Redcloud Peak

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/11/2025, By: sam_wade76
Info: Trail is in full summer conditions. Never had to put on traction of any sort. Got to the TH Friday the 4th, stayed overnight in the parking lot. BEWARE - the porcupine everyone is talking about at the Silver Creek TH is real and fearless (see Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch parking lot TH for horror stories). Our camping neighbor was visited by him around 2:00AM and had to throw rocks into his wheel well to get him out of the car. Wildflowers all the way up to the Peak starting about 1.8 miles in. More columbines than I've ever seen before. Summited both Redcloud and Sunshine and my main advice is make sure you have the capacity for both peaks. For a slower person the traverse between the two can take roughly 45 min - 1 hour each way. Shoutout to all the badass trailrunners that I know did it faster. Road up to TH is rough but made it in a 2016 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk with good tires with stock lift. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/29/2025, By: Bonesaw
Info: A couple snowfields in the basin to contend with, they are small and packed down. The trail seems to have eroded away somewhat as you gain the ridge. There’s a sign pointing you to climber’s right however it fades away and you need to slog up the loose rock and dirt to gain the trail again 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/18/2025, By: pcsongei
Info: Summited Redcloud and Sunshine this morning from Grizzly Gulch. Trail is in great shape overall. The upper basin still has some decent sized snowfields but they are either avoidable or solid enough to walk across early in the day. They were still pretty solid on my descent around 10am. The ridge to Sunshine is also mostly clear, a few snow patches that can be avoided by going above them. Great day out there, was the only person on either summit and only saw 4 other hikers on my way down 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/12/2025, By: Matthew Holliman
Info: A couple of short mandatory snow patches to cross in the basin, icy but postholing even early today. Rest of trail and NE Ridge is clear. Traverse to Sunshine has a few short crossings, but well established bootpack. Carried snowshoes but didn't use them as they'd have done nothing, and the snow sections were too short to bother anyway. Crampons not really necessary since you can follow the existing postholes. Fantastic views. Road to TH in good condition, 4mi paved, 8mi excellent dirt, 4mi a bit rougher but no need for 4WD 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/6/2025, By: tbonesaredelicious
Info: See my condition report for sunshine, pictures attached there 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/1/2025, By: Youngan
Info: No snow on the lower trail, and only a few small snow crossing until reaching the north facing basin before the saddle. The basin was mostly full of snow, unfortunately the 5:45 AM start was not early enough to avoid postholing. After the basin any snow crossings are minimal and shallow to the Redcloud summit. More postholing after the saddle between Redcloud and Sunshine on the way up to Sunshine Peak. The final bit on sunshine has snow, but it’s somewhat avoidable and shallow. As expected, significantly more postholing on the way out as the temperature increased. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/1/2025, By: butlerer
Info: Holy post-holing! It was a beautiful day, a great hike to Redcloud and Sunshine and back to Redcloud, but holy post-holing. We left the TH at 415, and the snow on the way up was okay--punched through in a couple of spots but not bad. By the time we got to the saddle between Redcloud and Sunshine, and even more so in unavoidable snow on the descent from Redcloud between~13,000' and 12,000', the snow was diabolical--it was a combination of super soft and wet that would occasionally suck your boots in and trap them 3-4' below the surface in an icy vice-grip that would only relent after repeated pole stabbing and chanting the right combination of expletives. Post-holing aside, it was a nearly perfect day. Road to Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch TH was dry and clear for a Crosstrek to navigate. Only 5 or 6 cars overnight at the TH--and a curious racoon looking for handouts (didn't find any with us). The trail was clear of snow until about 11,600', and the creek is flowing abundantly. Plenty of places below 11,600' to filter water. Lots of evidence of avalanches on nearby peaks that looked to be much steeper than anything on Redcloud or Sunshine. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 5/25/2025, By: AlessiaAscent
Info: Great conditions for a May hike on Redcloud! Road is completely dry to trailhead, although a little rougher early season than I remember. My subaru outback handled it without issues, but probably a little rougher than standard 2WD. We were only ones at the trailhead, super beautiful. Trail dry to about 12k, then some intermittent snow patches until hitting the basin below the ridge at 13,000. Basin is still completely snow covered - no traction or floatation needed on the way up, sun didn't hit basin till about 7:30am. There's a big cornice between the false summit and the Redcloud summit, but it's easy to stay on dry trail to the right. On the way back down, we postholed in the basin but it was a relatively short-term issue. Snow is melting fast! San Juans are so beautiful right now. 

Route: West Gully
Posted On: 5/17/2025, By: Jcinco
Info: Great ski conditions. I skied the lookers right gully which extended higher than the other options. Skiable from summit all the way to Silver Creek at 11.2k. Very little wallowing except the part near Silver Creek. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 10/15/2024, By: ColoNativeGal
Info: Completed on Sunday. Summer conditions and shoulder-season conditions - meaning light ice around stream crossings early in the morning (no traction needed), and layer season. Hot/cold, icy winds, etc. Had some flurries late in the afternoon. This will probably change if the area gets anything out of the storm system coming in this weekend. Road to TH in good condition, clearance is helpful; you could get a subaru up if you pick your lines well. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/8/2024, By: AndrewJCraigie
Info: Dry, but windy, especially going up Redcloud. Going down Redcloud was a bit of a pain due to all the small, loose rocks. Slipped on my butt a few times. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/7/2024, By: NicolaKeerknah
Info: Trail is completely dry and minimal water is flowing down from whats left in the small snow fields at higher elevation. Feet stayed dry entire climb. Plenty of water still flowing beside trail for first few miles; there is one small lake on the right after the rockslide fields as you enter the valley if you need to refill on your way up or down. Pretty windy at top of Redcloud, which was more annoying than dangerous and made a for a colder summit. Ascent up Redcloud itself required minimal trail finding if you follow the signs and download the live route; you will navigate up a short slope with scree that has many choices, but some were more steeper than others so choose your own adventure carefully. Recommend poles for the descent if you are someone who prefers extra stability. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/25/2024, By: mountainmanAJ
Info: Trail is mostly clear and easy to follow. There are a few small snowfield crossings left that are inconsequential at this point. The last 1/4mi or so of trail has a section that is a little harder to follow, but its easy to see where the next clear section of trail is. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/17/2024, By: RWenz
Info: Hiked Sunshine via Redcloud. Lots of water available the first 2.5miles. A couple snow patches that can be easily avoided. No need for traction. The ascent up Redcloud isnt clearly defined as its been pretty tore up. Prepare for choose your own adventure for about 200m. Summer conditions. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/16/2024, By: mholloway987
Info: Still some snow fields covering about 10% of the trail. You can either go over it with snowshoes, posthole through it, or go around and try to find where the trail comes out the other side. Other than those, its easy going summer conditions When you reach the trail sign just past the first saddle at about 13,000 don't go too far along that trail. It goes flat across the face of the mountain then dead ends after about 400 yards. Take one of the steep switchbacks under 200 yards in, well before reaching the dead end, to stay on the trail.