Upper Sand Creek Lake Trail

Upper Sand Creek Lake Trail is a 7.7-mile out-and-back from Music Pass Trailhead: climb through forest to Music Pass, descend into the Sand Creek basin, then climb again to an alpine lake under a wall of high peaks. It is a hard, high-altitude day for hikers comfortable with steep grades and loose ground. The mapped corridor is about 3.8 miles one way; published round-trip figures range as high as 9 miles, so leave room in your schedule. Plan on about 7–8 hours on the trail, plus the drive to the remote access road. A reported 2,000 feet of climbing is a serious amount at this elevation.

The distance above starts at Music Pass Trailhead, at the end of Music Pass Road. High-clearance 4WD vehicles may continue the last 2.5 miles to it. The 2WD parking point is where the Rainbow Trail crosses Music Pass Road; walking from there adds 2.5 miles each way, making the full day about five miles longer than the trail distance above. Check road conditions before driving in. No potable water or food service is documented on the route, so carry your drinking water from the start. Dogs are allowed in the preserve but must stay leashed.

The first mile is a steep climb through forest to treeline. At Music Pass the forest gives way to exposed mountain ground, with the Upper Sand Creek basin opening below. A rocky outcrop just under the crest gives the broadest view: Tijeras Peak, Music Mountain, Pico Aislado and Marble Mountain frame the basin. It is a good place for a wide photo with some of the trail or a hiker in the foreground to show the scale.

From the pass, the path drops relatively steeply into the basin on loose footing. At the first junction, turn right for Upper Sand Creek Lake. After roughly 0.4 mile, keep right again to climb toward the lake. The left branch goes to Lower Sand Creek Lake, a different hike; don't follow a combined-lakes route if Upper Lake is your destination. Save some energy for the return: you climb back out of the basin and over the pass to reach the trailhead.

Upper Sand Creek Lake sits around 11,700 feet, in a rocky cirque beneath Music Mountain, Milwaukee Peak and Marble Mountain. The exposed lake shore is the destination, not a summit; spend time looking back across the water at the steep basin walls before turning around. A grounded photo of the shoreline shows the lake, angular gray rock and sparse alpine shrubs; there is no food or visitor facility at the lake.