summit Lake, the headwaters of Bear Creek.

The Denver Mountain Parks system contains more than 14,000 acres of parklands in the mountains and foothills of Jefferson, Clear Creek, Douglas, and Grand counties in Colorado, west and south of Denver. It currently consists of 22 developed parks and other undeveloped parklands that serve as open space, scenic viewsheds, and wildlife habitat. Its properties encompass a variety of habitats, including prairie, mountain meadow, riparian forests, montane and subalpine forests, and alpine tundra

Mount Spalding is a mountain in the Front Range in United States. Its southwest side connects to the Sawtooth Ridge between Evans and Bierstadt also. It sits across Summit Lake from Evans and is a popular 13er to climb that can easily be done in an hour or so from Summit Lake. It's more fun to climb Evans and do the 2nd class scramble over to Spalding though. Grays and Torreys are also easily seen from Spalding.

This is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of Denver. It is located near the summit of Mount Evans in the Arapaho National Forest approximately 60 kilometers. It is the third highest optical/infrared observatory in the World, and was the highest until the Indian Astronomical Observatory opened in 2001.

Mount Evans is the highest peak in the Mount Evans Wilderness in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The peak is one of the characteristic Front Range peaks, dominating the western skyline of the Great Plains along with Pikes Peak, Longs Peak, and nearby Mount Bierstadt. Mount Evans can be seen from over 100 miles to the east, and many miles in other directions.