Nellie Creek Trailhead

Posted On: 10/6/2025 By: HokieTom
Info: I had a planned summit of Uncompahgre Peak for Sunday September 28. I was not sure about the condition of the Nellie Creek road, because I was seeing various opinions on how good or bad the road was. On Saturday September 27, I decided to walk 2 miles up the road past the first creek crossing and I thought that my Toyota RAV-4 could make it.

I was able to make it in AWD Trailmode in 1st gear with no problems 2 turns past the first creek crossing. The upper portion was actually better, except for one spot after the 2nd creek crossing that looked rough. So, I think I could have made it all the way.

I spoke to a few folks driving down from the upper trailhead and they all agreed that I could make it.

So, imho, if you have the skill and have done rough roads before, and have a AWD vehicle, this should be relatively stress free.

I am glad I only drove what I ended up walking. I had 2 miles of easy road walking to the upper trailhead with fantastic, aspen popping views on the way down.

Posted On: 9/11/2025 By: kottisha
Info: The road is now manageable with any 4x4. But I would not go with AWD and low clearance. We did it in RAM. It was not scary at all like on last year's reports.

Posted On: 9/11/2025 By: tetleyd
Info: Generally agree with the previous post. Two low spots, and if you do not have high clearance you may be in trouble. But no problem in a stock F150. My travel was on 9/9 and 9/10.

Posted On: 9/3/2025 By: Kiefer
Info: Since I've only ever been up here once (in winter), I have no basis on how much improved the road is. But the people I was with said the road is MAGNITUDES better than what it was.
Recent rains have turned the road into a mud-fest. Be careful on the switchbacks. I was sliding everywhere.

Posted On: 8/25/2025 By: IHikeLikeAGirl
Info: Definite improvement from last summer, but don't go crazy. Drove a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk up and hit one of the high roller bumps fairly hard when I came in hot...didn't see it.... No damage, as far as I know. Outhouse is still boarded up. Back door was open, but that is where the sewage holding bin is and some people decided it was also a good place to leave their trash. Most (if not all) nearby trees had TP strewn about. Some trees had more than just TP...gross. I hope the forest service gets the resources to fix the outhouse before the area gets much worse. I also hope more people pack their TP and trash out or dig a proper cat hole. Such a beautiful area, let's keep it that way.

Posted On: 8/20/2025 By: OldDude
Info: I drove my Subaru Outback to the upper TH on the evening of Aug 8th for next morning summit. I was the only "sedan" among trucks and jeeps. It's still a tough drive and I did bottom out several times on the roller bumps. I have metal skid plates and highly recommend them if you have similar type vehicle. There were 4-5 stream crossings of which none was an issue. Coming down took 40 minutes to do the 4 miles.

Posted On: 8/21/2025 By: Neil14707
Info: Drove a Mazda CX-5 up to the upper trailhead on 8/19/25 based on the 8/7/25 update from travisspear. Bottomed out ~3 times on the “speed bumps”, and the two creek crossings were no issue. There were a few trucks, a 4Runner, and a Mercedes sprinter van up at the top.

Posted On: 8/16/2025 By: Mark Goldstein
Info: The road conditions are in full summer swing to the upper trailhead. A couple of ruts, but manageable by high clearance vehicles. Some Subaru's made it up too! A lot of side-by-sides on the trail. The stream/water crossings were benign. The outhouse was nailed closed. Bummer. The overall road has been improved over the year. Thank you!!!

Posted On: 8/13/2025 By: sherby
Info: Made it with a OWB, lower clearance cars made it too, but I wouldn't recommend.

Posted On: 8/7/2025 By: travisspear
Info: Most AWD crossovers can do this road in its current condition. There were Subarus, rav4s, CX5s, and CRVs all present at the upper trailhead or camping close to it.
Both water crossings were at most 6 inches deep and there weren't any unavoidable large rocks or ruts that would block progress.
Compared to other roads in the area, this one was easier than the road to the 2WD Matterhorn Creek trailhead (10,300') and only slightly more challenging than silver creek/grizzly gulch - all driven early August 2025.

Posted On: 7/31/2025 By: paigemoney
Info: July 13/14 post-construction update – My first time on this road, and WOW, it is PHENOMENAL. (I drive a Wrangler.) Easily the smoothest 4WD road I’ve driven in Colorado.

A couple of things worth noting: the creek crossings and subsequent sharp turns are exactly as pictured and described by others. There are some large bumps—like exaggerated speed bumps with a lot of up-and-down motion. Clearance would still be helpful, I think. I never had to pick a line; the road was truly amazing.

The biggest issue on this road is passing. There are pull-offs, but you’ll need to be prepared to back up to let others by. On Sunday at 3:30 p.m., there was still quite a bit of traffic coming down. There was still decent side-by-side traffic leaving Monday mid-morning. The hardest part was passing full-sized pickup trucks, but fortunately everyone was kind and did their best to move over.

Posted On: 7/12/2025 By: Flips
Info: The maintenance on the road has improved the drivability immensely. We joked wondering when they were going to paint the center stripe.

Posted On: 6/23/2025 By: tdc001
Info: Updated info from the Hinsdale County Administrator: Nellie Creek Road 877, off of CR 20 in Hinsdale County, will be closed weekdays for road maintenance from June 23 through July 10th. Hinsdale County Road Crews, under agreement with the USFS Gunnison Ranger District, will be maintaining the road with heavy equipment, focusing on improved safety and drainage. NFSR 877 will be closed to vehicular use by the public Monday-Thursday 6/23-7/10. Those wishing to access the Uncompahgre Trailhead will need to plan on parking off County Road 20 at the base of NFSR 877. The road will be open for use Friday- Sunday during the maintenance project.

Posted On: 6/21/2025 By: BillMiddlebrook
Info: ALERT!!
Starting Monday, June 23rd, 2025, the Nellie Creek road will be CLOSED Monday through Thursday for the next several weeks while Hinsdale County conducts Road Maintenance.

Posted On: 6/23/2025 By: asmenyak
Info: Road was sketchy but just barely doeable in our Rav4. A few bumps along the way but nothing too insane. We did stop and camp just before the first creek crossing, but later on we watched a CRV go through so it's definitely possible with the right amount of gumption, and after that it's mostly the same conditions as the bottom half if not better. Don't attempt this one in anything less than AWD, and 4WD with decent clearance is definitely preferred. Note that the bathroom at the upper trailhead seems to be boarded shut.