West Willow Creek Trailhead

Posted On: 7/20/2026 By: Chrishausner
Info: Has anyone been up to the the trailhead recently or know the conditions? I attempted to do so in May but there was a sketchy half frozen creek we couldn't see the depth. I am going back around august 10th and can do the southern or norther approach for San Luis, and would prefer the southern if the trailhead its accessible as it saves me 2 miles and drive time. I have a 4runner with 4 wheel drive, any insights would be appreciated!

Posted On: 7/8/2026 By: dwoodward13
Info: Per the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office FB page, the Bachelor Gulch loop is now a one way loop due to construction near the Commodore mine. Drivers will need to ascend the 504 road, then descend the 503 road. Date on one of the plans has construction going thru September but unknown if the road will remain one way until then.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15yDKNvNFvN/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Posted On: 7/2/2026 By: josephsiefers
Info: I had a standard clearance Jeep Compass (not the Trailhawk) and parked at Equity Mine as the road got much worse after that point. Take CR 504 as it's a 2WD dirt road and much easier than 503. After the junction where 504 rejoins 503, it gets more rough and some clearance is required, I would not have felt comfortable doing one or two sections in a car.

About 3-4 great campsites about 1 mile before Equity mine.

Posted On: 6/23/2026 By: Bsaw
Info: I have a RAV4 with AWD and 8.4 inches of clearance. Most of my driving experience is in FL so if you're also feeling doubtful about making it to the 4WD, this might inspire confidence. For me, there were just two tricky spots. One near the beginning and a wide angled turn that goes into a switchback towards the end. I only panicked a few times. Driving in the daylight helped me feel more confident to do it in the dark the day we hiked. The creek crossings are low and manageable with the deepest one being about 9 inches. The road is narrow and I chose to hug some willows when I picked my line in a couple spots. So, I collected some scratches but expecting them to wash off or buff out.

Posted On: 6/10/2026 By: parker-goes-outside
Info: Made it to 4wd trailhead no problem. Couple water crossings and typical rough road, not an issue with clearance. Here is my drive track https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=13.2/-106.9365/37.9380&pubLink=ztRLLtOflQctjn7pYRl97SUj&folderId=78fe33c1-7438-4e9e-b7cc-6d5c29b1e135

Posted On: 5/31/2026 By: katarinaa452
Info: Drove to the upper 4WD trailhead via West Willow Creek Road. The road is in good shape overall- recommend good clearance 4x4 past the Equity Mine as you turn left up the road. A few creek crossings are flowing, with the final and largest crossing (approximately 15–20 feet wide) carrying around 6 inches of water at its deepest point. It was easily passable in a high-clearance 4WD vehicle.

Posted On: 5/17/2026 By: chris75025
Info: Was just up there at 5AM, May 17. 4WD road from Equity Mine appeared open. However we hit a decision at 37.941216, -106.962489, where the road crosses Willow Creek (flowing from L-R going in). The Creek crossing looked about 15-20ft wide, but we had no idea how deep it was with snow melt (4in - 2ft?). It was still kind of dark and hard to see through ice crust on the water. Given Mountain Forecast for the day and our physical condition from previous hikes (long story), it was enough to turn us around. It would have helped to have water proof boots and a stick. :-)

Posted On: 5/11/2026 By: Marsh
Info: FS Road 503 still closed for mud season at 503/504 junction (37.90715, -106.95539). Summer conditions to there. I called the forest service (719-657-3321), they said it was scheduled to open May 15, 2026.

Posted On: 4/27/2026 By: CraigE
Info: There's a Road Closed barrier on Willow Creek Road right after the 503/504 junction, nearly 4 miles below the 4WD trailhead. I didn’t see the barrier on my way up, so I think it was new today (April 25th). But maybe I just missed it. It was knocked over, and I didn’t set it back up : )

I drove a little way past Equity Mine this morning, and I parked about 1.3 miles short of the 4WD trailhead because I wasn’t sure about the icy creek crossings near the end of the road. But the road was passable — there was a full-size SUV parked all the way up at the 4WD trailhead.

Posted On: 1/11/2026 By: backcountrybrodes
Info: Me and CaptainSuburbia attempted a San Luis winter climb and were able to drive 1 mile of the West Willow Creek Rd from the Bachelor Rd/Willow Creek junction (i.e. FR 503/504) before getting stopped by snow and ice. There were no (safe) turn arounds, so we had to reverse down the entire road at the end of the day which took half an hour. Guessing we cut off about 2 miles total both ways, so was it really worth it? You get to decide haha

Posted On: 10/6/2025 By: txrambler
Info: Yep, Subaruable to 4WD TH. Made it just fine in my stock CT.

Posted On: 9/4/2025 By: sethsawant
Info: Made it without much issue to the 4WD TH in a stock height Crosstrek with light AT tires and skids. As the other comments suggest, the first section forking from the 2WD TH is definitely the roughest but was not a problem going up or down with X mode enabled and taking it relatively slow, no spotting or anything required and no scraping. A couple of stream crossings later but the water levels are low enough that these are a non issue.

Posted On: 8/24/2025 By: TommyF
Info: Drove to the 4W trailhead on 8/23. Two door Jeep Willys Wheeler, 2 inch lift, 33 inch tires. Took Bachelor Loop Road (504) to 503. 504 is in great shape. A few uphill sections with slight wash boarding. Fine for any vehicle. Once you make the left onto 503 to the 2W trailhead, a bit rougher, but nothing a passenger car would have trouble with.

The first 1/8 mile or so once you make the left onto the rest of 503 to the 4W tailhead was probably the worst. Pretty rough and rocky (loose), a few deep potholes, and a few pretty deep woops perpendicular to the direction of travel. Vehicles with low approach and departure angles would probably scrape. Past that section, any AWD/4WD vehicle with decent clearance - 8 to 10 inches probably wouldn't have a problem, The rest of the road had a few deep potholes/puddles/rough. There were a handful of full size pickups and a four runner at the 4W trailhead. Honestly, it looked worse driving up in the dark than it did coming back down in daylight. As a comparison, South Colony Lakes was in worse shape when I drove that last fall.

I wanted to get some pics of the 4W road on the way down, but was trying to get back down prior to the afternoon thunderstorms rolling in.

Posted On: 8/21/2025 By: Neil14707
Info: After talking with 3 separate people on San Luis Peak on 8/21/25 about how awful the lower section of W Willow Creek Rd (503) was, I figured I’d post an update here. Both myself (in a Mazda CX-5) and another group (in a Jeep) were turned around at about 9500’ on 503 due to some pretty large ruts on the steepest section. After talking to someone in Creede, I drove up Bachelor Rd (504) with no issues whatsoever. 504 was incredibly smooth the entire way up. Once 504 intersects 503, I had no issues up 503 to the 2WD TH. I’m glad I left the Mazda at the 2WD TH, there were a few rutted sections on the 4WD road that I don’t think it could make it past. At the 2WD TH: Mazda CX-5, Kia Telluride, and a Volvo. At the 4WD TH: A few trucks, a 4Runner, and the same Jeep that couldn’t make it up the “2WD” section of 503!

Posted On: 6/14/2025 By: MidsizeAl
Info: Got the ol’ outback up to the 4WD TH with no issues. There is a large puddle that reached the bottom of the doors, so recommend having enough clearance for that.