| Date | Status Information Posted by 14ers.com Forum Users | Posted By |
|---|---|---|
| 2009-10-25 | Okay, the ice is on Forest Road 189 (road south side of I-70 @ Exit 221) before you get to either Trailhead. Just learning to read maps...haha. | jblaydes |
| 2009-10-25 | Sorry, my last post should read Grizzly Gulch TH. Newbie error | jblaydes |
| 2009-10-25 | 10/24/2009 - Stevens Gulch trailhead with snow and some ice. Made it up in Subaru, but the ice on the way down, close to the beginning of TH, made it impossible. A couple of trucks had issues too. Use caution or stay to the sides in the ruts to work you way past the ice patch. Happy climbing! | jblaydes |
| 2009-10-24 | Drove up to the Stephens Gulch TH on Monday, 10/19/09 in my xTerra with no issues. Very little standing snow on the road at that time. | Odysseus |
| 2009-09-30 | 09/30/09 Clear. no rut,no problems. made it all the way up in my friend‘s corolla. | waller19 |
| 2009-09-19 | The big rut and potholes have all been graded away. The road is back to "normal", meaning a passenger car can get to the trailhead if driven carefully. | Jim Davies |
| 2009-09-19 | The road is in good shape -no ruts, small loose rocks. The road equipment is still parked at the bottom of the road, so they may be doing more work. Saw a Prius and a Porsche at the trailhead. | cougar |
| 2009-09-14 | I hiked Grays and Torreys on Monday, Sept. 14th. While driving down the road to 70 after completing the hike, I saw many construction workers with big equipment, bulldozers, graders, etc. working on the road to the TH. This was around 1:30 Monday afternoon. While I did take my Honda Accord to the TH, I would not do so again. There were a few other cars at the TH as well. On the way down, I got out of my car to remove some boulders, rocks that were dislodged because of the construction work. In short, I definitely agree with Bill‘s suggestion that a vehicle with clearance is the appropriate one to take up to the TH. Thanks | sad2 |
| 2009-09-13 | I went up Grays Peak today, 091309, and it doesn‘t appear they went any farther than where Ken Dammen saw them doing work three days ago. The "ruts" however are gone and several passenger cars were at the trailhead. | zoomie83 |
| 2009-09-10 | I just did Grays and Torreys today 091009. On my way down they were grading the road just below the sign that directs you to the Grays trailhead. About 1 - 1.5 miles up from the highway. I don‘t know how far they plan on going up, but it did make the last part of the drive a little better going down. Hopefully they will smooth it out all the way to the trailhead. Restroom at the trailhead is still closed. | Ken Dammen |
| 2009-08-12 | Drove up to the Trailhead from I-70 (7/28) in regular ol‘ pickup. Made it with no problems. Cars were going up all the time also with no problems. GO SLOW (for your kidneys sake) and plan the "big" rut before you go over them (2) and you will be ok. | Bald Eagle |
| 2009-08-04 | 8/1/09 I just wanted to let everyone know that I made it up to the trailhead in a 2 door Pontiac Sunfire with front-wheel drive only. I was the only car in the parking lot but cars can make it up to the trailhead not just 4x4 trucks. I think everyone thought I was crazy but I had no problems just go slow and maybe have a spotter for the so called rut. It can be done. The rut was a little crazier on the way down my back driver-side wheel was off the ground for a second, but its worth trying especially if your camping the night before a hike. | derekgraven |
| 2009-08-03 | Drove my Outback up on Friday night 7/31/09 in the pouring down rain. Got the Subie on 3 wheels going up and teetered on 2 wheels coming down the next afternoon 8/1/09. Fun times and good for a bit of adrenaline! | COLORADOKB |
| 2009-07-12 | 7/11. The rut depends on the driver - not the car. We took a Rav4 up and made it. I saw someone have a bit of trouble in a Tahoe - yet there was an old Honda Civic that made it...go figure. If you have trouble...park below the rut and hitch a ride. | Rinehart18 |
| 2009-07-12 | Drove the trailhead on 7/11/09. Big rut @ 1/2 mile up from I-70 is where it separated the cars from the trucks. Beyond this it was drivable in a 4x4 or AWD vehicle. Just take it slow. | jjpnyc |
| 2009-07-04 | whoops--last two updates were not 06-03-09 but 07-03-09. Forgot that it became July... | Slow Moving Fun Seeker |
| 2009-07-04 | Forgot to mention in the previous update: I was glad to have 4WD for the muddier spots on the road, but we followed a 2WD sedan--something like a Altima or Camry up the whole way and he had no problems either. I‘m not advocating taking that kind of car up this road, but I also don‘t think it is nearly as bad as some of the updates indicate. | Slow Moving Fun Seeker |
