Longs Peak Gear Checklist
An overnight on Longs Peak usually means a night in the Boulder Field at about 12,700 feet, then the Keyhole Route at first light. The park requires a hard-sided bear canister and a printed permit, and bans fires. Climbers add a helmet for rockfall, shoes with sticky rubber, windproof layers and enough water for a stream that may not flow. The camp itself is the cold, windy, crowded part, and not every hiker thinks hauling a full camp up is worth it.
What shapes your gear on Longs Peak
- The climb
- The summit is 14,259 feet. The park says the Keyhole Route is a climb, not a hike, with narrow ledges, loose rock, falling rocks and exposure where an unroped fall would likely be fatal.
From Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS): Longs Peak - Keyhole Route
- Approach to camp
- The Boulder Field campsites are about six miles from the trailhead with a little over 3,300 feet of gain. A hiker who went up in August 2022 put the camp at 12,700 feet and her pace at four and a half hours with a heavy pack.
- Weather
- The park warns of afternoon thunderstorms and lightning in June, July and August, and says the route can see winter-like conditions at any time of year. Trip reports describe a cold night with big wind gusts at camp and tents tumbling across the boulders.
From Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS): Longs Peak - Keyhole Route, 14ers.com and Just a Colorado Gal
- Water at camp
- A stream runs under the boulders, but the amount depends on time of day and recent weather. A ranger told one hiker not to count on it, and she found it flowing well in the evening and morning. A 2008 report says it was hard to find a spot to fill bottles.
From The Adventuring Heidi and 14ers.com
- Camp layout
- Boulder Field sites are flat spots ringed by low rock walls that act as windbreaks. There is a privy a short walk away and it has no toilet paper.
From The Adventuring Heidi and 14ers.com
What the agency requires on Longs Peak
A hard-sided, lockable bear canister
All wilderness overnights in the park require a commercially made, hard-sided, lockable canister for food, scented items and garbage. You must bring it into the Wilderness Office to get your permit, and store it 200 feet from your campsite.
From Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS): Wilderness Overnight Backpacking
A printed wilderness permit and a vehicle dashtag
The permit must be a printed hard copy that you carry into the backcountry, and you collect it and the overnight dashtag in person at a Wilderness Office.
From Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS): Wilderness Overnight Backpacking
A stove and a way to purify water
Campfires are prohibited in the wilderness, so cook on a portable stove. The park also says to purify all water.
From Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS): Wilderness Overnight Backpacking
What hikers carry on Longs Peak
A climbing helmet
One climber argues a helmet is worth wearing for everything past the Keyhole and essential in the Trough, where loose rock falls from parties above. A hiker asking what to bring for an August attempt listed one too. The park describes falling rocks along the route.
From The Adventuring Heidi, Reddit r/14ers: Question about what to bring for Longs Peak (r/14ers) and Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS): Longs Peak - Keyhole Route
Approach shoes or boots with sticky rubber
Parts of the Ledges are polished smooth by traffic and can be slick from moisture. The 2022 camper was glad to have sticky approach shoes, and the park stresses the narrow ledges and loose rock.
From The Adventuring Heidi and Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS): Longs Peak - Keyhole Route
Windproof shell, warm layer, hat and gloves
The far side of the Keyhole is shaded, windy and cold. One hiker cinched her hood and pulled on gloves there. Commenters on a gear thread would bring a light down vest or fleece, a puffy and a hard shell, and one switched to thick gloves in a surprise August snowstorm on another 14er.
From Just a Colorado Gal and Reddit r/14ers: Question about what to bring for Longs Peak (r/14ers)
A freestanding tent and rocks to hold it down
A forum climber says free-standing tents work best because the guy lines are hard to stake in rock. Another hiker saw tents beaten by wind, and one climber chased a tent across the boulders. A three-person tent just fit within the stone walls of one site.
From 14ers.com forum, Just a Colorado Gal and 14ers.com
A canister you are willing to carry six miles
The canister is required for the permit. People in a forum thread say rented ones are bulky and weigh almost three pounds, and that at this site the real threat to food is marmots, not bears.
From Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS): Wilderness Overnight Backpacking and 14ers.com forum
Water capacity and a filter
The park says to purify all water. A forum climber lowers a pump intake down through the rocks to reach the trickle under the camp. The 2022 camper carried six liters up as insurance and found later that she did not need that much.
From Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS): Wilderness Overnight Backpacking, 14ers.com forum and The Adventuring Heidi
A headlamp for a pre-dawn start
Climbers wake to the lights of hikers coming up from the trailhead long before sunrise. Both the 2022 and 2008 reports started the climb around 6:30 and describe the line of lamps below camp.
From The Adventuring Heidi and 14ers.com
Your own toilet paper and a spare warm layer for sleeping
The privy at camp has none. The same camper got cold at night in her tent and warmed up under her down jacket and a foil emergency blanket, then slept seven hours.
7 people can go on one permit. Split this list between them so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on Longs Peak
Extra camp gear for a night that may not sleep well
One commenter says camping here means hauling extra gear for poor sleep from constant wind and hikers at all hours, and that a one-day push is better. Others in a 2013 thread say the overnight is more effort than climbing straight through. The 2022 camper still chose it and slept seven hours, so weigh the trade yourself.
From Reddit r/14ers: Safe to Climb Longs Peak (Keyhole Route) Alone, Without a Guide? (r/14ers), 14ers.com forum and The Adventuring Heidi
Shorts and a thin sun layer as your only cover
A commenter never wears shorts on a 14er because weather turns at any time of year. They carry pants, a puffy and a hard shell as the minimum.
From Reddit r/14ers: Question about what to bring for Longs Peak (r/14ers)
Skipping trekking poles on the long descent
One hiker who rarely uses poles said the 5,200 foot descent punished her knees and slowed her badly toward the end.
From Just a Colorado Gal
Nothing to read on the rest day
The 2022 camper stayed a second night and wished she had brought a book to fill the afternoon after the summit.
Gear questions for Longs Peak
Do you need a bear canister to camp near Longs Peak?
Yes. The park requires a hard-sided, lockable bear canister on every wilderness overnight and says to bring it to the Wilderness Office when you get your permit. Hikers add that marmots are the main reason to use it at the Boulder Field.
From Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS): Wilderness Overnight Backpacking and 14ers.com forum
Do you need a helmet for Longs Peak?
The park pages we read do not require one, but they warn of falling rocks. Climbers who wrote about the route wear one from the Keyhole on, and the Trough is where they say it matters most.
From Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS): Longs Peak - Keyhole Route and The Adventuring Heidi
Is there water at the Boulder Field on Longs Peak?
A stream flows beneath the boulders, but how much depends on the hour and the weather. A ranger told one camper not to rely on it, and a 2008 report says finding a place to fill a bottle can be hard. Bring a filter and carry some extra from lower down.
From The Adventuring Heidi, 14ers.com and Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS): Wilderness Overnight Backpacking
Can you have a campfire on Longs Peak?
No. Campfires are prohibited across the park's wilderness, and the park says to use portable stoves only.
From Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS): Wilderness Overnight Backpacking
Sources
- Wilderness Overnight Backpacking · Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Longs Peak - Keyhole Route · Rocky Mountain National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Colorado Hiked: Longs Peak · The Adventuring Heidi, Heidi · Blog
- Camping in the boulder field on Longs · 14ers.com forum · Forum thread
- Longs Peak - Boulderfield Camping & Keyhole route · 14ers.com, IowaGuy · Trip report
- Longs Peak Hike: Complete Guide to the Keyhole Route · Just a Colorado Gal, Heather Balogh Rochfort · Blog
- Question about what to bring for Longs Peak (r/14ers) · Reddit r/14ers · Reddit thread
- Safe to Climb Longs Peak (Keyhole Route) Alone, Without a Guide? (r/14ers) · Reddit r/14ers · Reddit thread