Music Pass Trail to Upper Sand Creek Lake

Dogs Leashed

Features Fall Colors · Fishing · Lake · River/Creek · Swimming · Views · Wildlife

This hike is only for the adventurous. A remote and quiet hike up to a beautiful valley and high mountain lake will make the climbs on this hike well worth the effort.

The Music Pass road is tricky, but doable by high clearance vehicles with AWD or 4WD. There is no water on this trail until about mile 2.4, and then you'll need a filter for the creek and lake water. Bring a camera. And your fly rod.

To get to this trailhead, you'll have to get to Westcliffe (a cool little Colorado town), drive a ways south, and then drive up a somewhat technical mountain pass. This hike climbs up and over a ridge into the beautiful Sand Creek basin, the northern "preserve" portion of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. There are no Sand Dunes in this part, but there are a ton of trout. There are trout in the stream, and in both of the spectacular lakes at the end of each trail. Definitely bring a fly rod on this adventure. Thank me later.

The trail starts by climbing the first mile to the top of Music Pass on Music Pass Trail. You'll climb through the woods for about half a mile before emerging into a more exposed area on the way to the summit of Music Pass. At the top of the pass, take a few moments and head to the West, through the trees, and climb up the small hill that overlooks the Sand Creek valley to the West. There are spectacular views all around.

The descent into the Sand Creek basin is relatively steep, with some loose footing. Once you make it to the trail junction at the base of the hill, make a right to go up to Upper Sand Creek Lake on the Upper Sand Creek Trail. Or stop to fish Sand Creek itself, which has outstanding fly fishing for hybrid cutthroat trout. When you are ready to continue on follow signs to the lakes (stay right).

The trail continues another ~0.4 miles to another trail junction. Stay right to climb to Upper Sand Creek Lake. After taking in the scenery of the spectacular lake and enjoying the fly fishing in the solitude, return back the way you came.

Bear, deer, bighorn sheep, hybrid cutthroat trout.