8/21/2024 Posted On: 8/24/2024 By: Ed_Groves Info: I arrived at the 4wd trailhead on Saturday, August 17th and departed on the 21st. The road is labeled by this website as a 4 out of 6 on difficulty and that is accurate. I drove a 4wd Tacoma 6 cylinder and had no issues with scraping except for one moment of inattention. I had to take a couple of lines where branches probably scratched my truck slightly. On my descent, I went over one hump and couldn't see what was in front of me for a couple of seconds and I didn't see a big rock which I scraped. Normally with a lack of visibility I would stop and look, but I was in a hurry. It did not damage my truck. Don't get in a hurry! The big puddle right before the trailhead was deep but relatively smooth underneath the water. Personally, I wouldn't take this road in a 2wd or AWD vehicle although I did see one AWD at the trailhead. | ||||
8/17/2024 Posted On: 8/18/2024 By: Castillj Info: The road past the 2WD parking area is total garbage. One of the roughest roads I have been on and Ive been on a lot. That didnt stop people from driving up as the upper parking area was totally full with stock cars and trucks. Walking down I saw two stock full size pickups damage their rims and tires. On the way up I saw a Tesla about half way up and that was as far as it made it. If you dont care about your vehicle go ahead and send it. Ill walk it and save myself the repair costs. | ||||
8/14/2024 Posted On: 8/22/2024 By: Thighs Info: While I made it up in my Subaru Outback in 2022, this year it is not Subaruable. Father in law drove up in stock RAM 1500 and still scraped a few times. The august rains have not treated this trailhead road well. Did not get pics due to helping navigate but there are a few big bumps and deep, deep ruts present. 4Lo was a must. | ||||
7/28/2024 Posted On: 7/30/2024 By: colin j Info: I reached the upper trailhead with a stock Silverado 1500 LT. I did air down and used 4 low on the way down to save my brakes but I don't think this is required. I would be hesitant to take anything with a longer wheelbase up as there are a couple spots with exposed boulders and ruts around sharp turns which would be challenging. I did arrive on Saturday evening around 7:30 pm and took the last parking spot at the upper trailhead; it seems like parking is usually full on weekends. | ||||
7/20/2024 Posted On: 7/21/2024 By: MaryinColorado Info: I drove it a few weeks ago and then again yesterday (to the Rainbow TH, though). Seems like one of the washouts is deeper than it was a few weeks ago because I was a bit surprised when we came to it. I would never drive this with less than 9" clearance, just not worth the risk even if you think you're an amazing off-road driver. Can be easy to take a hit unless you're driving insanely slow to the point where hiking the road would be faster. ;) | ||||
7/6/2024 Posted On: 7/6/2024 By: Carsonj20 Info: Made it to the upper trailhead in a 2021 grand Cherokee trailhawk in off-road 1 and 4 auto the whole time. Other vehicles at the summit include new ford ranger, old ford ranger, several stock half ton pickups, Honda ridgeline, suburban, old ford escape, and yes, the 4 runners with their little ladders and traction boards parking people in. Its not hard, but you have to have some experience. I have seen some say you can tell early if you can do it or not but the obstacles get more difficult as you go on. | ||||
6/23/2024 Posted On: 6/24/2024 By: tlgold1990 Info: Worse than previous years but still manageable in stock vehicles with some clearance. The "obstacles" have been washed out more so the dips are deeper, leaving more room to scrape or hit a bumper. Lots of trucks, jeeps and 4runners at the TH. Did see a subaru forester but I feel that was super risky. They even pulled over to let me pass on the way down. They really had to take their time picking lines. | 1 |
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6/22/2024 Posted On: 6/22/2024 By: MaryinColorado Info: Road to upper TH seems a tad worse than last year. Real rough spots requiring decent clearance. Would NOT recommend doing it in a Subi or any car you value that doesn't have really good clearance. | 3 |
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6/15/2024 Posted On: 6/15/2024 By: backcountrybrodes Info: Lots of 4Runners (including mine), Subies, and Tacos up there. Hardest features I came across were: deepish pond crossing a few hundred feet from the trailhead (keep momentum), mandatory chunk-and-hope sections with good line choice and clearance required if you like your car. Subies can get up, just depends on the driver... and again on how much you like your car. | 3 |
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5/22/2024 Posted On: 5/23/2024 By: jmanner Info: Drove to the upper trailhead, its rough as always but better than when I drove it a handfull of times pre-Covid. Subaru Ascent didnt struggle on the up, but on the way down we scratched the bottom a few times. | ||||
4/24/2024 Posted On: 4/24/2024 By: MBosch27 Info: Made it about a mile past the winter parking area, modified Rav4: 11" clearance, 31" tires, no winch. With winch I could have made it about a mile and a half. (just past the "private land, no parking, no camping" stretch of road- I'm GUESTIMATING a mile and a half) The first half of the road up to the summer trailhead is mostly clear with some snow patches. The second half is mostly snowed in with a few spots of dirt showing. I estimate the snow depth at the summer parking lot to be around 24" (varied depending on where I placed my probe) | 1 |
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3/24/2024 Posted On: 3/24/2024 By: AlpineSplit Info: All vehicles will need to park at the 2WD trailhead. Snow is continuous all the way to the upper 4WD trailhead. | 1 |
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12/31/2023 Posted On: 1/1/2024 By: masonzastrow Info: For the 4WD trailhead, there's no closed gate, tire tracks go beyond the intersection with Rainbow Trail. 2WD trailhead is clear to the lot. | ||||
9/11/2023 Posted On: 9/11/2023 By: davebelin Info: This road is definitely quite rough, as others have noted. I did it this weekend in my stock Subaru Outback with no issues. X Mode going up and down was critical to the success. There were four or five steep, loose sections that tested my vehicle and nerves to the limit, but we made it. Onward! | 1 |
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9/6/2023 Posted On: 9/6/2023 By: Jack2 Info: Made it to the 4WD trailhead with my stock Subaru Crosstrek. I probably added a couple more scrapes and tears to my bumper, but I am long past caring about that. If cosmetics on your car is a concern you have for your vehicle I would not recommend going up without high clearance. Otherwise, the road is definitely Subaruable | 3 |
