1962 Map of Bears Ears Peaks

About this map

Bears Ears and the twin summits of Bears Ears Peaks dominate this high-altitude landscape within the Routt National Forest. Surveyed for the development of the Missouri River Basin, the map reveals a remote section of the Elkhead Mountains where human presence is defined primarily by resource management and backcountry transit. The California Park Guard Station sits as a lonely outpost near California Creek, serving as a hub for the network of primitive routes like the Pack Trail and Lookout Trail that thread through the timber. Several high mountain basins, including Slater Park and Adams Park, break the dense forest cover, while drainage systems such as Grizzly Creek and Elkhead Creek carve deep valleys through the volcanic terrain. This map captures the region before extensive modernization, preserving the locations of springs and creeks like Cold Spring and Hole-in-the-Wall Creek essential for early high-country travel.