East of Basalt, South of Eagle and west of Leadville is small, stable population of mountain goats. Three wilderness areas within two National Forests have thousands of acres of public land.

There is a lot of recreational use during weekends in National Forest and wilderness areas. The mountain goat terrain is outside wilderness areas. Random weather changes should be expected, especially afternoon thunderstorms. This unit typically sees low numbers of goats with horns in the 7-9” range.

Snowmelt from the mountains drains into drainages that fill Turquoise Lake, Ruedi Reservoir and Homestake Reservoir each spring. A lot of alpine lakes are found above 11,000 feet in cirques.

Both U.S. Highway 24 and Colorado Route 82 connect to county and Forest Service roads that lead to three wilderness areas and thousands of public lands on White River and San Isabel National Forests. East of Independence Pass a trailhead at North Fork Lake Creek that goes into the Mount Massive Wilderness Area containing 30,000 acres. The Colorado Trail crosses 10 miles of the eastern region.

Open ranchlands with sagebrush, willows, grasses and cottonwoods can be found along river valleys. Ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, stands of aspen and mountain mahogany cover the foothills into the higher mountain slopes. Spruce, fir and pine have open parks on steeper slopes. Above timberline alpine basins are covered in wildflowers, moss, lichens and ground willows.

Aspen, Leadville, Basalt and Eagle have a lot of options for lodging, restaurants, gas and diesel.