26,734 acres
Description
Handies Peak is the highest peak under BLM’s jurisdiction outside of Alaska, rising to 14,048 feet. The area is bounded by a dozen miles of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and spans the headwaters of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison, Animas and Rio Grande. One popular trail parallels the thundering cascades and waterfalls of aptly named Cataract Gulch. Handies Peak forms a critical missing link in the larger protected landscape of the San Juan Mountains and serves as an ecological corridor connecting the northern and southern San Juans.
