Gunsight Pass
Gunsight Pass (Crested Butte, CO)
Gunsight Pass is a very cool short spur trail off of the Paradise Basin trail, and only a few miles away from Crested Butte. The name of this trail is ‘switchbacks’ Practically the whole trail is a series of switchbacks up Red Lady Mountain and into Redwell Basin. Another interesting fact about this trail is that there is no way to actually drive over the pass, or even to the top of the pass. The last two large switchbacks of this trail are closed to ATV’s and 4×4’s because it is no longer safe to drive on. So if you are looking to get up to or over the pass, you will need to use a mountain bike or plan on a bit of hiking.
The trail starts out with crossing of the Slate River. In the spring this crossing can be very deep with spring runoff and may not be passable. It was fairly deep in August when I ran this trail. If your vehicle is able to make the water crossing at the beginning of the trail, you should have no problems anywhere else on the trail. After navigating up the switchbacks towards the top of the pass, you will be greeted with some great views of Crested Butte and into the Slate River Valley. Before you reach the end of the 4×4 trail you will also pass through the remains of the Daisy Mine and then get some great views down into Redwell Basin.
Please feel free to leave your comments and post your pictures from Gunsight Pass below.
Gunsight Pass KML Track
(Right click and ‘Save Target As’)
Open file above in Google Earth.
