| Date | Status Information Posted by 14ers.com Forum Users | Posted By |
|---|---|---|
| 2009-07-07 | I‘ve driven to the end of this road many times over the past five years, but this was the roughest I‘ve ever seen it (above the bathrooms). Not far up from the lower trailhead (at that one switchback), there‘s a "road closed" sign. I didn‘t go up any farther because I could see a Jeep stopped above me and I figured it was at the closed section. Regarding the road‘s roughness: I imagine it is due to all the heavy rain the San Juans got this spring, which probably washed away a lot of soil, leaving behind a bunch of big rocks and ruts in the road. Still, it‘s doable (up to the closure); it‘s just a bit rougher than it was before. | Aubrey |
| 2009-07-06 | Road is dry until about 1/2 mile above the Wrights Lake Spur trailhead (appx 12,200‘). At this point there is a "road closed" sign. This seems to suggest the uppermost part of the road is permanently closed, but it is not gated at this time. | Chicago Transplant |
| 2009-05-17 | The road is free snow until the restroom. 2 wd cars can drive until 6.8 miles where is the first small paring area. 4 wd cars can drive to the trailhead at the mileage 7.8. | javy20040 |
| 2009-05-12 | 2wd cars can make it 6.8 miles up the road to the Yankee Boy Basin sign, beyond that high clearance and 4wd (preferably low gear) are necessary. The road is snowed in at the outhouse 7.7 miles up the road. When we arrived on 5/6/09, the road was in far better shape than when we left on 5/11/09 because the road was rapidly eroding due to snowmelt. We were driving a stock Tacoma and occasionally scraped lightly when crossing the waterbars. | realhillboarding |
| 2008-10-17 | Two large trees have fallen and completely block the road about 1/2 mile below the restroom. Each tree is 18-24 inches in diameter so moving them is not an option. Another large tree is also down and across the road less than 1/2 mile above the restroom. | thetoddman |
| 2008-09-07 | I Drove my ‘07 Toyota Yaris up to the 2wd Restroom TH on 3 SEP 08. Everyone kept asking if it was a rental. I had to stop and stack rocks at one point, but I made it with zero frame bumps, but did smack a wheel rim once, (it‘s fine). No other cars there, but a bunch of jeeps, and SUV and the 4x4 tours joined me the next day. It‘s a hell of a road for a 2wd car. It was dry, otherwise I‘d been walking. | MUni Rider |
| 2008-07-24 | On Tuesday 7/22 a couple of jeeps had plowed through (and beat the hell out of) the remaining snow that was blocking the road to the upper trailhead. However, on our hike out, we also watched as one Jeep got stuck. This should speed the melting and it should be fully open soon. | E-dorvs |
| 2008-07-17 | The road is clear to maybe 0.2 miles of the end, where snow blocks the way. We only had to walk a few switchbacks and maybe 100 ft of vertical. | del_sur |
| 2008-07-07 | Road is closed at the parking area a little above 11,400ft as of July 4th. Snow shortly after the gate would block passage anyway. | Wesley |
| 2008-06-14 | Road is plowed to the outhouse and is in pretty decent condition. Lots of snow in the basin after that. | roozers42 |
| 2008-05-26 | The road is now nearly open to the outhouse. | gb |
| 2008-05-16 | The road is open to the Ruby mine at the intersection of County Rd 26 and County Rd 26a. (About 10,300) The plowing is ongoing. | s_tuning |
| 2008-05-05 | Road is closed at or around 9700 ft due to snow. It might be a while if they dont plow it. This is 4 mi below the top. | Jcwhite |
| 2007-08-26 | Road is open all the way to the high trail head. Road is in decent shape. | kyle_doughty |
| 2007-07-14 | The road is now open and clear of snow all the way to the TH. | hawkeye |
| 2007-05-19 | I did Sneffels today (5.19.07) and the road is open to the solar outhouse, which I believe is 11,400'. A 4x4 is recommended as there is a lot of water running on the road. | willygoat |
| 2006-07-19 | Passable with high-clearance vehicle all the way to the top of the basin; Snow completely gone. | adkben |
| 2006-06-21 | On 06-20-06 the road is clear slightly past the Blue Lakes TH, about one mile before the Sneffels TH. You may make it thru the one patch on snow blocking the road to the TH in the mornig, but wouldn't suggest trying to get thru after the sun has been on it. | hawkeye |
| 2006-05-21 | Sorry, mest up, its open til 11,400 where the restroom is. | jcwhite |
| 2006-05-21 | I busted down the last couple snowbanks a couple nights ago, and with decent clearance you can get all the way to the top of the road. | jcwhite |
| 2005-10-13 | Road closed (temporarily?) by the Forest Service due to the recent storms. | s_tuning |
| 2005-06-20 | 6-17-05: Road is clear to the outhouse just above 11,000 feet. Just beyond the outhouse, the road has raging torrents of water, and in some places, the road is totally under water. Snow begins about 1/2 mile from the outhouse, and at least one jeep made it this far to park. | sisyphus |
| 2005-06-07 | Still open to 11,200 (solar powered outhouse). High clearance is needed to get further than a few miles up CR361. | doumall |
| 2005-05-30 | Open to solar powered outhouse, ~11,200 | cjw |
| 2005-05-29 | The road to Yankee Boy is open to the Ruby mine, about one mile from the trailhead. | s_tuning |
| 2005-05-18 | Road is passable by 2WD to about 3 miles. I made it to 6.2 with my 4WD. Forest Service is plowing the last 2 miles and says that the road will be open all the way to Yankee Boy Basin by Firday, 5-20-05. | s_tuning |
| Location: | San Juan Mountains |
| 14ers Served: | Mt. Sneffels |
| Road Type: | Easy 4WD to the restrooms. 4WD to the upper TH. |
| Winter Access: | Usually closed low on the road. |
| Directions: | Take US 550 to Ouray. ¼ mile south of town, turn west onto Country Road (CR) 361 (2WD, Dirt) toward Yankee Boy Basin. Start measuring mileage from the start of this road. Your mileage may vary slightly, but the following list describes the turns and milestones:
- At 3 miles: The road has some shelf sections with exposure to the left. - 4.7 miles: Stay right on CR 26. - 5.3 miles: The road is cut into the cliffs like a "C" so there is rock hanging over the road. - 6.1 miles: Stay right on CR 26 at the junction for Imogene Pass. - 6.3 miles: Pass through the empty Sneffels townsite. - 6.8 miles: Stay right and pass a Yankee Boy Basin info sign. - 6.9 miles: Stay right onto the “853 1B” road. The remaining drive is 4WD and 2WD cars should park below this junction. - 7.7 miles: Reach the lower “trailhead” where many people park. There is a restroom here. Driving beyond this point requires 4WD - 100 yards after the restroom parking area, pass a large rock and stay right at a junction. - 8.2 miles: Stay right. - 8.5 miles: The road gets much worse after this point and there’s a sign that recommends only 4WD, high-clearance, short-wheelbase. - 4WD vehicles (short wheelbase, good clearance, 4WD low) can continue another mile to the signed, upper trailhead at 12,460’. Calculate Driving Time from your Address | Trailheads on Google Maps |
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