Pike and San Isabel National Forests · Colorado

Overlook

0.5 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 641 · trail class 3 · typical grade 12-20% · tread 18-24 inches wide · hiking, bike

Begins at the forest's mile 0, 38.9074, -105.4701 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins

Monarch Pass Overlook & Trailhead the Forest Service's write-up

Monarch Pass is between Gunnison and Poncha Springs along Colorado’s Highway 50, which crosses the Continental Divide at 11,312 feet, offering sweeping vistas of central Colorado’s Sawatch Range. A large parking area, gift shop, and gondola make this a popular rest stop. It also serves as the trailhead for the Continental Divide National ScenicTrail, known locally as the Monarch Crest Trail.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Pike and San Isabel National Forests

All 592 trails in Pike and San Isabel National Forests Find a trail Forest on fs.usda.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.