Vermilion Peak is the tallest of the rugged thirteeners that ring Ice Lake Basin west of Silverton, and it earns its name when low sun turns its rock a glowing red-orange. Golden Horn, Fuller Peak, Beattie Peak, and Pilot Knob all stand within a mile, and the basin below is carpeted with wildflowers in late July and August.
No trail reaches the summit. From South Mineral Creek, the Ice Lake Trail climbs about 3.5 miles and 2,420 feet into the basin, and Fuller Lake lies 0.9 miles past Ice Lake, where the ruins of an old mining cabin once stood. Above Fuller Lake the route goes trailless over loose talus to the saddle between Fuller and Vermilion, then follows an easy Class 2 ridge with a few false summits. From the west, the southeast ridge starts at the Lake Hope trailhead near Trout Lake and crosses V 8 and Beattie on large broken rock; a full circuit with V 8, Beattie, Fuller, and Golden Horn from there runs about 9.15 miles and 4,450 feet at Class 2+, and the road may need higher clearance.
The summit looks down on the lake-studded basin. The Ice Lake Trail is very busy from July 4 through Labor Day and parking is tight, so early starts help with both crowds and the storms that roll quickly over this open, shelterless terrain. Burned slopes from the 2020 Ice Fire still call for caution on the lower trail.
