Baldwin Gulch Trailhead

Posted On: 8/13/2024 By: bigfoot1
Info: Dirt portion of the road is perfect and only like 2 miles! This is how all dirt roads should be. Plenty of parking along the side of the road before 7am and at noon. Saw a lot of cars driving up 277 and 278 as I was heading down, and saw an ATV at the top lot at (38.668445, -106.248126). Also saw a car parked at the highest trailhead for Mt White. Pictures attached show a bunch of cars parked at the various trailheads.

Posted On: 8/12/2024 By: R7777777
Info: This might be one of the worse roads I have driven on. I would not recommend going on this road without a Jeep or some 4x4 car with high clearance. The road is also narrow which makes it hard if vehicles are coming the other way. The road is not just rocks but big boulders. There are tons of camp sites after the big creek pass at around 10,800. And the campsites go all the way up to around 11,800.

Posted On: 7/13/2024 By: Patrickk
Info: Drove this road to 13,400 in a stock Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road. The first mile and the road above 13,400 are the worst parts. Really have to watch your lines on this road. I only saw trucks, jeeps and atvs above the 2wd trailhead. Lots of sharp rocks so I'd have good AT tires. Took about 2 hours up and 1.5 down.

Posted On: 6/27/2024 By: Dbrink
Info: Drove a tacoma up to 12,743 at which point you can park 4-5 vehicles at that switchback. Saw a stock 4runner and tacoma up there as well. There is a snow bank covering the road after this.

No point in going much further because as someone else noted there's a boulder at 12,969 (38.66539, -106.25447). Photo #2. If it weren't for the boulder you could park at the large parking area at 13,095.

Posted On: 10/10/2023 By: Jajohnson11
Info: Snow blocking the road at the top of the switchbacks right around 13k. There is parking for 2-3 vehicles at the switchback at 12600. Parking for maybe 5-6 vehicles at the top of the switchbacks at 12800. Made it easily in a stock ranger tremor aired down. The worst of the road is before Baldwin gulch imo.

Posted On: 9/5/2023 By: Ed_Groves
Info: I drove a stock 2022 Toyota Tacoma V6 4wd to approximately 10,900 feet just beyond the creek, and I could have driven higher but I wanted the elevation gain for the hike. The road was rough with rocks that could damage the bottom of a vehicle. I made it up and down without incident. The road is very narrow in most places and I met one 4Runner and a few 4 wheelers on the way down. Fortunately, I was in areas where we could maneuver around one another. The road does keep one on your toes for sure. I have 9.4 inches of ground clearance and I don't think I would want any less for this road.

Posted On: 8/7/2023 By: Bob Mitchell
Info: Went up to about 12,000 ft. in my 2017 stock Tacoma. Went slow and it was fine. The road was very busy but everyone on it was very respectful and made it easy to get up and down!

Posted On: 8/21/2023 By: ochres
Info: Made it up the 4WD road to ~11200ft in a stock 4Runner with AT tires. Took 1hr up and 1hr down. Road is in good shape and could've made up to 12000 or higher, just wanted to get at least 3000ft of gain in. Was surprised to see a Rav4 parked before the stream crossing. Not sure I'd feel comfortable driving in low clearance vehicle--guessing they probably scraped a little on the way down. We didn't run into anyone on the way up but ran into quite a few vehicles on our way back down. There are a few narrow spots but no terrifying shelf roads with sheer drops offs like the road to Lead King Basin from Marble. Easier drive than South Colony Lakes or Nellie Creek imo. No significant obstacles, just a couple shallow stream crossings and A LOT of bumpy rocks. Dramamine recommended for passengers unless you're able to air down. :)

Posted On: 7/14/2023 By: Shaller13
Info: Reached the end of the road up above the 2nd set of switchbacks in my stock Jeep Cherokee. Took me 2 hours going up and a bit under 2 hours going down. Similar times to one of the previous conditions report

The 4x4 road is not the worse road of what I have done in terms of technicality(climbing rocks, clearance issues, etc) but it's not an easy road by any means. I would say Nellie creek was the hardest of the 14er 4x4 roads I have done so far but Mt. Antero was more difficult mentally and trail wise over Mt. Princeton, South Colony and the other few.

Low gear range is a must(unless you like to cook transmissions) high clearance is highly recommended. If your vehicle has a similar cooling system like my XJ then make sure that is all in working condition.

Road is in summer conditions. No mining work was being performed where I parked

Posted On: 7/10/2023 By: burnhamc
Info: Trail is in good shape, can be driven to the top around 13,500'

Posted On: 7/16/2023 By: ZooDude
Info: Took my stock Chevy Colorado 4x4 to 12,000 feet. Some nice campgrounds down a small valley to the right you get to 12k, that's where we camped for the night. Took about an hour and I tell you what, it took my truck to the limit. Had a couple of minor scrapes here and there, but this is a legit class 4 and is no joke for non lifted trucks/Jeeps. Totally worth it in the end as hiking up that road would have been super painful....

Posted On: 6/24/2023 By: GaryBroome6
Info: Think my wallet fell out of my car on the 2WD trailhead road. Please reach out if you find it. Thank you!

Posted On: 6/21/2023 By: angry
Info: Parked at 12k in a stock Tacoma. There is road work happening above this point and a large cat truck excavator that will be there for the next 3 weeks according to the operator I talked to. Wouldnt recommend trying to go higher because you cant get past the cat and there isnt anywhere to turn around.

Posted On: 6/17/2023 By: LetsGoMets
Info: At least to the 277/278 split its normal high clearance 4x4. Clear of snow all the way. Creek crossing at the split is manageable if you continue on 278 (to Antero). 277 (towards Mamma) is free of snow for a couple miles.

Posted On: 6/18/2023 By: trek_with_jess
Info: Was able to get to 11,800 in a lifted wrangler before blocked by snow. Road is bumpy but no major obstacles. Note that one of the stream crossings is running pretty high and fast right now. As long as you've got decent clearance and 4wd, you should be fine.