| 2009-07-04 | I drove the road to the Grays Peak trailhead on 06-03-09 in an older Outback with no problem. Lots of people park below the "rut," but if you take it slow and are careful, it‘s just not that bad at all--and not significantly worse than in previous years. I have no special off-road skills. Never even got close to bottoming out. | Slow Moving Fun Seeker |
| 2009-06-23 | Road is quite washed out in many places and not suitable for low clearance vehicles. No problem to park at the bottom, but you‘ll need to hike or hitch if your driving a smaller car. Thanks to my climbing partner for the ride. The climb was great! | Jazzob |
| 2009-06-17 | Made it up 6-15-09 in a 2WD Ford Escape. Little rough in spots. On the way down we saw an Audi A6? about 1/3 of a mile from the TH. That guy has skills. | hfd73 |
| 2009-06-12 | Went up on June 11th. The road is clear all the way up, however in the past three years of going up this trailhead this is the worst runoff and ruts I have seen. The road has deteriorated in certain sections in the past few year. If your going up there with a regular vehicle, you must bring a spotter. The road at .3 miles is the white knuckle area. Take it slow!!! | Bresch |
| 2009-06-10 | Road clear of snow all the way up to the TH. Since last year, the road has deteriorated and the initial rut that stops most low clearance vehicles seems to have grown. Another rut is in the works up the road a little ways. | dcbates80911 |
| 2009-06-08 | I just drove the road this morning (6/8) at 6:30am. Very clear and very rocky all the way to the trail head. I was scoping out my future 2nd 14er site. Wanted to see if my Suburban could make it up the road...so I drove my jeep up it first (ha ha). There was a landcruiser, small pu and a small passenger car up there. There are two big washed out ruts...one about a mile up the road and the other about two miles up. Otherwise it was pretty good. | coachchip |
| 2009-05-25 | May 25th, few patches of snow on road up but my Xterra made it to the summer TH no problem. Cars, I would say not yet. Most cars were parked only a mile or so up the road, just before the first big rut in the road. | Barrett Cooper |
| 2009-05-24 | You can almost reach the summer TH, there are a few areas of snow that people have driven through. Went as far as a few minutes walk away from the bridge. 5/22/09 | sstrauss |
| 2009-05-18 | You can drive all the way up to the trail head. | BAUMGARA |
| 2009-05-16 | This morning I took my new Wrangler equipped with chains on all 4 tires and still only made it to about 1/2 mile from the TH, the same place everyone else had to stop, too much snow as yet to get to the TH. | schrund |
| 2009-05-13 | The road from Bakerville is starting to open up. Got up to within .6 miles of the trail head to Grays. Still lots of snow drifts across the road so you will need a good 4wd and know how to use it. I got as far as I did with my F250 crew cab with stock M&S tires. I will try again in a few days with my other truck with the pizza cutter mudders. If you find a black Chevy stuck in the snow please dig me out! :) The ridge tops look like they are clearing but not sure how deep the snow is on the faces. The regular trail looks like there is plenty of snow on it so may need an alternate route. | gettinupthere |
| 2009-05-12 | Drove 1 mile past Grizzly junction w decent 4wd. | ThinAir |
| 2009-05-09 | Walked up the road from I-70. If you have a high clearance 4 wheel drive you can make it to where there is a large open area with a 6 foot piece of brown pipe, there were 2 vehicles parked there. After that the road is covered in snow which is mostly packed down but after the bridge you will need snow shoes late in the day. | ColoradoKrazy1 |
| 2009-04-24 | Starting from I-70 the road is half covered on the right side up to just before the first switchback. Then becomes completley snow covered, with the exception of small scattered pockets of exposed dirt road as you continue up. | bmratc |
| 2009-03-09 | Rode a snowmobile to the Grays TH. Snow covers the road and trying to drive up from the parking near I-70 is not recommended. Several vehicles have tried lately and gotten stuck less than 1/2 mile up the road. | BillMiddlebrook |
