Sunshine and its closer 14er neighbor, Redcloud Peak are two relatively ‘easy’ straightforward 14ers. especially for the normally more rugged San Juans. They sit between Lake City and Ouray and are accessed via the famed Alpine Loop.

This route combine both Sunshine and Redcloud Peaks. There is another route that gets to Sunshine first but it is not considered the standard route and is more difficult.

You begin by getting to the summit of Redcloud Peak as described in here: Redcloud Peak. From the summit of Redcloud to Sunshine is ~1.5 miles on mostly well defined trail. Begin by descending from Redcloud Peak along the ridge separating the two mountains, generally staying on the right side. After you begin your ascent up to Sunshine, the trail generally stays on the left side of the ridge. This area is rockier but generally the trail is easy to follow.

Class: 2. Sunshine is considered class 2, due to rocky areas near the summit of it and Redcloud but much of it is on a very well maintained trail and easy to follow.

Trailhead/Parking: The Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch trailhead is open seasonally (conditions dependent) so contact the forest service for current conditions. It is usually accessible by 2 wheel drive vehicles but some years it can be in rough shape, so a vehicle with a little clearance would be best.