| Date | Status Information Posted by 14ers.com Forum Users | Posted By |
|---|---|---|
| 2009-08-16 | Agree with 2_Salukis. This road has been recently improved. I previously have driven my 1984 Cavalier Wagon as far as the junction ½ mile before the trailhead. A carefully driven 2WD with decent clearance should be able to make it that far. The last ½ mile is steeper. I would prefer a 4WD for that last part although some 2WDs could do it. There are several camping spots along the road if you decide to park your 2WD, including at the junction. | MountainHiker |
| 2009-08-15 | The 4WD road has been cleaned up and evened out. To give you some idea, there was an Audi sedan in the parking area at the Forest Road 110J intersection. The remainder of the road is not as graded, but by no means difficult. | 2_Salukis |
| 2009-07-17 | Parking at the Forest Road 110J junction is a good idea unless you‘re a skilled 4WD driver. Some of the obstacles have been partially filled in with smaller rocks, but there‘s still no easy way to the end of the road. From 110J to the N. Halfmoon Creek TH is only about a 10 minute walk. | FCSquid |
| 2009-06-20 | The last | nilaoire |
| 2009-06-19 | Did Massive yesterday. Park your car at the last fork in the road to the trail head (where the trail info. says don‘t take the left turn). Very large pot hole past this point. Unless you have very good clearance you will not be able to pass this point. | nilaoire |
| 2009-06-07 | Clear..took a Jetta to about .3 mile of the trailhead with careful driving. | BobbyPeru |
| 2009-05-12 | As of 5/10 the road is drivable to the its end at North Halfmoon Creek. | tmahon |
| 2009-04-23 | Normal winter road closure still in place but a couple of 4WD vehicles were able to drive an additional 2+ miles when the snow was firm in the morning. They got stuck several times. For you snowmobilers: I rode all the way up to the 4WD trailhead on 4/22/2009. There were some long sections of dirt on the lower road, but it was doable with the right sled. | BillMiddlebrook |
| 2008-11-21 | The road from the Massive TH was fine up until the last .5 mile. Before that area, any 4WD would be fine. There is a lot of ice and packed snow though so 4WD is necessary. The last .5 mile had about 3 spots that someone without good snow tires will get stuck. If you have really good tires, high clearance and 4WD you should be able to make it to the TH. | J2TheZ |
| 2008-08-24 | The road up to the trailhead is not bad except one place. The picture (not mine) below shows the problem. The trick is to stay as far right and as close to the boulder as possibe. 8" clearence and probably 4w low will be needed. The two vechicles in front of me and I all had to go to 4 low. | JayMiller |
| 2008-08-11 | Road is not accessible past the Standard Massive parking area for normal passenger vehicles. DO NOT ATTEMPT without clearance. | harmfuljays |
| 2008-08-04 | Most of the road can be done in a 2WD, although the last sections get a bit rougher (not necessarily rocky, but rather bouncy and undulating), and the last half-mile or so requires high clearance and 4WD (plus a bit of driver skill thrown in). | Aubrey |
| 2008-07-09 | I drove my daughter and I two miles along the "4 wheel drive" portion of the road to the trailhead last Saturday. We made it in a Dodge Grand Caravan without any problems. We did have to hike the final 0.5 miles to the TH. | Judge K |
| 2008-07-04 | Open all the way to the 4wd trailhead. | JB99 |
| 2008-06-29 | Still closed on June 28! | wheelie |
| 2008-06-09 | Road is dry all the way to the trailhead. | YukonJack |
| 2008-05-19 | Still a lot of snow on the road. Plan on about an additional 3 mile hike to get to the trailhead until some of this melts off. | r3dw0rm |
| 2008-05-07 | I called the Leadville office of the USFS and the woman there told me that the road is definitely closed (10-20 feet of snow!?!) Also, she mentioned that avy danger is very high for both Massive and Elbert peaks. | akmpolsen |
| 2007-11-12 | As of 11/10/07: Still dry all the way to the end of the road. Went to the 4WD TH in a Pathfinder with no problem. | jamienellis |
| 2007-05-25 | Dry all the way. Used 4wd in a few spots, fun drive in a Ranger. | AlexMack |
| 2006-08-04 | Made it up to the trailhead in my 1998 Rav4 on August 3rd. Had to get out and add some rocks around a couple of big rocky parts about a 1/3 mile before the trailhead. A high clearance mini SUV should be able to make it with a little free road building in a couple of spots or check out if the spots I built up are still there. My RAV4 has about 7 1/2 inches clearance. | mtnview |
| 2006-07-16 | An easy 4 or 5 miles until it gets rough. Another 2 or 3 miles on rough (but fairly accesible) terrain to the trailhead. Only a couple spots would be a little hairy for a Subaru. I went up in a jeep and found it fairly easy. Only put it into 4wd maybe twice and might not have even needed it. Stock 4wd vehicles should make it without a problem. If you are just looking for some fun with a good 4wd vehicle. Go past the trailhead and cross the creek (which is moving pretty fast and probably around 2 feet deep) and just keep on going. Eventually you will come to another creek (also deep but not really fast moving) that you can cross. I didnt go all the way uo the road but it was pretty fun. It looks like it goes pretty high. Some great views of massive and surrounding peaks! | 14ers4me |
| 2006-06-11 | North Halfmoon Creek was clear of all snow... stock 4WD vehicles can make it without a problem to the trailhead to hike the SW slopes of Massive... Added extra - those wanting to drive PAST the 4WD parking to go up the road to the mine will find the stream is running at high volume... but we saw several stock 4WD vehicles cross the stream - even a few dirt bikes made it even thought we saw one stall out in the water... | climber514d |
| 2006-05-13 | Shoveled/bulldozed it all the way today. 4x4 w/ clearance, no Subaru's yet. | cjw |
| 2005-06-13 | The road is open and clear all the way to the trailhead. The last half mile or so is rough and requires higher clearance 4WD vehicles. | chicago transplant |
| 2005-04-02 | The Halfmoon road is closed in winter - typically only a short distance from County Road 11. It normally melts out in early May. Check with the U.S. Forest Service for TH access. After the Mt. Massive TH parking, the road turns to 4WD as it leads to the N. Halfmoon Creek TH. | BillMiddlebrook |
| Location: | Sawatch Range |
| 14ers Served: | Mt. Massive |
| Road Type: | 2WD easy dirt road to 10,100' at the main Mt. Massive TH. Then, narrow 4WD to 10,500' at the N. Halfmoon Creek TH. |
| Winter Access: | Usually closed just a short distance up from where the road changes to dirt - over 8 miles below the TH. |
| Directions: | From U.S. 24 just south of Leadville, turn onto Colorado 300 and cross the railroad tracks. Drive 0.7 mile and turn left onto County Road 11 toward the Halfmoon Creek. After another 1.2 miles, turn right on the dirt road to Halfmoon Creek. Drive on the good dirt road (except for the usual washboard and potholes) for 5.3 miles to the Mt. Massive parking area on the right. Drive another 2 miles on the now rugged, 4WD road to a small junction. Continue straight - do not turn left on Forest Road 110J. If you have 4WD and good clearance, drive another 0.5 mile to the small, marked trailhead on the right. Calculate Driving Time from your Address | Trailheads on Google Maps |
|
Return to the Trailheads Page
©2009 14ers.com