Sarvis Creek Wilderness
Old-timers sometimes pronounced "sarvis" as "service," and the Sarvis Timber Company once logged near here, lending its name to this Wilderness. Opening occasionally at islands of rock or in meadows of wet mushy ground, the Sarvis Creek Wilderness is foremost an unusually thick forest of lodgepole pine at lower elevations and Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir higher up. Unlike most Colorado wilderness areas, Sarvis contains no alpine tundra. Sarvis Creek and Silver Creek, the two primary drainages, run westerly through the dense forestland, past small gravel bars and under many dead trees lying across the water, emptying into the Yampa River.
Description from Wilderness Connect (wilderness.net).
| Designation | Wilderness |
| Managed by | U.S. Forest Service |
| State | Colorado |
| Size | 44,345 acres |
| Designated | 1993, by Congress |
| Center point | 40.25° N, 106.70° W |
| Night sky | About as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 11) |
Boundary map
Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site
The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.
Weather by month
Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.
Where to camp
None of the 3 federal campgrounds within ten miles sit inside the boundary. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.
Trailheads and sites
The Forest Service lists 1 recreation site inside this wilderness, among them 1 trailhead. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.
- 6 miLower Sarvis Creek Trailhead ↗Trailhead
Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.
Trails
3 named Forest Service trails enter this wilderness, 31 miles in all.
| Trail | Miles | Allowed uses |
|---|---|---|
| Silver Creek ↗ | 12.3 | |
| Sarvis Creek ↗ | 11.9 | |
| Routt Divide ↗ | 7.1 |
Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.
Explore
Nearby on the other atlases
- 6.3 miMesa Schoolhouse ↗Steamboat Springs, CO
- 7.1 miRock Creek Stage Station ↗Toponas, CO
- 8.1 miBell Mercantile ↗Oak Creek, CO
- 9.2 mi
- 9.4 miAntlers Cafe and Bar ↗Yampa, CO
- 11.5 miChristian Science Society Building ↗Steamboat Springs, CO
- 11.5 miFirst National Bank Building ↗Steamboat Springs, CO
- 11.5 miRoutt County National Bank Building ↗Steamboat Springs, CO
Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.
Guidebooks for Colorado
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
How big is Sarvis Creek Wilderness?
44,345 acres.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Who manages Sarvis Creek Wilderness?
The U.S. Forest Service.
Source: Wilderness Connect
What state is Sarvis Creek Wilderness in?
Colorado.
Source: Wilderness Connect
When was Sarvis Creek Wilderness designated?
Congress designated it in 1993.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Can I camp at Sarvis Creek Wilderness?
Camping inside a wilderness is usually allowed away from roads, with no facilities, and the managing agency page has the permit rules. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.
Source: Where to camp
How do I get to Sarvis Creek Wilderness?
A point inside the boundary is at 40.252° N, 106.700° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Are there historic places near Sarvis Creek Wilderness?
The National Register has 15 listings within 15 miles, including Mesa Schoolhouse and Rock Creek Stage Station.
Source: Register Atlas
Sources
- Boundary, name, acreage, designation year, states and description: Wilderness Connect.
- Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
- Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, points inside the boundary.
- Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched on the wilderness each trail enters.
- Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
- Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.