Collegiate Peaks Wilderness covers 166,938 acres, of which 48,986 acres are on the Gunnison National Forest. This Wilderness has eight peaks over 14,000 feet in elevation. They are: Huron Peak (14,005), Missouri Mountain (14,067), Mt.Columbia (14,073), Mt. Oxford (14,153), Mt. Yale (14,196), Mt. Belford (14,197), La Plata (14,340), and Mt. Harvard (14,420). Timberline lakes and high mountain streams offer excellent fishing and scenery. Browns Pass, Red Mountain Creek, Texas Creek and Magdalena trails are in this Wilderness.

As you travel through the area, you might notice unusual and deep indentations in the boundary line. These are a legacy of man's hunt for gold and other valuable metals that are still sought just outside. More than a dozen trailheads create a situation in which no one ever stands more than five miles from a road. About 40 miles of the serpentine Continental Divide snake across the area, and this expansive Wilderness lies in parts of three national forests.