> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # I Took 18 Photos of Longs Peak in a Year. Here’s My Power Ranking. - URL: https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/longs-peak-18-photos-power-ranking/ - Published: 2026-10-09T06:55:28.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-12T11:27:45.000Z - Description: Eighteen photographs. One mountain. Four seasons. A deeply unscientific ranking of a year looking west from Longmont. - Author: Nicholas Thompson - Tags: #Import 2026-10-09 00:15, Longmont, longs peak, mountains, Colorado ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1e/97/1e975f01-5ab6-430e-819e-8f0ec8a3bb3a/content/images/2026/10/IMG_8601.jpeg) On March 4, 2025, I looked up Longmont on Google for the first time. In March 2025, I had just finished living the h[orrific experience with the car thefts](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/its-week-without-driving-for-me-its-just-wednesday/) and started considering my move to Colorado. A job I was considering had Ken Caryl offices and Longmont. I have talked about how Longmont’s public transit maps got me hooked. But my first impression was the Long’s Peak massif behind the Agricultural Heritage Center barn near McIntosh Lake. I couldn’t believe how picturesque and bucolic it was, as if Norman Rockwell painted the bottom half and Bob Ross took the top. It looked like Longmont had better Front Range views than Denver or Boulder. I’m more than a year into my residency here, and I strongly believe that to be the case. Between October 3, 2025, and September 29, 2026, I collected 18 of my favorite pictures of the same mountain: from reservoirs, creek banks, bike paths and, once - alongside my mom about a year after she brought me out here. Some look like postcards. Others look like proof I was running errands. They all prove I never got sick of looking west in all seasons, and seeing my life change with the mountain. ## #18 — The Parking Garage Special *December 12, 2025* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 18: the office-park special, photographed December 12, 2025](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/18_IMG_2723.jpg) December 12, 2025 Fourteen thousand feet of mountain, partially blocked by an office building. This is the kind of view you notice between errands, and that's the charm. But in a photography contest, a roofline occupying half the frame is a tough sell. I had an hour for lunch, and made it my mission to walk downtown and back to the Spoke parking garage on Coffman to capture this view and get my fix. ## #17 — Longs Peak, Allegedly *June 29, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 17: longs peak, allegedly, photographed June 29, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/17_IMG_0485.jpg) June 29, 2026 It's the mountain equivalent of a disappearing act. Longs Peak is a faint outline beyond summer haze, green trees and fields. I love the layers of blue, but if I have to explain where the mountain is, the picture belongs down here. This was captured on a Weld County road on a bicycle. You have to travel several dozen miles east before Longs and Meeker finally disappear. ## #16 — A Mountain Behind The Commute *July 8, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 16: a mountain behind the commute, photographed July 8, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/16_IMG_0777.jpg) July 8, 2026 Longs Peak watches over a bike path, a bridge, and a utility pole. There's nothing dramatic about it. This is just what summer looks like each day in Longmont. ## #15 — The Farmhouse And The Fading Light *November 15, 2025* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 15: the farmhouse and the fading light, photographed November 15, 2025](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/15_IMG_2286.jpg) November 15, 2025 Brown fields, a farmhouse, bare trees and a mountain settling into evening. This looks exactly how mid-November feels: quiet, subdued, and ready for winter. ## #14 — The Bridge To Somewhere *February 23, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 14: the bridge to somewhere, photographed February 23, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/14_IMG_3474.jpg) February 23, 2026 A ribbon of water on the St. Vrain winds toward a footbridge, with Longs Peak beyond it. The creek draws your eye into the frame, even if the muted light offers little drama. This was taken from Martin St., one of the best north-south biking corridors. ## #13 — A Little Color At Creek Level *September 10, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 13: a little color at creek level, photographed September 10, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/13_IMG_3420.jpg) September 10, 2026 Moving water, yellow flowers and green banks lead toward the familiar ridge. The sky was so unbelievably blue on this day. This was also taken from Martin St. ## #12 — Winter Refuses To Leave *April 5, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 12: winter refuses to leave, photographed April 5, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/12_IMG_4255.jpg) April 5, 2026 It's April on the plains and still winter up high. Dry grass and a strip of snow frame the reservoir while the summit keeps its white coat. The colors are subdued, but the seasonal disagreement makes this photo interesting. I took this before riding north into Larimer County on a 44-mile training ride for the [Ride 2 End Alzheimer’s. ](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/plantar-fasciitis-to-metric-century-cyclist-the-9-epic-training-rides-that-prepared-me-for-the-ride-2-end-alzheimers/) ## #11 — The Mountains Have A Sports Complex *May 25, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 11: the mountains have a sports complex, photographed May 25, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/11_IMG_5932.jpg) May 25, 2026 Athletic fields. Buildings. A pond. And behind them, snowy mountains that seem pasted in from an entirely different location. I could crop away the ordinary foreground, but then I'd lose the best part: Colorado's ability to make a ballfield look improbable. This was taken from a Bustang coach riding into Estes Park. ## #10 — Snow Above The Prairie *March 17, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 10: snow above the prairie, photographed March 17, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/10_IMG_3991.jpg) March 17, 2026 Golden grass below, dark foothills in the middle, brilliant white mountain above. The clean layers let Longs Peak do the work. This one is also at McIntosh. ## #9 — Up Close And Under The Clouds *September 19, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 9: up close and under the clouds, photographed September 19, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/09_IMG_3611.jpg) September 19, 2026 From closer range, the mountain looks rougher, steeper and more imposing. Clouds graze the summit while a sliver of water appears below. The picture is a bit crowded, but it captures a sense of scale the distant views can't. This was the Longs and Meeker massif from the Sleepy Lion Trail at the City of Longmont’s Button Rock Preserve. ## #8 — A Big Sky Over A Small Creek *September 26, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 8: a big sky over a small creek, photographed September 26, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/08_IMG_3830.jpg) September 26, 2026 A creek, a bridge, freshly worked slopes and a sky bursting through thick clouds. The foreground won't make any tourism brochures. That's why it works: ordinary Longmont occupies the bottom half, extraordinary Colorado the top. ## #7 — A Quiet Winter Morning *January 14, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 7: a quiet winter morning, photographed January 14, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/07_IMG_3167.jpg) January 14, 2026 Pink light, snow on the high slopes, bare winter trees. Nothing in this picture shouts, which is exactly why I like it. It captures the unusual peace of a morning when an enormous mountain somehow manages to look delicate. ## #6 — Clouds Stealing The Show *August 24, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 6: clouds stealing the show, photographed August 24, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/06_IMG_2874.jpg) August 24, 2026 The reservoir stretches across the foreground as enormous clouds wrestle for the sky. Longs Peak is nearly an afterthought, yet the layers of silver water, dark ridges and white clouds give this shot depth and drama. ## #5 — The Full Winter Treatment *March 7, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 5: the full winter treatment, photographed March 7, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/05_IMG_3730.jpg) March 7, 2026 Snow covers almost the entire mountain. The sky is clean, the reservoir calm, and the water returns a softer reflection. It's postcard material. It finishes fifth only because the final four offer something a little less predictable. ## #4 — When The Mountain Turns Gold *September 9, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 4: when the mountain turns gold, photographed September 9, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/04_IMG_3403.jpg) September 9, 2026 Morning light turns Longs Peak peach and copper; the pond mirrors the colors beneath it. The grasses and reeds make the landscape feel intimate. For a moment, that enormous pile of rock looks like it's glowing from the inside. ## #3 — The Sky Catches Fire *September 29, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 3: the sky catches fire, photographed September 29, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/03_IMG_3885.jpg) September 29, 2026 An orange-red sky so outrageous it almost looks edited. Longs Peak is a silhouette, and the fence and low building refuse to leave the foreground. Good. A sensational sunset above an utterly ordinary place is peak Longmont. ## #2 — The Heron That Understood The Assignment *October 3, 2025* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 2: the heron that understood the assignment, photographed October 3, 2025](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/02_IMG_1797.jpg) October 3, 2025 The mountain, the pastel sky, the glassy reflection and a heron standing perfectly still. Every element knows its role. This may be the best photograph of the collection. The heron deserves billing, too. But it still comes second. ## #1 — The One With Mom *May 1, 2026* ![Longs Peak photo ranked number 1: the one with mom, photographed May 1, 2026](https://www.thompsonscolorado.com/content/files/images/2026/longs-peak-photo-ranking/01_mom.jpg) May 1, 2026 My mom, me, Longs Peak and a sunset reflected across the water. Technically, I've taken better landscapes. Emotionally, there's no contest. Years from now, I won't care whether the horizon was straight. I'll care that we were there together. That's the list. The ranking is debatable; the obsession is not. The same outline keeps showing up in snow and summer haze, on bike rides and family visits. What makes Longs Peak special isn't just its size. It's how casually the extraordinary enters an ordinary day. Look west, and there it is again.