The 14,011-foot (4270.5 m) fourteener is located in the Holy Cross Wilderness of White River National Forest, 6.6 miles (10.7 km) west-southwest (bearing 244°) of the Town of Red Cliff in Eagle County, Colorado, United States.

The summit of Mount of the Holy Cross is the highest point in Eagle County and the northern Sawatch Range.

President Herbert Hoover designated the area surrounding the mountain as Holy Cross National Monument under United States Forest Service administration.

[10] The first winter ascent of the peak was made in 1943 by Russel Keene and Howard Freedman of the 10th Mountain Division, then stationed at Camp Hale.

Although the summit on Mount of the Holy Cross is frequently reached on a long day hike, hikers have become stranded or lost through missing the right turn down the ridgeline, heading straight down and into the wilderness; research and planning of the route is important to prevent tragedies.

The Half Moon Pass Trail is the standard route to the summit of Mount of the Holy Cross via the North Ridge.