| Date | Status Information Posted by 14ers.com Forum Users | Posted By |
|---|---|---|
| 2009-10-20 | clear and dry no problems. go slow over the breaks | ColoNativeinPA |
| 2009-06-29 | Totally dry all the way to the end of the road (the lower flank of Tigger Peak). The road is easily passable by most stock 4WD with decent clearance. No snow to speak of anywhere along the road. | FCSquid |
| 2009-05-17 | Went up to above the radio towers on 5/16/09. Tacoma in 2wd was fine, but you need a high clearance vehicle. There were several pretty nice turnouts and campsites above the towers. | emcee smith |
| 2009-05-13 | Clear to the camping/parking above the radio towers. | JB99 |
| 2009-05-03 | As of 5/3/09, the road was completely dry all the way to the switchback at the radio towers. I drove a couple hundred yards farther and got stopped by some bulky iced-over snow drifts. So, with no way of turning around, I had to back up all the way back down to the radio towers and park there. Even though the drifts were pretty dense with ice, I imagine they‘ll melt soon, which will open up all those parking/camping spots. But beyond that area, large snowdrifts completely block the road, and I doubt they‘ll be going anywhere anytime soon. | Aubrey |
| 2009-03-18 | Road is not passable by car about .1 of a mile past the parking lot. Plenty of weak melting faceted snow. | alpinista77 |
| 2009-03-18 | Road is not passable by car about .1 of a mile past the parking lot. Plenty of weak melting faceted snow. | alpinista77 |
| 2008-11-26 | I climbed Princeton on Tues 11/25. The road is totally dry to the radio towers. Beyond that there were only small patches of snow--mostly on the side of the road--and would be easily drive-able all the way to the hiking trail. | swalshdog |
| 2008-11-10 | From an 11/7-11/8 summit: There are patches of light but slick snow to the second switchback past the radio towers, and then a few drifts on the shelf road that I didn‘t try to pass through in my Wrangler. | Tim McMarmot |
| 2008-10-29 | Conditions Update: If you‘re thinking of a Princeton Hike this gorgeous Fall week... The road is bone dry to the Radio Towers, and just a couple of tiny ice patches all the way to the upper trailhead at 11,800. We pulled off the road and parked in one of a few spots within 1/4 mile beyond The Towers. There is no parking at the 11,800 trailhead junction with the road. Once on the trail, Yaks or Spiders sure came in handy above 12,300‘ for slippery walk over few inches of hard pack snow in between talus with some ice patches. The Mt. Princeton Hot Springs restaurant (yum!) was open at 8am for (late) breakfast - handily at the base of the Mt. Princeton Road turn off. | Vangrove |
| 2008-09-12 | Just so the previous update isn‘t misleading - I made it up to the towers on 9/11 in my Jeep Compass (4WD but not high clearance), but scraped bottom 3 times both up and down. High clearance is best for this road. The road is actually smoother beyond the towers, but there aren‘t many places to park. | Roald |
| 2008-09-06 | Road appears to have been grated, and is quite smooth (for a 4WD road) all the way to the towers. High clearance vehicles can easily go further than the radio towers, I even saw some lower clearance subarus going quite a ways beyond the towers. Road is narrow, be observant of pull over areas in the event you meet other vehicles. (Appear to be more pull overs than there used to be) | Derek |
| 2008-08-01 | Took the trail to the towers on 30 July. Recent washouts and dips; would not plan on taking a sedan on this road. | 14erdmd |
| 2008-06-23 | All clear to camping sites beyond radio towers. Road is quite rough--high clearance vehicle needed. | chasrobt |
| 2008-05-24 | Open to the radio towers. Do not drive higher because snow blocks the road a bit higher and there is no way to turn around. | BillMiddlebrook |
| 2008-05-19 | Today, I drove 2.5 miles until I reached snow drifts 1/2 mile below the radio towers. Too deep to continue and there is no place to park (or easily turn around) in that area. If the warm weather continues, it may be melted out to the towers by the weekend of May 24th. | BillMiddlebrook |
