Homestake

4,352 acres (6.8 square miles)

How to get there
The proposed Homestake Wilderness Area is located 3 miles south of Red Cliff and west of Camp Hale. Access is from State Highway 24 between Leadville and Minturn.

• 3 miles south of Red Cliff, the improved Homestake Road (FS 703) leads to Holy Cross City and Homestake Reservoir. This road makes up the entire western boundary of this proposed Area.
• About one mile south of Homestake Rd on SH 24, turning west onto No Name Road (FS 705) will provide you with access to the eastern boundary.
• The USGS 7 1⁄2’ quads for the proposed Homestake Wilderness Area are Mount of the Holy Cross and Pando.

Setting
The proposed Homestake Wilderness Area occupies steep, northwest-facing hillsides on the east side of lush Homestake Creek. These hillsides are densely-forested with spruce and fir. The elevation varies from 8,800 feet at Homestake Creek to 11,500 feet at the current Wilderness boundary.

What’s special about it?
This area's adjacency to the Holy Cross Wilderness has allowed it to retain wild and natural qualities. There are reports of impressive old-growth forest in the southern portion of the unit, near the current Wilderness boundary. The area along Homestake Creek is critical wildlife habitat and contains many ponds and wetlands. This area is also part of the regionally important wildlife movement corridor from the Holy Cross Wilderness to the Eagles Nest Wilderness. All connectivity across this significantly impaired region must be preserved so as to provide for wildlife movement along the spine of the Southern Rockies.

Potential threats
Timber sales (including salvage sales ) in the No Name Road area are the primary threat to the wild character of this landscape.

Other info
The proposed Homestake Wilderness Area is one of ten Roadless Areas that surround Holy Cross Wilderness Area. Together, they form a roadless complex of over 165,000 acres (257 square miles).