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Remote Colorado wilderness area grows as private land becomes public

By June 30, 2025 | updated 5 months ago

Needle Creek Weminuche Wilderness

A hiker hikes along the Needle Creek Trail in the Weminuche Wilderness area of southwestern Colorado near Needleton, Colorado.



Courtesy, The Wilderness Land Trust


At just shy of half a million acres, the Weminuche Wilderness in southwestern Colorado is the largest in the state, the most remote and now is slightly larger than it was yesterday.

This past winter, the Wilderness Land Trust (WLT) was able to purchase 30 acres of private land along the Needle Creek Trail, an up-to 17.6-mile out-and-back trail that allows hikers to access Chicago Basin and summit three, 14,000-foot peaks like Sunlight Peak and North Eolus.

According to the Wilderness Land Trust, most visitors who travel the Needle Creek Trail to Chicago Basin are unaware that the trail they’re traversing crosses several privately owned inholding properties.

Last week protection of the property was completed as it was transferred to public ownership and added to the Weminuche Wilderness, the WLT said.

The WLT said, “without the protections of the surrounding wilderness, the private properties could be developed with cabins, resorts, or mining and timber operations, suddenly making travelers’ experience dominated by the buzz of chainsaws, the thwomp of landing helicopters, or even the trail blocked and closed to the public.”

Needle Creek Weminuche Wilderness

A scenic view along the Needle Creek Trail in the Weminuche Wilderness area of southwestern Colorado near Needleton, Colorado.



Courtesy, The Wilderness Land Trust


The Needle Creek Trail starts just south of Needleton — a stop along the historic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad — and takes hikers deep into the Weminuche Wilderness’ Chicago Basin area.

With flat, buildable stream-side sites, the property was previously at risk of development, the WLT said, however, now that it is protected, public access on the trail to Chicago Basin has been ensured for future generations to enjoy.

The Animas River water source flowing along the trail, with its vibrant aspen groves that stretch from the creek up the slopes of the Needle Mountains, create habitat for a wide range of wildlife.

“The Needle Creek property scores high for climate change resilience, biodiversity, and landscape connectivity, all important conservation values that will be protected as wilderness,” the WLT said.

Needle Creek is the 15th property protected by the Trust in the Weminuche Wilderness, and builds off the success of the nearby 7-acre Emerald Lake property that the Trust acquired in 2018 and transferred to be added to the wilderness area in 2023.

“While the property is now protected as wilderness, we will continue working with the USFS (U.S. Forest Service) to complete some remaining restoration work this summer, removing the remnants of a hunting camp left by a previous owner,” the WLT said.

The WLT has previously protected 196 properties totaling over 7,300 acres in 16 wilderness areas and six proposed wilderness areas across Colorado.

(Contact Denver Gazette Digital Strategist Jonathan Ingraham at jonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.com or on X at @Skingraham.)

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