| 2008-05-11 | Broke trail up to 10,420 feet just below last switchback to towers. High clearance 4WD needed to make it through a few of the drifts. In another week you should be able to make it to towers in a high clearance 4WD barring there is no more snow added. Keep in mind if you cannot make it, there is not much room to turn around anywhere. I was able to turn around in my 4DR Tacoma where we stopped, but it took some creative maneuvering. | Pappy |
| 2007-06-15 | The road is clear of all snow the entire way to the top. We slept at 11,000 feet at the camping spots past the radio towers. Also, snow is no longer a problem on the main trail up Princeton. | skier25 |
| 2007-05-24 | Drove about 1/3 of the way up the road today (5/24/2007) and it was very slick due to recent snow. Be careful, it might still be that way on Memorial Day weekend. | billmiddlebrook |
| 2007-05-12 | Drove past the radiotowers about 1/3 mile and parked at the 11,000 ft mark. There are still very larger snow banks on the road above that point and are not passible by any vehicle yet. The snow is melting quickly however. | KirkT |
| 2007-05-06 | Completely free of snow up to the radio towers. Some snow banks after that. I was able to get up and over one of them in my wrangler. That was right above 11,000 ft. | Mad Mike |
| 2006-05-22 | The road is clear and dry to well above the towers, no snow until 11,500'. where a drift reduces the road width to about 3'. | chicago transplant |
| 2006-04-25 | Drivable to about 1/4 past the Radio Towers. Go get it | killingcokes |
| 2006-03-06 | Road is open and passable in (imported) 4WD vehicles all the way to the towers. Some snowy and icy spots, so got to be really careful for sure. If hiking the road snowhoes are not needed (unless there is another storm). | devotchkatata |
| 2005-08-25 | The Mt. Princeton road is in amazing condition as of 8/22/05. There is one large washout at the 2nd hairpin turn past the radio towers but otherwise no problem. My Hyundai Santa Fe rental car was loafing all the way. | contour900 |
| 2005-07-18 | The Mt. Princeton road was no problem for my stock x-terra. I was able to drive without any problem all the way to the end of the road at the Bristlecone Pine Chalet | Cruiser |
| 2005-05-20 | I drove up to the radio towers the other day at 10,800 feet. This was in a moderate clearance AWD vehicle. There was actually a couple of spots where I could possibly imagine being able to get stuck spinning with only 2WD, but my guess is most vehicles will make it. Shortly beyond the towers there were several snowdrifts that would have made continuing any further impossible unless you are driving a snowplow or something. :) | joshk |
| 2005-02-18 | The Mt. Princeton Road is closed in winter. In late spring it may be partially open. It usually opens to high-altitude in late May. When open, 4WD is recommended. | BillMiddlebrook |
| Location: | Sawatch Range |
| 14ers Served: | Mt. Princeton |
| Road Type: | 2WD dirt to the lower TH. 4WD access to 12,000'. |
| Winter Access: | Closed at the lower TH. |
| Directions: | From Buena Vista: From the center of town, drive west on the County Road (CR) 306 for 0.7 miles. Turn left on CR 321 and continue south for 7.2 miles. Turn right onto CR 322 at a large sign.
From South of Buena Vista: Over 5 miles south of the U.S. 285 / 24 junction, turn west on County Road 162 in the town of Nathrop. Drive over 4 miles to a junction. Turn right on CR 321. After 1.2 miles, turn left on CR 322.
On CR 322, drive 0.8 miles to a fork in the road. Bear right into the Mt. Princeton trailhead. This trailhead is at 8,900' and there is a large parking area. If you have a good clearance 4WD, you can continue up the narrow 322 (Mt. Princeton) road. Just after the lower parking area, there is a fork in the road - stay right on the main road. Drive 3 miles to the radio towers at 10,800'. There is parking here for a couple of vehicles or turn left and continue on the 322A road. Between 3.2 and 3.4 miles up the Princeton road, there are some small camping spots near 11,000' - with some parking. The road gets worse after the camping spots and there is very limited parking above this point. Calculate Driving Time from your Address | Trailheads on Google Maps |
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