2.7
10,580'
615'
From the Vail Pass Trailhead ski up the snow-covered Shrine Pass Road a few hundred feet to the first switchback. A signboard here indicates the non-motorized trail you’ll follow up West Tenmile Creek to Shrine Mountain Inn. Follow the route, marked intermittently with blue plastic diamonds, 2.5 miles to a flat nondescript area known as Shrine Pass. The pass looks more like a large park than the classic “pass summit” you get used to seeing in the Rocky Mountains. Nevertheless, it is the divide between the Turkey Creek and West Tenmile Creek drainages. Once you’re at Shrine Pass be very careful to turn southwest and find the marked trail that continues to Shrine Mountain Inn via a snow-covered road and gate. The obvious road-cut leads through the forest .2 mile south to Shrine Mountain Inn (Chuck’s Cabin is visible from several hundred feet down the road).
Locations of Observed or Reported Avalanche Activity: No avalanche activity has been reported along this suggested route.
Please note that there is a new parking area for non-motorized hut visitors at Vail Pass Rest Area. To reach the Vail Pass Trailhead, drive I-70 14.3 miles east from Vail or 5.4 miles west from Copper Mountain Resort. Take Exit 190 and continue straight for about 1/3 mile until you arrive in the designated, signed, parking area. There is also a new suggested route (shortcut) that connects with the non-motorized route to Shrine Mountain Inn. Look for signs. Parking for motorized users continues to be available at the Black Lakes parking area where the US Forest Service kiosk is located. More information and a visual map can be found here, Vail Pass Parking Info .