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Lookout · San Juan Skyway

Gold Point

OpenStreetMap
Looking south-west from Gold Point. Terrain and imagery at true elevation.
Overview · Assembled from verified data

Gold Point sits at 9,620 feet along the San Juan Skyway, facing 240° toward a slope that drops 649 feet within 600 meters. The view spans several peaks: Sunshine Mesa to the west at 2.4 miles (10,090 ft), San Bernardo Mountain to the south-southwest at 2.6 miles (11,859 ft), Sunshine Mountain to the west-southwest at 3.0 miles (12,912 ft), Wilson Mesa to the west-northwest at 3.9 miles (10,055 ft), and Wilson Peak to the west-southwest at 5.5 miles (13,996 ft). The facing direction is angled 30° off square toward sunset, making evening light a factor at this overlook. Mountain Village lies 3.9 miles north-northeast, and Telluride is 5.7 miles northeast; Mancos is farther off at 43.1 miles south-southwest. Sunset times shift across the year, from 20:38 at the June solstice to 16:56 at the December solstice, with equinox sunsets falling near 19:10–19:24. The next lookout along the route is Twilight Peak.

Access
On the byway
Elevation
9,620 ft
View
Southwest · 240°
Light
Best at sunset
Relief
649 ft drop
In view
5 named features
Photos · Real imagery only
Truck on the San Miguel river trail
aoiaio · CC BY 3.0 · source
The unincorporated community of Ames, Colorado , in San Miguel County. Ames is in the Ilium Valley.
Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0 · source
View of Earth taken during ISS Expedition 43.
Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domain · source
View of Earth taken during ISS Expedition 53.
Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domain · source
View of Earth taken during ISS Expedition 53.
Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domain · source
View of Earth taken during ISS Expedition 53.
Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domain · source
In view · Named features

What you’re looking at

Named terrain inside the view from this overlook, nearest first.

  • Sunshine Mesa10,090 ftwest · 2.4 mi
  • San Bernardo Mountain11,859 ftsouth-southwest · 2.6 mi
  • Sunshine Mountain12,912 ftwest-southwest · 3.0 mi
  • Wilson Mesa10,055 ftwest-northwest · 3.9 mi
  • Wilson Peak13,996 ftwest-southwest · 5.5 mi
When to look · Sun at this latitude

Light

This overlook faces sunset — 30° off square to it.

DateSunriseSunsetGolden hour
March equinox07:1619:2418:49
June solstice05:5020:3819:59
September equinox07:0019:1018:35
December solstice07:2416:5616:15

Local time (America/Denver). Computed for this exact position.

Getting there · Position and access

Where it is

  • Mountain Village3.9 mi north-northeast
  • Telluride5.7 mi northeast
  • Mancos43.1 mi south-southwest
After it: Twilight Peak →
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From the source · Verbatim

Sunshine Mountain · WikipediaCC BY-SA

Sunshine Mountain is a 12,930-foot-elevation (3,940-meter) mountain summit located in San Miguel County, in Colorado, United States. It is situated nine miles southwest of the community of Telluride, in the Lizard Head Wilderness, on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest. It is part of the San Juan Mountains which is a subset of the Rocky Mountains. Sunshine Mountain is situated 24 miles west of the Continental Divide, 2.75 miles east of Wilson Peak, and 1.8 mile northeast of Lizard Head, the nearest higher neighbor. Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 2,700 feet above Bilk Creek in approximately one mile. The mountain is composed of rock of the San Juan Formation overlaying Telluride Conglomerate, in turn overlaying Mancos Shale. The mountain's name, which has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names, was in use before 1899 when Henry Gannett published it in A Dictionary of Altitudes in the United States.

Read it at Wikipedia →
Common questions

How high is Gold Point?

Gold Point sits at about 9,620 feet (2,932 m).

What can you see from Gold Point?

From Gold Point: Sunshine Mesa (W, 2.4 mi); San Bernardo Mountain (SSW, 2.6 mi); Sunshine Mountain (WSW, 3.0 mi); Wilson Mesa (WNW, 3.9 mi).

Is Gold Point better at sunrise or sunset?

Sunset. The land falls away from Gold Point toward the sunset, so at sunrise the light is behind you. Exact times shift through the year; the page shows the current window.

What is the nearest town to Gold Point?

Mountain Village, 3.9 miles NNE of Gold Point.

What is the next lookout after Gold Point?

Twilight Peak is the next surfaced lookout along the same route after Gold Point.

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Locals make it Verified.

Gold Point — confirmed, rated, and photographed by people who actually pulled over. A local confirmation is what upgrades a lookout from Discovered to Verified. Zero hallucinations.

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