Hiking the Mosca Pass Trail in Great Sand Dunes National Park
Distance: 6.4 miles / 10.3 km
Elevation Gain: ~1,400 ft. / 427 m
The Mosca Pass Trail in Great Sand Dunes National Park is one of just a handful of day hikes that venture into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the range that surrounds the beautiful 30-square-mile dune field encompassing much of the park.
Beginning at the Montville Nature Loop Trail, the Mosca Pass Trail climbs up Mosca Creek to Mosca Pass, which can be reached by way of trail, as shown in this article, or by forest road on the eastern side of the range.
That being said, the Mosca Pass Trail is more about the journey than the destination, which is why I highly recommend hiking the trail during peak fall colors, as the Aspens that line the trail from bottom to top are best enjoyed at this time of year!
Mosca Pass Trailhead Parking
Parking for the Mosca Pass Trail depends entirely on whether you reach the trail through the National Park or National Forest.
Given these options, most visitors hike to the trailhead through the National Park on the Montville Nature Loop. However, there is also the option to hike top-down, which is most suitable for those interested in dispersed camping in the Sangre de Cristo Range outside of the park.
Google Maps Directions: Montville Nature Loop Trailhead / Mosca Pass Trailhead
Hiking Checklist - Great Sand Dunes
Here is a complete list of must-have things that you will want for any hike in Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Hiking the Mosca Pass Trail
To begin the Mosca Pass Trail from the trailhead within Great Sand Dunes National Park, the hike initially follows the Montville Nature Loop for the first 0.2 miles (0.3 km) before branching off to follow Mosca Creek up to the pass.
On a different note, the beginning of the Montville Nature Loop is also the junction with the 0.25-mile (0.4 km) access trail between the visitor center and Montville Trailhead.
This is important to mention because the National Park Service does not allow RV or trailer parking at the Montville Trailhead, meaning that the Great Sand Dunes Visitor Center is the best place for larger vehicles to park.
To skip ahead to beginning of the Mosca Pass Trail after Mosca Creek, click here.
The trail markers on the Montville Nature Trail begin shortly after the trailhead and continue throughout the 0.5-mile (0.8 km) loop.
With that in mind, trail guides can be found at the Montville Trailhead or by asking the staff in the visitor center just down the road.
Montville Nature Loop Trail
Almost immediately after beginning the hike, the Montville Trail splits into the 0.4-mile (0.6 km) loop, with most visitors choosing to go right, in the counterclockwise direction, to follow the numbered markers.
This is all to say that I chose to go right, as this is the fastest and most direct route to the beginning of the Mosca Pass Trail.
After roughly 0.1 miles (0.2 km), the Montville Nature Loop leaves the National Park and enters the Great Sand Dunes National Preserve.
That being said, both the National Park and National Preserve operate together under the National Park Service, meaning there is truly no difference in visitor experience that one might notice.
The difference really only comes into play in terms of the specific regulations governing activities like hunting or resource use, which most visitors won’t encounter during a typical visit to Great Sand Dunes.
Mosca Pass-Montville Nature Loop Junction
When the Montville Nature Trail reaches the far eastern end of the loop, the trail splits with the Mosca Pass Trail, which climbs from here to the park boundary with the Rio Grande National Forest.
Here, go right to begin the Mosca Pass Trail, or use the link below to learn more about the rest of the Montville Nature Loop toward Wellington Ditch and beyond.
Read My Separate Post: Montville Nature Loop Trail
Mosca Pass Trail
After leaving the Montville Nature Loop behind, the Mosca Pass Trail begins climbing roughly 1,300 ft. (396 m) from the Mosca-Montville junction to the pass, located at the park boundary with the Rio Grande National Forest.
Coming across Black Bear scat is always a nice reminder to be aware of their presence when hiking in Colorado, which is all to say that hiking with bear spray is truly up to your own discretion and comfort level.
Even though the Mosca Pass Trail climbs constantly from the trailhead to the pass, the elevation gain is fairly mild, making it one of the better trail running options in Great Sand Dunes National Park, so long as you’re comfortable running in Black Bear territory.
That said, the shoes linked below are my favorite trail-running shoes, which also work well for light day-hiking, such as this.
Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Boundary
After about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from the Montville Nature Loop, the Mosca Pass Trail enters the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, which continues through the middle portion of the hike but ends before the trail reaches Mosca Pass.
These middle sections of the Mosca Pass Trail are where it’s best to slow down and turn around to enjoy some upper views of the sand dunes from above!
The Aspen stands that follow Mosca Creek from bottom to top are what make the Mosca Pass Trail one of the best fall hikes in Great Sand Dunes National Park!
It was nice to see some changing colors in the middle of September, but Colorado wasn’t my destination for peak fall colors on this trip.
When the Mosca Pass Trail reaches these upper-elevation meadows, the park boundary and the end of the hike are not far ahead.
Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Boundary
This is where the Mosca Pass Trail leaves the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, which, as previously mentioned, does not span the full length of the trail.
Mosca Pass
Sitting at just over 9,700 ft. (2,957 m), the Mosca Pass Trail ends at Mosca Pass, a drive-up trailhead and dispersed camping area accessed by way of Forest Road 583 in the Rio Grande National Forest.
At the top, most hikers would simply turn back down toward the Montville Loop, as there are no more trails—just forest roads—that continue on from this point.
