Where to go Jeepin' in CO?

As the man says, "It Depends....."

I can give you several areas you can try that are within a few hours of Parker, but a better idea is to go immediately to the bookstorre and get both volumes of Charles Wells "Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails". These books document about 100 well known trails all over the State, ranging from easy stuff you could do in a car, to hard-core trails like Holy Cross, Black Bear and Mt Blanca.

Mr. Wells has a rather conservative rating system, so what he calls a difficult trail may not be considered so by a very experienced 4 wheeler. However, he gives very detailed descriptions of the trails and excellent directions & maps on where to locate them. Best, he groups them by geographic area as well as by difficulty rating. His new Colorado book (Volume 2) is dedicated to areas near Denver, above I70, plus the Grand Junction area.

As a both a Jeeper and a photographer, I'm really jealous of this guy. He makes a living 4 wheeling, writing and shooting pictures in the mountains....BASTARD!!!! ;-)

There are a lot of great Jeep trails in the San Juan Mountains in the southwest part of Colorado. The San Juans are drop-dead gorgeous, as far as scenery goes. Check out the area around Ouray, Telluride, and Lake City. Trails vary in difficulty from a leisurely drive through the park to a tooth-chattering, white-knuckle, pee-your-pants kind of adventure, so pick your route carefully, based on your vehicle, level of offroad experience, and comfort level. Also, ask for local advice and keep an eye on the weather when you get there - things can change rapidly in the mountains, turning an easy ride into an impassable road in a flash. Most of the trails can be driven in a day, and you will run into other Jeepers along the way, but there are a lot of campgrounds in the area. The beauty of the San Juans is unsurpassed if you are looking for classic alpine places to visit. Happy trails. Gary

Good Morning! Most of the trail books, especially the 4WD Adventures Series have extensive GPS coordinates to assist in navigation. If you do not already have a GPS receiver, you may want to purchase one.

Norm

Couldn't agree with Gary more.....

San Juans are incredible. And being that I'm only two hours away I might be a little biased. THe SIlverton/Ouray are has a multitude of camping and great wheeling of all levels. You won't get bored. Buy the book, Jerry mentioned, you wont be sorry.

That would be Black Bear Pass, wouldn't it?

Muuurgh: What they said. I live in Denver, so I usually am more biased towards trails I can get to and home from in a single day if possible.

You didn't mention what kind of trails you like (easy, hard, scenic, etc.) and what your main focus is when doing the trails. I like hard trails, so my favorites are things such as Holy Cross and Chinaman's Gulch, both about 2-3 hours West of Denver. There are also beautiful areas with trails ranging from easy to difficult out at Crested Butte, and of course, the Ouray area is supposed to be awesome (haven't been there yet).

Go check out

I'm a member of that group here, and over the last couple years the trails page has gotten quite extensive. Directions and trail descriptions, along with photos and links to trail reports from actual runs, are all available there. (I'm on the members page, btw, if you want to see my Jeep, under the name "Bob".)

ks: Our traildamage group is planning a trip later this summer to Ouray. I'd personally like to camp when we're there...do you have any good recommendations for campsites or any place I might look to find out what's available, and where? Do they allow reservations at any campsites? Are there free ones? Ones that require fees? How much? Figured I'd ask you all this since you implied you go there and go camping on more than a rare occasion. First hand intel, you know ;-)

Thanks, Bob

I'd personally like to camp when we're there...do you have any good recommendations for campsites or any place I might look to find out what's available, and where? Do they allow reservations at any campsites? Are there free ones? Ones that require fees? How much? Figured I'd ask you all this since you implied you go there and go camping on more than a rare occasion. First hand intel, you know ;-)

Thanks, Bob>

Be advised the trails in the Ouray/Silverton area are snowbound until around

6/1-15. It will pay to call ahead, but by mid-June if the snow hasn't melted the counties will have cleared most of them. An exception is Black Bear Pass, which is usually left to clear on its own, which may be early July or later. The County will often only clear to the Pass.

As for camping, there are so many spots. Youcan camp at the Ampitheater CG in Ouray, but it fills up rapidly and may require reservations. You can alos boogie on up the road top Yankee Boy Basin and camp along the creeks. Again, thos will fill up, but if you take the road to Imogene Pass there's any number of places you can just plunk it right down. You can't camp in Yankee Boy at all.

Another idea isd to head to Silvertoin and take the Mineral Creek road out to Mineral Creek CG. Ter are many places to camp along the creek, and I have taken the Clear Lake road up to the lake and camped up there. Very cool high alpine setting, fabulous little alpine lake. Get there early and grap a spot, the locals know thisa place and will get there first.

Further down Hwy 550 there are CGs at Little Molas Lake, Molas Lake and at Andrews Lake. This stuff is easy to access from 550, so don't be surprised to see everything taken in mid-summer.

My favorite is to get up to Animas Forks and head off on one of the mine roads, just grap a scenic spot and make it your own campground. Expect (no, after the last few years of drought, help us locals and PRAY FOR) rain every afternoon, and very cool temps at night.

Oh, that's ONE of them! Black Bear distinguishes itself due to the switchbacks that lead you down into Telluride. Up to Ingram Creek it's fairly easy, if a bit steep. At the creek you'll begin to encouter ledges, and then the .... heh, heh, heh, switchbacks. Not for those afraid of hieghts, and seriously, it can (and has) kill the inexperienced driver who acts stupid on it. It deserves respect. OTOH, it's an experience you won't soon forget.

Black Bear Road is the sh*t. It is awesome.

pee-your-pants kind of

Jerry, keep an eye on the weather between now and when you come. If we don't get some timely moisture you may find camping pretty grim with all sorts of fire restrictions.

I have to chime > > ks: Our traildamage group is planning a trip later this summer to Ouray.

CW McCall did a song about it..

.. and we came across a sign, saying "Black Bear Road, you don't have to be crazy to drive this road but it helps... "

We went about a mile n a half in about 4 hours, busted off the right front fender, tore a hole in the oil pan on rocks bigger than the hall closet...

our army jeep car sank in the mud, at 13,000 miles above sea-level !"

Sounds fun !

I'll bet you really had a great view of the moon from there.

ok, perhaps he said "feet" :-)

Dave Milne, Scotland '91 Grand Wagoneer, '99 TJ

I'm a new Jeeper. I just want some fun, backwoods... not too difficult--I'll-be-alone-with-my-wife-on-a-camping-trip type trail. I'd like to hit "Holy Cross" out by Leadville. I think I've heard of Chinaman's Gulch, but I don't know where that's at. My brother-in-law lives in Breckenridge, so I suppose I'd like to remain in the summit area for this trip.

Thanks, Muuurgh

Info on CO wildfires and fire bans:

Check out

Looks like Chinaman's may be our of Colorado Springs

Hey, thanks. Fer cryin out loud, I live in COS and didn't know that one!

Thanks for all the tips and info--I do appreciate it!

/Bob