Emerald Peak sits deep in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness in Chaffee County, west-northwest of Buena Vista, at the far end of the long ridge that runs south from Missouri Mountain. It stands far enough from its parent to command the basin around it, looming over Clohesy Lake on the Rockdale side. It is almost always climbed together with its unranked neighbor Iowa Peak, and often with Missouri as well.
The Emerald/Iowa combination starts from the Missouri Gulch trailhead on County Road 390 and climbs the busy Missouri Gulch Trail past the junctions for Mount Belford and Missouri to Elkhead Pass. From there it drops into Missouri Basin, sidehills southwest to save elevation, climbs a ramp on Emerald's north side, then crosses the Emerald-Iowa saddle for Iowa's mellow south slopes. It is Class 2 but long, about 14 miles round trip with 5,900 feet of gain, and the treeline camps in Missouri Gulch can split the effort. The shorter south and southwest ridge loop from the Rockdale/Clohesy Lake trailhead runs about 8.8 miles and 3,515 feet, but it needs 4WD or high clearance, and starting lower adds about 6 miles and a wade across Clear Creek.
The terrain is gentle, but the distance from the car leaves little margin when afternoon storms arrive.
