America's Best-Kept Secrets

Only 90 minutes from Denver, the Gore Range sees laughably light weekend traffic for one simple reason: no Fourteeners. But who needs them? This 133,000-acre wilderness has plenty of craggy 13,000-foot peaks, mountain goats roaming the highlands, and lake basins blanketed in a frenzy of wildflowers like lupine and columbine in July and early August. The few trails here are beaucoup steep, and the summit scrambles relatively easy, making the range a peakbagger's delight.