Route Description

To get to the Lake Como road, take the Colorado 150 road off of the Colorado 160 road east of Alamosa. Colorado 150 goes north towards the Great Sand Dunes. Drive over 3 miles and turn right onto Lake Como road (dirt). There is a small parking/turnaround area at the beginning of the road. The type of vehicle you are driving up Lake Como road will determine how high you can park. Most cars and trucks have to park between 1.5 and 2 miles up Lake Como road before the road turns nasty. If you have a very high clearance (and small) 4WD vehicle, you can drive higher - maybe even up to 11,000' or more. An ATV or heavily-modified jeep can go to Lake Como. Total distance from a parking spot near 8,000' to Lake Como is approximately 5.25 miles.

Details:

From the start of the Lake Como road (Photo #1), 2WD vehicles can drive up to a mile before it gets too rocky. When it gets too rough for your car, there are places to park along the lower road. 4WD vehicles can continue to approximately 10,200' (over 3 miles from the start of the road) where the road starts to get too rough for most 4WD vehicles.

Only modified 4WD vehicles should attempt to drive higher. Here are some photos of the rough sections of this infamous road: Photo #2, Photo #3, Photo #4, Photo #5, Photo #6

Once above 11,400', the road traverses along a rocky slope on the north side of the drainage from Lake Como - Photo #7. Drop down along some angled slabs (Photo #8) to reach Lake Como at 11,750' - Photo #9, Photo #10, Photo #11. Most people camp south of the lake or farther east along the trail. Photo #12 and Photo #13 are views of the terrain above Lake Como.