| 2008-12-09 | Three separate 4X4‘s tried to get up this road this past Sunday (12/07/08) and had no luck. One group got stuck and it took them over an hour to get out. This was very near the beginning where the road steepens and there is a small pull-off on the right. I had to back all the way down to the small side road to turn around. With the new snow today, unless your 4X4 is pretty serious (winch, awesome tires, etc.) I think this one is impassable for a while. (If anybody wants to try it, send me a PM so I can come watch!!) | Bodhi |
| 2008-11-26 | The road to the trailhead up Stevens Creek is hard packed snow with ice in places. I drove all the way up on Tuesday the 25th of Nov with no trouble. I would suggest a 4x4 wheel drive but the conditions are good to getting all the way to the parking lot, which is dry and clear itself. Parts of the road are also dry and clear. The hardest spot is right at the beginning where it has been all summer,it has ice but passable. | HunkyDunk |
| 2008-09-29 | Went up the "road" to the trailhead on 9/24 in a 4x4 Ford Expedition. It was worse than last year at this time. The washout section is bad and there are several other sections where 4x4 is needed or at least a definite plus. I don‘t think a passenger car would make it. | Scatman |
| 2008-09-18 | Just added picture of the infamous "rut." | schumi248 |
| 2008-08-14 | Ditto what hobo13said. On Sunday 8/10/08 I saw some 2WD at the TH. I had a Toyota Highlander with good clearance and, being cautious, I took 25 minutes to go the 3 miles so you might want to figure that into any travel plans. | Beagle |
| 2008-08-14 | Saturday 8/9/08. Drove all the way to the trailhead in a Pontiac G6. Also saw an Accord, Jetta, and BMW sedan at the trailhead (among about 100 SUVs!). Only touched bottom once and that was due to a high-centering over a ridge at 1 MPH. Don‘t believe the people saying you can‘t do it in a 2WD car -- Now whether you *want* to do it is another matter..... | hobo13 |
| 2008-07-26 | Drove up to the TH on friday night. The road is rough, very eroded and rocky. You can definitely make it in 2wd if you have HIGH clearance, so pretty much any stock suv or truck. There is one big rut at the beginning, take it slow and pick a line suitable to your auto‘s clearance. other than that the road is just rocky, go slow! | cfrulla |
| 2008-07-19 | We did Grays and Torreys this morning. The road up is rough, but probably only to those who have never been to the Harvard or Massive 4WD trailheads. I got all the way to the upper parking lot in my stock 04 Cherokee without so much as touching the road with anything other than the tires. On the way up, I didn‘t even shift into 4LO. On the way down, it was useful though. There were 2 Outbacks and believe it or not a red Ford Escort at the top when we arrived. | jcouts |
| 2008-07-10 | I was up there on the 9th July. Don‘t expect to reach the trail head in a regular car, you won‘t make it. The road was worse than what was previously described to me. You need GOOD CLEARANCE. | nilaoire |
| 2008-07-07 | Road is very rutted in places. Most cars did not attempt. Highly recommend SUV, Truck, etc., with good ground clearance. | trankin |
| 2008-07-04 | There is a washed out area about 1/4 mile up the road; 2wd vehicles will have a grand ole time navigating past it. The road is rough, rocky and bone-jarring more this year than last. | KeithK |
| 2008-07-01 | Friends were up there last week, one large pothole. Would advise a vehicle with good clearance. I am up there next week will update then. | nilaoire |
| 2008-06-10 | Full access to the TH parking lot via Stevens Gulch. No snow on the road, but it still may be hard for 2W vehicles to get up there ( rough road ) | polishruben |
| 2008-06-08 | Saturday, June 07, 2008. Road to trailhead is almost completely clear except for a few small patches of snow near the parking area. Regular passenger cars are still having difficulty getting over steep rutted portion of road just a few hundred feet up from I-70. http://www.rogerwendell.com | zeekzilch |
| 2008-06-03 | The road to the TH ( Stevens Gulch ) is pretty much snow free now. Last patches of snow are located maybe 300-500 feet from the Grays Peak TH. If you have high clearance vehicle you will be able to drive all way up there. | polishruben |
| 2008-05-22 | still too rough for vehicles, large patches of soft snow. Rough ride through to trailhead on snowmobile... | peaks2paddles |
| 2008-05-19 | Drivable to Grizzly gulch road with a high clearance AWD vehicle. There is still a huge risk of getting stuck though. The last 1.5 miles are almost completely snow covered. | ezsuperkev |
| 2008-05-18 | The first mile (up to the Grizzly Gulch junction) was easily passable in a high clearance suv yesterday. | Wesley |
