Mount Evans Wilderness is a federally protected mountain landscape in Colorado, about 30 miles west of Denver, spanning parts of Arapaho and Pike National Forests. Centered on the prominent peak formerly called Mount Evans, now Mount Blue Sky, it reflects an early and long-running conservation effort near the Front Range metropolis. Protection of the area grew from the acquisition of Echo Lake Park and Summit Lake Park for Denver Mountain Parks under plans by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., which also helped inspire a proposed national park. Before 1955, the Abyss Lake Scenic Area in Pike National Forest became the first large part of the present wilderness to gain formal protection.