| Sunshine Peak | |
| Elevation Ft: | 14007 |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] [2] |
| Prominence Ft: | 501 |
| Isolation Mi: | 1.27 |
| Listing: | Colorado Fourteener 53rd |
| Range: | San Juan Mountains |
| Parent Peak: | Redcloud Peak |
| Location: | Hinsdale County, Colorado, U.S. |
| Map: | Colorado |
| Coordinates: | 37.9228°N -107.4256°W |
| Coordinates Ref: | [3] |
| Topo: | USGS 7.5' topographic map Redcloud Peak, Colorado |
| Easiest Route: | Via Redcloud Peak: Hike, [4] |
Sunshine Peak is a fourteen thousand foot mountain peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the San Juan Mountains in Hinsdale County approximately 9miles south west of Lake City, and about 1miles south of Redcloud Peak. It rises on the north side of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River.
Sunshine Peak has the distinction of being the lowest of Colorado's 53 fourteeners. It is also not particularly independent from its higher neighbor Redcloud Peak, with a topographic prominence of 481feet (the minimum standard for an independent fourteener is 300feet). However it has more and steeper local relief than many of the other fourteeners. For example, it rises 4450feet above the townsite of Sherman to the south in only 1.2miles.[5]
According to the Köppen climate classification system, the mountain is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.[6] Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter, and as thunderstorms in summer, with a dry period in late spring.