| 2008-05-04 | Still snow-covered all the way to the TH. As of 5/3/08, there were 3 vehicles stuck/abandonded along the first mile of the road. | BillMiddlebrook |
| 2008-04-20 | Unaccessable (unless you have a sled), you must park at I-70 and hike approx. 2.8 miles to the summer trailhead. The road is well packed and snow shoes should not be needed until you reach the actual trail. | Cunningham |
| 2008-02-18 | Foot traffic has the road well packed to the trailhead but snowmobiles can only make it about 1/2 way up (1.5 miles) due to sloped snow on the road. | BillMiddlebrook |
| 2008-01-12 | At the Bakerville exit trail head as soon as we exited the interstate and looked at the road, we noticed a person stuck not less than 10 yards into the road. For all intents and purposes this road is not accessible. It isn‘t plowed and there is around 6-9 inches of snow with areas of much more. | ColderThanDryIce |
| 2007-11-24 | ~3" of snow on the road but no problem for a 4WD vehicle. Some patches of ice below the snow here and there. I got all the way to the parking lot with a stock ‘05 Xterra today, 11/24/07. Coming back out is slick so go slow! | turd fergason |
| 2007-11-11 | Drove to the TH today, It is mostly melted out, but the road has some VERY packed ice that was a little tricky on the way down. No snowbanks or anything. High clearance only. | jcwhite |
| 2007-10-22 | Couldn't get my 2WD car more then a few hundred feet up the road to the TH but we hiked up there and we did see a 4WD Toyoda make it to the TH. The TH is covered in snow and when we hit about 12,500-13,000 elevation we were walking through about 3 ft of snow with drifts up to 5 ft. Walking to the TH adds 6 miles (round trip) to the hike. It was a lot of fun though! :) | rferrier |
| 2007-10-20 | Ended up turning around as the road heading up to the TH was pure ice. My Jeep did alright until I got to the early washout. Then as I turned to go to the side of the washout the Jeep's front started sliding downhill. It was quite the task to get it straight again as I slid 50 yards down the road before I could get it pointed downhill. Be wary. | jmd_10 |
| 2007-10-12 | Drove to Gray's Peak trailhead (Steven's Gulch) 11OCT07. We were in a 4WD pickup and had no trouble. I would not take a non-4WD vehicle as the road continues to deteriorate but, we did see a sedan at the trailhead so it is still possible if you have little regard for you cars undercarriage and a lot of patience. | JMTracker |
| 2007-10-03 | Drove up on Sept. 19th with 4WD Trailblazer. There was one washout section early on which was rough, but doable. Otherwise, the road was bumpy but fine. I saw one small Kia make it up although he bottomed out several times. | scatman |
| 2007-09-09 | I took my subaru forrester up a year ago and then again yesterday; I think what people say about the road is an overstatement, as I had no real problems and never scraped bottom. I do agree that your typical passenger car would have issues, but even then I think it would be possible (my forrester doesn't have that much clearance). | breezytrees |
| 2007-08-26 | I went up today 8-26-07 and the road has a few spots of uneven surface that can cause smaller cars to bottom out. I would suggest 4WD vehicals. Although we made it to the trail head in an outback but we did bottom out twice but car is still working. | ells124 |
| 2007-07-31 | I own a Chevy Cavalier and I wasn't prepared to take it up to this trailhead (especially since I had to drive it all the way back to Wisconsin). Just park at the bottom by the interstate and stick out a thumb and someone will usually give you a ride to the trailhead. I saw a civic with a missing front bumper at the top, so it is possible. But what's the point of messing up your car! | kappakamp |
| 2007-06-28 | After you hit .3 miles from I-70 there is a scary looking run off gulch from right to left. I have a 2001 Camry and made it past there with a spotter, and had a slow but good run to the trailhead | Bresch |
| 2007-06-25 | The road is entirely dry, but it is not easy for a passenger car (e.g., Honda, Mazda, etc) to get very far past 70. It is possible, but you will likely scrape the bottom of your vehicle and possibly damage something. | usfgal |
| 2007-06-18 | Open to trailhead | jamin1377 |
| 2007-06-01 | no big change wide snowfield, not passable unless you take a large risk to get stuck on the way out. See Trip Reports for a pic. | IridePow |
| 2007-05-27 | Still blocked by snow about 1/4 mile above the old, red building and nearly 1 mile from the end of the road. Looks like it could be another week or two before it melts. | billmiddlebrook |
