Colorado

Sangre de Cristo Wilderness was designated by congress in 1993 and it now has a total of 220,803 acres. All of this wilderness is located in Colorado and is managed by the Forest Service and the National Park Service. The Sangre de Cristo Wilderness is bordered by the Great Sand Dunes Wilderness to the west.

Sangre de Cristo is Spanish for "Blood of Christ," but no one is quite sure why the region was given this name. Was it because of the bloody hues washing the slopes at sunset, or the cry of the dying priest, "sangre de Cristo," as his martyred blood flowed onto the ground near here? Of the long and colorful Spanish influence in these mountains and in the San Luis Valley below there is no doubt. Two four-wheel-drive roads over Medano Pass and Hayden Pass, as well as access to Lily Lake, were slim exclusions from Wilderness designation and split the area into four distinct sections.

Unlike most of Colorado's mountains, the high and magnificently rugged Sangres were uplifted suddenly in massive blocks, creating a range of dramatic vertical proportions. Four fourteeners are clumped together in the midsection of the Wilderness, including Crestone Needle (14,197 feet). Many climbers, consider the Needle to be Colorado's most challenging 14,000-foot peak. Three more fourteeners stand together just south of the boundary. Melting snow feeds many creeks and small lakes, and nourishes a forest of oak, aspen, and spruce. Black bears and a few mountain lions live here, along with elk, deer, and bighorn sheep.

Long (about 70 miles) and narrow describes the area, the state's third largest, and the going is rough for the hiker. Most of the 180 miles of trails end at alpine lakes set against virtually unclimbable walls. Great Sand Dunes National Preserve in now part of the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness. Please help keep Wilderness wild by following Leave No Trace practices.

Sangre de Cristo Wilderness near Westcliffe, CO

Sangre de Cristo Wilderness near Westcliffe, CO © Outdoor Trail Maps LLC

When Open? Area Acres Operated By
Year-round; 24 hours a day 220,803 acres US Forest Service:
Salida Ranger District
San Carlos Ranger District
Saguache Ranger District
Conejos Peak Ranger District
Dogs Allowed? Miles of Trail Max/Min Elev (ft)
Dogs allowed on leash 374 7,330ft - 14,300ft
Location overview of Sangre de Cristo NORTH Hiking Map

Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Trail and Map Finder

Area Hiking Trails:
1 - Black Canyon Trail #754
2 - Blanca Peak Trail
3 - Bushnell Lakes Trail #1402
4 - Cascade Trail #1303
5 - Challenger Point Route
Area Hiking Trails:
1 - Black Canyon Trail #754
2 - Blanca Peak Trail
3 - Bushnell Lakes Trail #1402
4 - Cascade Trail #1303
5 - Challenger Point Route
6 - Columbine Trail #1416
7 - Comanche Spur Trail #1345.A
8 - Comanche Trail #1345
9 - Comanche Trail #746
10 - Connector Access Trail
11 - Connector Trail
12 - Cotton Creek Trail #749
13 - Cotton Lake Spur Trail
14 - Cottonwood Creek Trail #861
15 - Cottonwood Trail #1344
16 - Crestone Needle South Face Route
17 - Crestone Needle Trail
18 - Crestone Peak Route
19 - Crossover Trail #1352 - PRIMITIVE
20 - Cutoff Trail
21 - Dry Creek Trail #1343
22 - Elaine Trail #884
23 - Ellingwood Point Trail
24 - Garner Trail #752
25 - Garner Trail #752 WEST
26 - Goodwin Trail #1346
27 - Hermit Lake Trail #1353
28 - Horn Creek Trail #1342
29 - Horn Lakes Spur Trail
30 - Horn Peak Trail #1362
31 - Horsetheif Basin Trail #856
32 - Hot Springs Canyon Trail #753
33 - Huerfano Trail #1307
34 - Huerfano Valley Trail
35 - Humboldt Peak Via South Colony Lakes Trail
36 - Hunts Lake Trail #1405
37 - Kit Carson Peak Route
38 - Lake Como Road Trail
39 - Lake Of The Clouds Trail #1349
40 - Lake of the Clouds Spur Trail
41 - Lake of the Clouds Spur Trail 1
42 - Lily Lake Trail #1308
43 - Little Bear Peak Route
44 - Loop 1 Trail
45 - Loop 1 to 2 Connector Trail
46 - Loop 2 Access Trail
47 - Loop 2 Trail
48 - Loop 2 to 3 Connector Trail
49 - Loop 3 Cutover Trail
50 - Loop 3 Trail
51 - Loop 4 Access Trail
52 - Loop 4 Trail
53 - Lower Bushnell Lake Spur Trail
54 - Macey Spur Trail #1341.A
55 - Macey Trail #1341
56 - Major Creek Trail #751
57 - Marble Mountain Trail #1338
58 - Mosca Pass Trail
59 - Mtount Lindsey - North Face Trail
60 - North Brush Spur Trail #1356.A
61 - North Brush Trail #1356
62 - North Brush Trail #1356 - Upper Primitive
63 - North Colony Trail #1340
64 - North Crestone Trail #744
65 - North Fork Crestone Trail #747
66 - North Fork South Zapata Trail #868
67 - North Taylor Trail #1348
68 - North Zapata Trail
69 - Old Road Trail
70 - Orient Mine Trail
71 - Phantom Terrace Trail #1359
72 - Primitive Trail
73 - Priv Prop Access Trail
74 - Rainbow Trail #1336 - MOTORIZED
75 - Raspberry Trail #853
76 - Raspberry Trail #853 - Primitive
77 - Rito Alto Lake Access Trail
78 - Rito Alto Trail #745
79 - Round Hill Trail #758
80 - San Isabel Lake Trail #857
81 - San Isabel Trail #858
82 - Silver Lake Spur Trail
83 - Silver Lake Trail #1354
84 - Simmons Peak Trail #757
85 - South Brush Trail #1355
86 - South Colony Road Trail
87 - South Colony Spur Trail #1339.A
88 - South Colony Trail #1339
89 - South Crestone Trail #860
90 - South Zapata Lake Trail #852
91 - South Zapata Lake to Ellingwood Point Route
92 - South Zapata Pack Trail
93 - Steel Canyon Trail #755
94 - Stout Creek Lakes Trail #1403
95 - Strawberry Trail #1305 - PRIMITIVE
96 - Swift Creek Trail #1351
97 - Texas Creek Trail #1350
98 - Trail #1368
99 - Trail #5668B - MOTORIZED
100 - Trailhead Access Trail
101 - Unknown Campground Connector Trail
102 - Unknown Rainbow Access Trail _ MOTORIZED
103 - Ute Trail #1306 - PRIMITIVE
104 - Venable Lakes Spur Trail
105 - Venable Trail #1347
106 - Veneble Cutoff Trail
107 - Wild Cherry Trail #748
108 - Willow Lake Trail #865
109 - Zapata Falls Spur Trail
110 - Zapata Trail #853
Area Trailheads:
1 - Black Canyon Trail #754
2 - Comanche Trail #1345
3 - Hermit Lake Trail #1353
4 - Horn Creek Trail #1342
5 - Hot Springs Canyon Trail #753
Area Trailheads:
1 - Black Canyon Trail #754
2 - Comanche Trail #1345
3 - Hermit Lake Trail #1353
4 - Horn Creek Trail #1342
5 - Hot Springs Canyon Trail #753
6 - Huerfano Zapata Trailhead
7 - Lake Como Road Lower 2WD Trailhead
8 - Lake Como Upper 4WD Trailhead
9 - Lilly Lake Trail #1308
10 - Major Creek Trailhead
11 - Mears Junction Area Trailhead
12 - Mosca Pass Trail
13 - North Crestone Trail #744
14 - North Taylor Trail #1348
15 - Rainbow Trail #1336 - MOTORIZED
16 - Rito Alto Trail #745
17 - Rito Alto Trailhead
18 - Round Hill Trail #758
19 - San Isabel Trail #858
20 - Simmons Peak Trail #757
21 - South Colony Lakes Trailhead
22 - South Colony Road Trail
23 - South Zapata Lake Trail #852
24 - Wild Cherry Trail #748
25 - Willow Lake Trail #865
Area Campgrounds:
1 - Alvarado Campground
2 - Coaldale Campground
3 - Hayden Creek Campground
4 - Lake Creek Campground
5 - North Crestone Creek Campground
6 - Zapata Falls Campground