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Lookout · San Juan Skyway

Molas Pass

OpenStreetMap
Looking south-east from Molas Pass. Terrain and imagery at true elevation.
Overview · Assembled from verified data

Molas Pass sits at 10,884 feet along the San Juan Skyway, with terrain dropping 364 feet within 600 meters of the overlook. The view faces 120°, toward the southeast, taking in a line of peaks across the San Juan Mountains: Snowdon Peak at 2.1 miles, Electric Peak at 5.1 miles, Whitehead Peak and Mount Rhoda near 5.2 to 5.4 miles, and Arrow Peak and Vestal Peak, both over 13,700 feet, at roughly 5.7 and 6.1 miles. Because the facing is angled 30 degrees off square toward sunrise, morning light crosses the overlook at low angles; sunrise times range from about 05:50 at the June solstice to 07:23 at the December solstice. Telluride lies 15.2 miles to the north-northwest, while Durango is 33.3 miles south-southwest and Bayfield 35.8 miles south. The overlook falls between Twilight Peak and Red Mountain Overlook along the byway sequence.

Access
On the byway
Elevation
10,884 ft
View
Southeast · 120°
Light
Best at sunrise
Relief
364 ft drop
In view
6 named features
Photos · Real imagery only
Viewpoint from Molas Pass
cogdogblog · CC BY 2.0 · source
Molas Pass at Sunrise
Outdoor Craziness · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Molas Pass, CO
Dsdugan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Molas Pass, CO
Dsdugan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Molas Pass, CO
Dsdugan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Molas Pass, CO
Dsdugan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
In view · Named features

What you’re looking at

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

  • Snowdon Peak13,081 ftsouth-southeast · 2.1 mi
  • Electric Peak13,279 fteast-southeast · 5.1 mi
  • Whitehead Peak13,266 fteast-northeast · 5.2 mi
  • Mount Rhoda13,387 fteast-northeast · 5.4 mi
  • Arrow Peak13,779 fteast-southeast · 5.7 mi
  • Vestal Peak13,778 fteast-southeast · 6.1 mi
When to look · Sun at this latitude

Light

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

DateSunriseSunsetGolden hour
March equinox07:1519:2318:48
June solstice05:5020:3719:58
September equinox06:5919:0918:35
December solstice07:2316:5616:15

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

Getting there · Position and access

Where it is

  • Telluride15.2 mi north-northwest
  • Durango33.3 mi south-southwest
  • Bayfield35.8 mi south
← Before it: Twilight PeakAfter it: Red Mountain Overlook →
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From the source · Verbatim

Snowdon Peak · WikipediaCC BY-SA

Snowdon Peak is a 13,077-foot-elevation (3,986-meter) mountain summit located in San Juan County, Colorado, United States. It is situated seven miles south of the community of Silverton, in the Weminuche Wilderness, on land managed by San Juan National Forest. It is part of the San Juan Mountains range which is a subset of the Rocky Mountains of North America, and is set nine miles west of the Continental Divide. Topographic relief is significant as the east aspect rises 4,300 feet above the Animas River in approximately 1.5 mile. Neighbors include Mount Garfield three miles to the east-southeast, and Twilight Peak, which is the nearest higher peak, 3.7 miles to the south-southwest. This mountain can be seen from U.S. Route 550. The mountain is named after Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales.

Read it at Wikipedia →
Common questions

How high is Molas Pass?

Molas Pass sits at about 10,884 feet (3,317 m).

What can you see from Molas Pass?

From Molas Pass: Snowdon Peak (SSE, 2.1 mi); Electric Peak (ESE, 5.1 mi); Whitehead Peak (ENE, 5.2 mi); Mount Rhoda (ENE, 5.4 mi).

Is Molas Pass better at sunrise or sunset?

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

What is the nearest town to Molas Pass?

Telluride, 15 miles NNW of Molas Pass.

What is the next lookout after Molas Pass?

Red Mountain Overlook is the next surfaced lookout along the same route after Molas Pass.

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Locals make it Verified.

Molas Pass — 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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