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Colorado

Mosca Pass

0.2 mi

Distance

193 ft

Gain

No verdict for this trail

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What we do know

Inside Great Sand Dunes National Park
National Park unit boundary is mapped — agency alerts for it feed this page automatically.
Boundary data

What's missing

No access route mapped
We don't yet know which road reaches this trailhead, so we can't tell you if it's gated.

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Why you'll love it

Quick trip — under 2 mi

Out & back

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Mosca Pass

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Elevation & route

Distance: 0.2 mi
Elevation gain: 193 ft
Elevation loss: 193 ft
Highest point: 8,343 ft
Lowest point: 8,257 ft

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Photos

Directions & GPX

Get Directions to Trailhead Parking

Permits & access

Managing agency: National Park Service

About this trail

Just above the dunefield are forests of aspen, pine, fir, and spruce. The easiest hiking access to forest in the national park is in Mosca Pass, on the Montville Nature Trail and Mosca Pass Trail. On these trails, you are walking in the footsteps of Pleistocene mammoth hunters, indigenous tribes, diverse settlers, American explorers, and 19th century African American Buffalo Soldiers. Montville Nature Trail This is the easiest, most popular forest hike in the park. In summer, keep this hike as an option for afternoon as an escape from the heat of the dunes. Walk along a shady forested trail named for a late 1800s settlement, comprising 20 houses in its heydey. Rest near the trail's highpoint, where you'll find views of Mt. Herard, the dunes and the valley. A booklet available at the trailhead provides numbered stops to learn about this historic community and the mountain pass above it. Round Trip Hike: 0.5 mile (1 km) Elevation Gain: 200 feet (60 m) Average Time: 30 minutes Mosca Pass Trail This trail continues past Montville Nature Trail, following a small creek to the summit of a low pass in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Though views are limited, it has shady aspen and evergreen forests. Round Trip Hike: 7 miles (11 km) Elevation Gain: 1400 feet (427 m) Average Time: 3.5 hours

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