8/23/2006 Posted On: 8/23/2006 By: Tommy Dorr Info: Ready for this? My 1985 Subaru Wagon GL made it to the TOP of the South Colony Lakes Road. I would not recommend attempting a feat like this. I just wanted to show that it could be done. BTW the new road improvements are amazing for the first couple miles. | ||||
7/11/2006 Posted On: 7/11/2006 By: philbucher Info: The road "improvement" work on the lower section of road up to South Colony Lakes has been completed. It looks like they worked some sections of the lower 2.5 miles, primarily to add drainage sluce cut-offs. 4WD vehicles can easily (but slowly) navigate the first 2.5 miles (approximately half way to the upper trail head). After that point there are a number of really "interesting" sections which will challenge the best 4WD drivers. (Big rocks mixed with deep pockets.) We did see four cars at the upper trailhead, so we know it is possible for some. Two were very short/high Jeep "CJ" versions. One was a pickup and (surprisingly), one was a newer Jeep Cherokee. Being cautious, we parked near the first big chasm in the road - at 2.5 miles. From there we needed 70 minutes to walk to the upper trailhead. But since even the most adventurous driver would still need ~30 minutes to drive it, we really added very little to the total trip time. The road is plenty wide everywhere, but some of the rocks, dips and mud pockets would dictate the use of a truck with skid plates and a short wheelbase. | ||||
6/24/2006 Posted On: 6/24/2006 By: mpa Info: We arrived at this trailhead on 6-23-2006 and discovered that the Road Construction closure date has been extended to June 30, 2006. The road is still open to hiking, but not vehicles; thus you'll have to hike the road for apprx. 5.5 miles to the TH. The F.S. Office in Westcliffe also told us that there is a proposal to close this road permanently. Just FYI | ||||
6/19/2006 Posted On: 6/19/2006 By: GoHigher Info: Road was in rough shape 6/17 in AM, worse in PM. Road repair was halted for the weekend. The right vehicles could make it to the gate. Only short wheelbase, high clearance vehicles should attempt this road. Those that made it said their vehicle took some very hard hits on the way up. Both creek crossings were quite shallow and had rocky bottoms. Vehicle coming up Saturday basically destroyed what was left of the road. ATV's and dirt bikes are the way to go here. | ||||
6/6/2006 Posted On: 6/6/2006 By: GoHigher Info: June 12th - 23rd road work closing South Colony Rd. | ||||
6/1/2006 Posted On: 6/1/2006 By: nickonov Info: The road is free os snow all the way to the gate. It's still strictly a 4WD road. | ||||
5/21/2006 Posted On: 5/21/2006 By: Jcwhite Info: 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. | ||||
4/23/2006 Posted On: 4/23/2006 By: Nathan Hale Info: As of 4/22/06, the road is passable to about .25-.5 miles before the first creek crossing right around 10,000 feet. After that, there is deep (and very soft) snow that no one has yet managed to make it past. This spot is about 2.5 miles from the 2wd trailhead. The snow is melting very fast, up there, so it will only be another month or so before this is completely melted out. | ||||
8/29/2005 Posted On: 8/29/2005 By: Judge K Info: I would agree, to an extent, that the trail is overrated...it is NOTHING like Lake Como. We made it to the top in 2 Ford Escapes. There were a couple of times the vehicles were on three wheels, but otherwise no problems. Up and back each took about two hours. The only problems we had was a varmint ate through some wires in the engine, so we had to utilize some McGyver ingenuity to start it. | ||||
8/23/2005 Posted On: 8/23/2005 By: ryans Info: This road is overrated. I agree it is a true 4x4 road, very rocky and long, but there are only a handful of sections that require care to navigate through. I have a 2001 stock Jeep Cherokee Sport and my buddy has a 1997 Pathfinder and we had no problems reaching the gate. My Jeep was loaded with 3 adults and stuffed with gear and we maybe touched one or two skid plates on the way up at most. None coming down. At the top there were many vehicles including Tacomas, Xterras, Jeeps and pickups. Most SUVs with decent clearance and 4x4 Low should not have a problem getting to the top. It took about 1.75 hours to reach the gate. Plenty of great campsites just beyond the gate. We camped out about a hundred yards from the parking area. | ||||
7/13/2005 Posted On: 7/13/2005 By: Mtnhiker Info: If you care about your car...you won't drive this road!! We took our trail rated Jeep renegade up most of the way but it took us a very long time. My driver was excellent, we has no damage to our car but we would not do it again. We saw oil dipping all along the road and several car parts on our hike up. All the cars at the top were old beaters and had lots of damage (side rails were basically destroyed!) Borrow someones ATV or old beater 4wd if you want to drive this road. | ||||
6/28/2005 Posted On: 6/28/2005 By: Tommy Dorr Info: This road has been a little overrated. Granted, it is a true 4x4 road but it's doable with only 4x4 hi and a bit of clearance... if you can drive. I went up in a 2000 stock Grand Cherokee and wasn't even challenged. At the top, we saw a mid 90's stock Ford Ranger. I have an 85 Subaru 4x4hi/4x4low that I'm gonna try next time. | ||||
6/13/2005 Posted On: 6/13/2005 By: jeffkoski Info: Made it to the second river crossing (almost to the main trailhead) this weekend in a stock 97 4runner. No damage to the truck but it was driven well by my buddy Don. |
