| Date | Status Information Posted by 14ers.com Forum Users | Posted By |
|---|---|---|
| 2009-10-04 | Just wanted to update that the road is still completely snow/ice-free up to Lake Como as of today. Of course, the road grade is still terrible. It looked like the highest parked 4WD vehicle I saw was about 3.5 miles in. | George Kaplan |
| 2009-07-20 | I drive a stock 2005 4Runner (4th gen I guess?) with Michelin A/T tires. Anyway, I was able to make it to 8800 ft I could have pushed further, but I was starting to scrape here and there. I‘ve got some basic skid plates, but unless you plan on some light damage to your truck (or you have better skidplates, etc), I wouldn‘t plan on getting much higher than that. I‘ve got 9" ground clearance at the lowest point, and some rocks on the trail (if you‘re not willing to move them) can be a good 12 inches tall. If you want to take it slow and move some obstacles, you can probably make it to about 10000 ft, and that will save you a good mile and a half of hiking. | darklich14 |
| 2009-07-16 | As of the weekend after 4th of July, Lake Como is as it always is in summer. There were no washouts, no extreme mud, and Jaws .5, 1, and 2 are still scarier than hell. I have no idea how people get over that crap. If you try it, God be with you. | Lyssah |
| 2009-05-21 | Snow free until a couple hundred feet below Lake Como, ie higher than most of us will drive. The Hummer at the bottom of the road kinda made me laugh... SUV‘s can easily make it about 2.5 miles in before the going gets too rough. | JB99 |
| 2008-06-22 | As of today 6/22 the road is completely clear all the way to the end where the trail starts above treeline except for one small patch of snow by Lake Como that is easy to get around or walk over. | mjlucarelli |
| 2008-05-26 | Same as last report. | covfrrider |
| 2008-05-19 | To add to CODaves update, the road is clear and void of any snow past the creek crossing until 10,550ft. Small patches and slides cover portions of the road. There is a big avy debris runout about 15 minutes before one reaches Lake Como. The road is walkable w/o snowshoes but once at the lake, they would come in handy (but again, not entirely necessary). | Kiefer |
| 2008-05-19 | I went up Friday 5/16 in my stock Toyota Tacoma and drove up to about 9880, the switchback with parking for a few vehicles right before what some call “jaws 0.5”. Up to that point the road is dry. Hiking up the rest of the road was dry except for a few small patches of snow (wouldn’t be a problem). The big drifts of snow which would stop any vehicle wasn’t until after jaws 2 or possibly jaws 3 (I don’t know exactly what jaws 3 is; there are so many nasty spots that all look near impossible). Also, the creek crossing below jaws 2 is low at this point, easy to cross with simple rock hopping on foot. | CODave |
| 2008-05-05 | Stopped by a few snow drifts at 10,300 on May 4th. Should be able to make it to 10,500 very soon. | Wesley |
| 2007-09-10 | Road is rough! Still a good idea to take your buddies 4x4 and sacrifice mpg. | GREENSon14s |
| 2007-05-23 | Road is free of snow as far as any non-professional could drive to. The snow blocks the road about .2 from the lake itself; If you've got the skill you can get really, really close! | adkben |
| 2007-05-12 | Drove past 10,500 on 5/9/07. Probably should have stopped a little before. Careful driving needed. | jcwhite |
| 2007-05-12 | we were able to drive up to 9800 feet on may 5th. after that, smaller snow drifts began around 10,200 feet which som serious 4wd vehicles have begun busting through. if you have the correct vehicle, jaws I should be obtainable in a couple of weeks. jamie | shanahan96 |
| 2007-03-17 | With 4wheel drive and careful driving we drove to around 9800 ft. | jcwhite |
| 2006-05-04 | Mid April the road was clear till 10,000 feet then passable by foot till 11,500. After that the snow was over knee deep till the summit. | jakomait |
| 2005-06-06 | On 6/04/05 we went up the Lake Como Trailhead in a Toyota 4Runner and a Jeep liberty upto 3 miles from the trailhead- the road is same as it always has been - very ugly. But its clear all the way to the Lake. We did see a Jeep Rubicon at 10,500 ft - looked like it would make it | gurbi |
| 2005-05-19 | On 5/16, we made it to about the 4 mile mark (3 miles past the designated trailhead in Roach's book) in a stock Jeep before we ran into some large boulders in the middle of the road. The stopping point for us was right at a turn which has a parking area big enough for 3-4 cars. About 0.25 mile up from that point, there were a few snow fields that would have stopped us had the rocks not. There were patchy snow fields and standing water through the wooded sections of the road. About 0.5 miles past the plaque, the snow became pretty consistent on the road and we used snowshoes up to the lake. | gprovost |
| 2005-02-23 | The Lake Como road is closed in the winter near the bottom (8,000'). By mid May, the road melts out up to near 10,000'. The road is usually clear by mid June. | BillMiddlebrook |
| Location: | Sangre de Cristo Range |
| 14ers Served: | Blanca Peak, Ellingwood Point, Little Bear Peak |
| Road Type: | 2WD access to 8,000' from the west via the Lake Como Road (off of Colorado 150). 4WD access to approx. 10,000' via the Lake Como Road. Severe 4WD (heavy modified vehicles or ATV only) access to 12,000' above Lake Como (via the Lake Como Road). |
| Winter Access: | Closed near 9,000 feet. |
| Directions: | To get to the Lake Como road, take the Colorado 150 road off of the Colorado 160 road east of Alamosa. Colorado 150 goes north towards the Great Sand Dunes. Drive over 3 miles and turn right onto Lake Como road (dirt). There is a small parking/turnaround area at the beginning of the road. The type of vehicle you are driving up Lake Como road will determine how high you can park. Most cars and trucks have to park between 1.5 and 2 miles up Lake Como road before the road turns nasty. If you have a very high clearance (and small) 4WD vehicle, you can drive higher - maybe even up to 11,000' or more. An ATV or heavily-modified jeep can go to Lake Como. Total distance from a parking spot near 8,000' to Lake Como is approximately 5.25 miles. Calculate Driving Time from your Address | Trailheads on Google Maps |
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