6/23/2024 Posted On: 6/25/2024 By: mountainmanAJ Info: This road is definitely a 4x4 trail. The 2 creek crossings are pretty blown out and about 1ft deep, probably will get better as the snow finishes melting. If you have a good clearance vehicle with 4x4 and know how to use it you can definitely get to the trailhead without issue. I made it in a 98 tacoma with plenty of ground clearance, but there was a rav-4 and a subaru up there. Know what you are getting yourself into on this road. IT IS ROUGH, and it gets worse as you get up. There are some features that require good line choice or you will cause damage to your vehicle. Other than that it was a super fun trail to drive. | ||||
11/12/2023 Posted On: 11/13/2023 By: kriddle Info: I was able to make it up to the 4wd trailhead on 11/12 in a slightly modified F150 (2" lift & 33" tires). The road itself wasn't a problem but there is a significant amount of smooth, slick ice and we needed to put on tire chains to make it. The ice was intermittent above ~10,400 ft. We ascended the night before in the dark so these photos are from the descent the following day. It might be possible to make it with ample use of traction boards and a shovel to cover the ice with dirt/snow but I wouldn't attempt it without chains at this point. | 2 |
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10/7/2023 Posted On: 10/7/2023 By: brech Info: Road is still clear of snow. I drove it with a high clearance 3/4 ton truck. A number of trucks, jeeps and larger subs. This road is rated 4 out of 6 for good reason | ||||
9/26/2023 Posted On: 9/26/2023 By: montanahiker Info: Outhouse is closed for the season (literally nailed shut). | 1 |
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9/19/2023 Posted On: 9/19/2023 By: Carsonj20 Info: There were two bone stock suburbans with running boards at the top, if they can do it so can you. This road is not dangerous, it's not hard, it doesn't require any crazy high clearance rig its just bumpy. You're not going to demolish your car as some of the other posts say so long as you have basic knowledge of how to drive on a 4wd road. | 3 |
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9/16/2023 Posted On: 9/19/2023 By: RickyDavis Info: Done in a stock 4WD silverado with road tires after a night of rain. Traction wasn't a concern but I did choose some bad lines on the descent and scraped once or twice. | ||||
9/10/2023 Posted On: 9/12/2023 By: Eagle Eye Info: I doubt the road has changed much. If anything, it's at the end of a busy summer season and on the poor side. It seems like a very capable, high clearance 4WD/LT tires and an experienced off-road driver are required. The switchbacks are really tight so the smaller the vehicle the better! Luckily, I didn't encounter anyone else besides an ATV either going up or coming down, but being able to maneuver off to the side in that case might be more difficult than just the trip up/down. The big stream crossing is wide enough and has a flat rock sort of floor to it. The other smaller crossing is more of a deep ditch but without much water flow. I came up the road in the morning in the dark which isn't preferred but the stock Xterra Pro 4 X has good overhead lights and the Duratracs grip rock really well in just high range 4WD. I think 3 times I've driven up the road over a lot of years, and twice walked it. ---> mv | 1 |
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8/22/2023 Posted On: 8/22/2023 By: MetricAssLoad Info: Made it to the upper trailhead in the 2011 outback with no problems. Plenty of camping along the road especially near the top. Parking lot only had 2 cars on a Monday morning at 6am. | ||||
8/22/2023 Posted On: 8/22/2023 By: Gene L Info: Got to Lake City Saturday and drove the first quarter mile in a rented AWD Rogue. Wanted to see what the road looked like in broad daylight instead of attempting it for the first time in the dark. Decided I was not comfortable driving this road, so I turned around and went back. At some point during this brief drive, I punctured a tire. Fortunately was able to drive the car back to Lake City and got the tire fixed the next morning. Getting a flat on Nellie Creek Rd and having to find a suitable place to change the tire would have been a disaster. Ended up hiking Uncompahgre on Monday from the 2WD lot. Took some flip flops and a swim towel for the 1st creek crossing and stashed the flip flops behind some trees for the return trip. Highly recommend doing this or even walking across barefoot; the logs set up for foot crossing are slick and wobbly. To the young couple from Salida who I saw this day and also day the before on Handies: enjoyed chatting with you both on the trail & thanks for the info/tips! | ||||
8/12/2023 Posted On: 8/16/2023 By: backtothejack Info: Drove up in a Subaru Outback Onyx (non-turbo) with after-market splash guards and echo the previous comment that the road is Subaru-able, if only just barely. If youre a confident driver, go slowly, and pick your lines carefully, your vehicle should sustain no more damage than a nice coating of mud. That said, an inexperienced or nervous driver could easily rack up thousands of dollars worth of damage, so go at your own risk and know that your mileage may vary. X-mode was a must and I couldnt imagine driving this road without that capability. I also concur with other commenters who say that if you can make it past the first section, you can make it to the top. The streams are rather shallow and were by far the easiest obstacle. Despite doing the improbable, I would never drive this road in my vehicle again because the margin for error is frighteningly slim and mathematically the risk compounds the more you attempt these things. If you consider hiking Uncompahgre to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, driving this road in a Subaru should similarly be a singular experience. Drive safely, keep your wits about you, and have fun. | ||||
8/4/2023 Posted On: 8/4/2023 By: davebelin Info: Drove up this morning in my stock Subaru Outback. Slow and tricky, but do-able. There was only one spot where I had to back up and pick a different line. This road was definitely at the outer limits of the capability of the Subaru, but it made it up and down. X mode coming down was awesome. It was about 40 minutes up from the turn off Henson Creek Road, 50 minutes returning back down. Fortunately very little opposing traffic in either direction, and when there was it was at opportune locations (wide spots in the road). | ||||
7/31/2023 Posted On: 7/31/2023 By: BlueSkyVIew Info: Drove it on Jul 30. The boulder may not be there but the road is still terrible. We saw a Subaru driver coming down and he said he had made it to the top, so we decided to give it a shot with a Honda Passport with big tires. Picking our lines very carefully and slowly, we made it to the trailhead. The beginning is the easier part and the road only gets worse and trickier as you go: tight and steep switchbacks, lots of deep dips on the road, pointy and large rocks in the way and some narrow sections where passing is impossible. The creek crossings are towards the mid-end of the road and are easy: flat and shallow. It took us 1h each way and gladly not many cars coming the opposite direction. We also saw a stock Rav4 with a low hitch parked at the top (we saw on the road where the hitch dragged), and on the way down, a Rav4 with broken underparts hanging from below the car. Despite making it, would never drive this road again in this car. | 1 |
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7/26/2023 Posted On: 7/27/2023 By: tlgold1990 Info: Someone moved the huge boulder, no longer in the road. As others reported, creeks are shallow. | ||||
7/17/2023 Posted On: 7/17/2023 By: hsfedina Info: Rough at the beginning. 2 streams flowing strong but shallow enough. Theres a huge boulder in the road about mile 3narrow passage between it and ravine. Looked narrow and scary but saw some decent sized vehicles at trailheadLexus Landcruiser, some pickups. | ||||
7/16/2023 Posted On: 7/16/2023 By: nmjameswilson Info: The boulder is still on the road but two Tundras including mine were able to get around it. It is tight but people giving directions will get you by. |
