Directions (From BLM Website)":

From Highway 285 turn west on County Road G, travel about 6 miles to La Garita follow County Road 38A until you see the Penitente Canyon turn off on your right, less than a mile.
From Del Norte travel northwest on Highway 112 to road 38A turn north, stay on 38 A until you see signs for Penitente Canyon, about 8 miles.

Hike Descriptions:

Penitente Canyon Recreation Area is a true Colorado treasure and probably the best-known natural area in the San Luis Valley, aside from Great Sand Dunes National Park.  I avoided this area for years as I was told that it is often overcrowded by rock climbers. It feels silly to say that out loud.  First of all, rock climbers are generally awesome people, and most importantly, the area is busy for a reason…it is amazing!  With that in mind, I took advantage of visiting in the cold dead of winter and saw just about no one on the 2-mile loop hike that consists of the main trail through the park.   

If you can park at the Penitente Canyon Trailhead at the end of the road, then you can directly hike the Penitente Canyon Loop.  I chose to hike the loop clockwise in part to get the steeper climb out of the way but also to save the most impressive part of the canyon for last.  

After viewing some pictographs at the trailhead, head out on the trail across the scrubby landscape heading towards thicker brush of juniper and oak trees.  Before long, you’ll be hiking along the base of towering rock formations. The trail climbs up through evergreens and along rock formations steadily gaining elevation until you arrive atop the canyon and are treated to wonderful views of the San Luis Valley.

On your way to the top of the area, you’ll come to a junction with a dirt road, here you want to bear right and right again to stay on the Penitente Canyon Loop, also called the Blue Sky Trail in this section.  This might be a bit confusing but stay to the right and you should be ok.  At the top of the canyon, you’ll reach a trail junction with the Wagon Tracks Trail and the Penitente Canyon Trail.  Either way, you rejoin the Penitente Canyon Loop.      

The loop traverses the high elevation area for a little while before the real fun starts with the descent.  As you follow the trail down back into the canyon, you weave through rock formations, narrow cracks in huge boulders, and down to the base of staggering cliffs.  Eventually, you reach the canyon floor.  The remainder of the hike is truly incredible and follows an easy trail at the base of a narrow canyon.  In this section, you will come to realize why this area is so popular with rock climbers…a climbers paradise for sure and a staggeringly impressive collection of rock towers, pinnacles, and cliffs.  Work your way through the canyon until you return to the trailhead and parking area.      

If you are lucky enough to time your hike right and avoid the crowds then this can be a really special hike.  However, even with a crowd of rock climbers, I have a hard time believing that this would be anything but an amazing hike.  As for all high visitor use areas, get there early in the morning, or later in the day, go midweek, and go in the winter for your best shot at some solitude.