6/20/2026 Posted On: 6/25/2026 By: cfoster Info: Drove to the upper trailhead in a stock tacoma trdor, pretty rocky in a few areas that will make it a little tougher for any Subarus etc, but tacoma did fine. The trailhead was full when I got back with other tacomas, 4runners, jeeps, trucks, and SxS. Pictures are not of the worst spots. Afterwards I drove cinnamon pass down to Silverton. | 1 |
2 |
1 |
|
5/16/2026 Posted On: 5/17/2026 By: lrswanback Info: Road is open from Lake City up to Lower TH (just past the turn off onto CR 12). Deep snow plug prevents any cars from going to the upper TH. The road was mainly dry, with a few stream crossings and mud puddles. With a lot of rain it would be quite muddy in sections. 2WD cars can make it to Silver Creek TH. You need relatively high clearance 4WD to make it to either of the American Basin THs. There was a Jeep Cherokee at the American Basin TH and that was suprising (it could have come from the Silverton side as cinnamon pass is open). 4Runners or trucks will make it with little issue if you are confident in off-roading. | ||||
9/11/2025 Posted On: 9/11/2025 By: kottisha Info: what a fantastic mountain, and what a BAD BAD BAD road to upper TH... :-( 4x4 with HIGH clearance is needed. We did it in RAM, but I did not like it | 2 |
|||
8/31/2025 Posted On: 8/31/2025 By: LetsGoMets Info: Saw 4 Subarus at the upper parking lot. At least from the Lake City side it’s Subaru-able with care. Water crossing is pretty low. | 1 |
|||
8/31/2025 Posted On: 8/31/2025 By: Mesquandolas Info: Drove up on 8/31 in my Subaru Crosstrek. Road gets worse once you pass Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch TH. Gets worse again past the lower TH. Made it to the upper lot and saw a few other crosstreks there. Tbh coming up and down that last stretch sucked and if I did it again, I’d park in the lower TH and walk the 1/2 mile up. AWD and clearance were helpful, but didn’t need 4WD. | 1 |
|||
8/5/2025 Posted On: 8/5/2025 By: van 1 Info: -- so rough with our 2011 Tacoma that we (in our 60's) were tired before we commenced Handies "straight-up" trek. Most of the gravel must have washed off the road, exposing rocks sticking out everywhere. | ||||
6/22/2025 Posted On: 6/22/2025 By: CODave Info: Summer conditions | ||||
6/7/2025 Posted On: 6/7/2025 By: MountainBuhn Info: Huge snow slab right after creek. Going to need a week or two to melt this down. | 2 |
|||
6/4/2025 Posted On: 6/6/2025 By: yardman Info: The road to the actual trailhead remains pretty choked with snow. A few cars can park in the small pullout immediately past the creek crossing. | ||||
5/30/2025 Posted On: 5/30/2025 By: Youngan Info: American Basin road open off of cinnamon pass until 50ft past the stream crossing where snow is covering the rest of the road in American Basin. Made it up to the stream crossing in a RAV4. | 2 |
|||
5/21/2025 Posted On: 5/21/2025 By: BillMiddlebrook Info: The Cinnamon Pass road is open to Cinnamon Pass but the spur road into American Basin is not yet open. This means you can now get within a mile of the trailhead. | 4 |
|||
7/27/2024 Posted On: 7/29/2024 By: E_A_Marcus_949 Info: After Grizzly Gulch/Silver Creek it gets rougher. Any vehicle with some clearance can make it to the second creek crossing. There is plenty of parking there. I took my stock 2018 Subaru Forester up to the upper American Basin TH. I think a 3/6 rating is accurate, and you should have some offroad skills to drive past that second creek crossing. There are some sharp rocks and some spots that require careful maneuvering. I saw an Outback at the TH + the usual 4Runners, trucks, jeeps. It took about 40min from Grizzly Gulch to reach AB TH and about 90min back to Lake City. | ||||
7/22/2024 Posted On: 7/23/2024 By: Khieras Info: From Lake City to the start of the shelf road is smooth, easy, high-speed dirt. The shelf road through the Grizzly Gulch/Silver Creek trailhead is rough 2WD, but almost any car should make it without difficulty and without any real skill needed. From the Grizzly Gulch trailhead to the creek crossing just beyond the Cinnamon Pass turnoff my stock Forester made it, though slowly, with the only real challenge being a drop in the road about 1/2 mile in. Any 4WD/AWD should make it with a basic skill level. Didn't drive to the upper trailhead but it did not seem too bad, though you definitely need more skill or great clearance. | 1 |
|||
7/12/2024 Posted On: 7/13/2024 By: overthe59hill Info: I drove our Nissan Frontier pickup the day before our hike up Handies Peak to get a preview of the road. I got to the top trailhead with 4-low, but didn't like one short, rocky stretch. We encountered another truck coming up on our way down. I did not get to take the line I preferred and went a little to the right to make room, and heard our truck hit a rock. It's okay, no damage done (we don't have a skid plate). The muffler and everything else is okay, but I didn't want that to happen again, and I decided to park at the lower trailhead the next morning. A regular 4WD can get to the lower trailhead. | ||||
7/7/2024 Posted On: 2/12/2025 By: BillMiddlebrook Info: Road is dry and in summer conditions. The upper stream crossing (~0.7 below trailhead) is manageable for most AWD/4WD vehicles and there's parking just after it, before the road gets much worse. | 1 |
2 |
