The prominent 12,352-foot (3,765 m) peak is located in the Greenhorn Mountain Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, 5.2 miles (8.4 km) southwest by west (bearing 238°) of the Town of Rye, Colorado, United States, on the boundary between Huerfano and Pueblo counties.

The summit of Greenhorn Mountain is the highest point in Pueblo County, Colorado.

The massive Greenhorn Mountain can be seen from Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Trinidad, and also from along Interstate 25 rising over 6,000 feet (1,800 m) above the great plains to the east.

[6] The name comes from Cuerno Verde (Green Horn) given by the colonial Spanish of the Provincias Internas to two, father and son, Jupe Comanche band mahimiana paraibo or war chiefs.

On September 3, 1779, younger Cuerno Verde, his son, medicine man, four principal chiefs, and ten of his warriors, were killed near Greenhorn Mountain by the men of the expedition of Spanish troops and native American allies (Apache, Ute, and Pueblo) under Juan Bautista de Anza.