| 2007-05-16 | I was up there a week ago (5/10) and the road to the trailhead was still socked in with snow. I was only able to make it a mile up the road in a stock Cherokee 4x4. | goblue0910 |
| 2007-05-02 | Hiked up to the summer trailhead today. Cannot ski the entire road back down, has a couple of fairly long bare spots. Saw some vehicle tracks that made it a little more than half way up then they turned around. the last mile snowshoes are not needed but helped. | bmratc |
| 2007-03-17 | Trailhead is at Bakerville, road is very packed, no snowshoes needed. Skied from summit to car. | jcwhite |
| 2007-01-01 | the road to the trailhead is snowed in all the way back to I-70, but has been packed down by snowshoe/ski/snowmobile traffic. Still, snowshoes recommended. Can ski out from 12,000 to parking! | mtnmike |
| 2006-10-02 | drove up with a Tacoma pickup this past weekend 9/30, and it wasn\'t too bad with a high clearance vehicle. there were definately cars that made it, but it takes a good half hour at least to drive the 3.8 miles. our average speed was around 8-10 miles an hour. | gitsumpottery |
| 2006-08-10 | Drove up to TH with a rented Chevy Areo (tiny, tiny car). The trail is definitely rough and you must take your time but saving 3 miles (6 total) is certainly worth it. | ray06 |
| 2006-08-09 | Drove up on July 31st. I personally would not drive a passenger car up this road. It can be done if you are careful and I saw several cars at the TH, but you better have some offroad/4wd experience to help you pick your way through the rough spots. | renobob |
| 2006-05-29 | The road is totally free of snow to the trailhead. | griz |
| 2006-05-24 | A little snowy in places, nothing any SUV couldn't get through, and some cars, but with the way the weather has been it'll be free a clear to everything in no time at all. | rtichota |
| 2006-05-15 | Met a few guys on top of Torrreys. They told me they could drive almost to the summer trailhead. Just about 1/4 mile short. They did it with a Subaru Forester. | muellero |
| 2006-05-04 | You can drive up 2 miles up the road before hitting snow, if you have a decent 4x4 | jcwhite |
| 2005-10-08 | Drove up there today (8 Oct 05). Road is clear, 4WD is unnecessary although I would recommend a high clearance vehicle. I made it with my Buick but it took a bit of a beating. | davebobk47 |
| 2005-06-14 | Road is pretty rough all the way up, with some good chances of bottoming out with a low clearence vehicle, but I still saw quite a few passenger cars at the trailhead on 6/11 | bud |
| 2005-05-31 | Road is open to trailhead as of 5/29/05. | vanny37 |
| 2005-05-29 | made it to trailhead on 5/26 in my subaru. Barely scrapped bottom of car on snow in two spots. | ryan romanchuk |
| 2005-05-23 | Went up 5/20-5/21. Got a little farther than the last guy. Less than a quarter mile to trailhead. | vanny37 |
| 2005-05-20 | Went up yesterday - 5/19 - good till about quarter mile before the trail head - then it turns to 15 to 20 inches of snow | gpd |
| 2005-05-10 | May 10, 2005: I got within about a mile+ of the actual Trailhead today until the snow stopped me. The road is melting out. I don't know why guidebooks list this as a 2WD road. I wouldn't take anything with low clearance up there. | sisyphus |
| 2005-05-02 | Drove up the Stevens Gulch road today (5/2). Was able to drive 1 mile before the snow was totally covering the road. 4WD is still recommended for the first mile. | BillMiddlebrook |
| 2005-03-16 | The road to Stevens Gulch is closed in winter. Usually melts out by mid to late May. | BillMiddlebrook |
| Location: | Front Range |
| 14ers Served: | Grays Peak, Torreys Peak |
| Road Type: | Very Rough 2WD to the TH. Good clearance required and 4WD may be necessary in early summer when the road is wet, or if any large ruts have formed. |
| Winter Access: | Closed at the start of the 189 road, near I-70. |
| Directions: | Take I-70 to the Bakerville exit (#221). Leave the highway and drive south over to the dirt parking area near the start of Forest Road 189. This is the winter trailhead and, even if the upper road is open, low-clearance passenger cars should park here. It’s almost 3 miles to the summer trailhead. Reach a junction after one mile - stay straight and follow the sign for the Grays Peak trailhead. Continue another 2 miles to the trailhead at 11,280'. There are restrooms and a few dispersed camping spots near the parking area. Calculate Driving Time from your Address | Trailheads on Google Maps |
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