Sunshine Trail

The Sunshine Trail makes a connection from the area near the Sunshine Campground along Highway 145 with the area near the Sheep Corrals Day Use Area along the South Fork of the San Miguel River. This area is a few miles south of Telluride in southwest Colorado. The Sunshine Trail is unusual in that there isn’t a trailhead parking area at either end of the trail. The horizontal distance is about 2 miles and there is about 1200 feet of elevation change.

I parked at the Sheep Corrals Day Use Area which is about 0.5 miles north of the Sunshine Trail junction with the South Fork Road. This area is a good riparian area, lush with Colorado Blue Spruce and Aspens, with Willow and Narrow Leaf Cottonwoods along the stream. The trail climbs steeply with curvy switchbacks. This route is open to mountain bikes and horses in addition to hikers.

About one fourth of the way up the hill there are the remains of an old flume. The other trail that is in this area is the Galloping Goose Trail on the opposite side of the valley. As the trail climbs, the transition of the Goose Trail to Sunshine Road can be spotted. This area has a rich history of mining activity and artifacts from the past are often visible along the trails.

The highlight views along the Sunshine Trail are toward Sunshine Mountain. In early June, there is still a lot of snow and the melt fed roar of the South Fork River can be heard all the way to the top of the trail. Sunshine Mountain is listed at 12,930 feet. The best mountain views are in the lower two thirds of the trail, the views near the top of the trail are blocked by the thick Aspen forest. It took me 1:40 hours to climb to the trail sign at the top along Highway 145. The trail might continue across the highway and connect to the Alta Lakes Road, but I turned around at the trail sign. My return to the bottom took 0:50 hours for a total of 2:40 hours between the trail signs. It was a 70 F degree early June day and I carried two liters of water.