Pike National Forest

Activities: Hiking

Length: 1.34 Miles (2.3 km.)

Trail Begins: Trailhead is at parking lot at Devils Head Picnic Ground

Elevation: 8,800 ft. (2,690m)

Trail Ends: At fire lookout tower at Summit of Devils Head Mountain

Elevation: 9,748 ft. (2,980m)

Season: 4/5 - 10/31

Attractions: November 16, 1979, the trail was designated as National Recreation Trail. Devils Head Fire Lookout sets at the summit and provides a 3600 panoramic view of the surrounding Pike National Forest and Plains to the east. Visitors are welcome.

Interpretive signs have been set at intervals along the trail as a cooperative project with the Colorado Business and Professional Women's Clubs of Colorado to show and explain the role of fire in the forest.

Access: From US Hwy 85 at Sedalia, take State Hwy 67 approximately ten miles west to the Forest Service Indian Creek Work Center. Then nine miles south on the Rampart Range Road to Devils Head Camp and Picnic Grounds. Persons approaching from the south may take the Rampart Range Road from Woodland Park or Hwy 67 from Deckers.

Narrative: The Devils Head Trail climbs 948 feet in elevation through a ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forest. It culminates at a massive granite rock outcrop at the highest point of Devils Head Mountain. From certain viewpoints, the profile of a devils head can be seen formed by the rugged rock outcrops of the mountains.

Setting atop this massive rock pinnacle, made accessible by stairways over the last 200 feet to the summit, sets Devils Head Fire Lookout Tower. The original structure built in 1912 with materials packed up the mountain by pack mules provided a magnificent 3600 of the surrounding Pike National Forest. Later, the existing glass enclosed ten-by-ten foot station as constructed and equipped with modern fire detection instruments. Because of the numerous lightning-caused fires in the area and its exceptional vista, the tower still serves in an active role in wildfire detection. It is the last operating fire lookout along Colorado's Front Range.

In 1917 Miss Helen Dow as the first woman lookout for the Pike National Forest, and was perhaps the first woman lookout in the United States.

The fire lookout is open to the public and hundreds of visitors make the journey each year. Certain restrictions must be followed, however, for your protection. Please observe the posted signs. If you are planning to visit the lookout. there are some helpful reminders:

Use: Very Heavy

Difficulty: Moderate

USGS Map(s): Devils Head

Special Considerations: Foot and horse trail. Motorized vehicles are not permitted. Hikers should use caution to avoid slipping on the loose disintegrated granite gravel that forms the trail tread. While climbing the stairs to the lookout at the summit, children must be under adult supervision and control at all times.