Cinnamon Pass Road

[Bullwinkle]

I tried this in a 4WD GMC Canyon (Chevy Colorado) on a drippy day last September--that later turned to snow. The drive in from Silverton was fine. The steep climb out of the basin from Las Animas was not. It was a narrow, single track and steep on both sides, so very little room to maneuver and absolutely no room to turn around. A few hundred yards into the climb-out I ran into a trashed section that would gut most street vehicles. Let's see, rental vehicle, deep into the wilderness, alone with no spotter, rain turning to snow on narrow & steep grade, weekday, out of prime climbing season ... yeah, I chickened out, backed down gingerly, and promised myself to take another run at finishing the San Juans the next season. My view is this road can be safely navigated in a short wheelbase, high ground clearance (9+ inches) vehicle, with good approach and departure angles--all in good weather. If you DQ on any of these criteria, risk goes up significantly. This is all under the caveats that some kind hearted gent or gal may or may not bring a shovel or pry bar along and make some improvements to the road, and that you care about your vehicle and your life.

[coloradoman]

I think this pass can be done by anyone with at least 8 inches of ground clearance if you are careful. It also depends on the year, roads get washed out or torn up and repaired. If the road is in good condition, I would say any subaru, jeep patriot/compass or greater can make it. I drove my jeep patriot up it from the silverton side which is the easier side to drive from because it is less steep than driving from the lake city side. I drove it memorial day weekend with nobody around and just myself. There were a couple of iffy spots by take it slow. The switch backs on the lake city side are not easy going up if you have a stick shift like I did but an automatic should be able to do it.

Here is a video of the whole trail that I took in my jeep patriot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yyumxYRFk8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It contains a close up of the road so you can see if you want to give it a shot. Driving the pass from ouray or even ridgeway where I was camping will save time than driving all the way around to handies peak

[acidchylde]

These threads get more amusing every time with the conflicting (sometimes incorrect) information, and the filter of those inexperienced or unused to CO mountain roads or 'off-road' travel. I'm starting to understand Ron's viewpoint a lot better.

[mountaingoat-G]

that's a long drive from Las Animas....

probably meant Animas Forks ?

[mountainrev]

that's a long drive from Las Animas....

probably meant Animas Forks ?

Yeah, but that was in 2012. Things seemed a lot closer back then.