Holy Cross Wilderness
national forest wilderness area in Colorado, United States
The Holy Cross Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in San Isabel and White River national forests near Leadville, Minturn, Avon, Edwards, Eagle, and Vail. The 122,797-acre (496.94 km2) wilderness with 164 miles (264 km) of trails was established in 1980. The wilderness was named after its highest peak, 14,005-foot (4,269 m) Mount of the Holy Cross.
Holy Cross Wilderness is an area with many routes. Its neighbor Notch Mountain grants the backpacker or day tripper with a clear view of the "Cross" formed from the Mount of The Holy Cross, that has drawn many a visitor to the site.
The Holy Cross Wilderness has a history of many hikers, often those who are unprepared, becoming endangered. Primarily, the hikers who require rescue are unfamiliar with the risks of entering wilderness areas and do not bring adequate equipment and supplies to respond to emergency conditions. Thorough research and reasonable planning should prevent most tragedies as most occur due to a lack of risk management and preparation.
Holy Cross Wilderness hiking trails include Nolan Lake Trail, Lake Charles Trail to Lake Charles and Mystic Island Lake, New York Mountain Trail, Dead Dog Trail, Middle Lake Trail, Beaver Lake Trail to Beaver Lake and Turquoise Lake, Fancy Lake Trailhead (or Fancy Creek Trailhead on some maps) Grouse Lake Trail, West Grouse Creek Trail, Martin Creek Trail, Notch Mountain Trail, Half Moon Pass Trail to Mount of the Holy Cross, Tuhare Lakes Trail, and Cross Creek Trail to Treasure Vault Lake and Blodgett Lake.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Holy Cross Wilderness” as national forest wilderness area in Colorado, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as national forest wilderness area in Colorado, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5885354. VIAF identifies the subject as 245824335. Authority coordinates are 39.467, -106.482. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1980.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Holy Cross Wilderness”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Holy Cross Wilderness primary sources, Holy Cross Wilderness archive and Holy research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Holy Cross Wilderness”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Holy Cross Wilderness” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.