American Basin Trailhead

Posted On: 2/12/2025 By: BillMiddlebrook
Info: Road is dry and in summer conditions. The upper stream crossing (~0.7 below trailhead) is manageable for most AWD/4WD vehicles and there's parking just after it, before the road gets much worse.

Posted On: 6/7/2024 By: MountainBuhn
Info: Two significant snowfields that make it so you have to park .5 from main TH. Photo shows someone tried to get up main road (fine), then tried to drive onto tundra to get around (dont do this). Will be good to go in 2 weeks or less.

Posted On: 5/30/2024 By: COnaive
Info: We drove over Cinnamon pass this past weekend, the road from Lake City to American Basin turnoff was basically in summer conditions, we even saw a newer Malibu most of the way to the turnoff. For the pass itself, there were 3 foot drifts from Saturday night on the upper west side of the pass in places, which made the return trip on Monday interesting and required some shoveling. I'm guessing these drifts are pretty well gone at this point though. We also had to saw through a couple logs above the turnoff on the way back. In short, if just going to the turnoff, expect normal conditions, if going over Cinnamon pass, it would be a good idea to bring a shovel and even a saw.

Posted On: 5/22/2024 By: ReginaThomas
Info: Cinnamon pass is open from Lake City to Silverton so you should be able to get within 0.9 mile of the TH. Kiefer and I are headed up for American Peak tomorrow so will post conditions then and another update.

Posted On: 9/14/2023 By: cpdas
Info: Made it all the way to the upper trailhead in a stock Mazda CX-9 with no issues, a few rough spots along the way to grizzly gulch, then not so bad to the turn off for American basin but the toughest section forsure was in that last 0.75 miles to the upper trailhead. If you don't have high clearance I'd recommend parking right near the creek crossing and hiking that last 0.75-0.5 of a mile.

Posted On: 8/20/2023 By: shwilsh
Info: Road to Grizzly Gulch is much rougher than the stated 2WD starting around mile marker 10 - you need a stock 4WD. This continues to be the case all the way until the first stream crossing past the junction for Cinnamon Pass, at which point you will definitely need a high clearance 4WD to make it the remaining ~0.75 to the American Basin TH. We camped out just below the stream crossing and hiked in from there and on the way to the TH saw a larger SUV model of Subaru who had popped a flat on a large exposed rock halfway bw the stream and the TH. Didn't see the stated pull-offs just below the junction for Cinnamon Pass when we drove in in the dark but there is room for a half-dozen cars or so between the junction and where the road gets nasty.

Posted On: 7/28/2023 By: kritifer15
Info: Made it to the upper trailhead in a GMC Yukon (Somehow). Turned on 4WD 14 mi. down CR 30. The only bad spot for us was .1 mi. before the upper trailhead. We had to get out and spot my dad to help him avoid hitting the oil pan. Excellent summer conditions at the trailhead with wildflowers blooming.

Posted On: 7/7/2023 By: zmokrycki
Info: I saw the other post about taking a stock outback up here, so I felt the courage to brave it in my slightly above stock crosstrek- Falken wild peaks and skid plates.

Didn't have any issues getting up there. I did jump out of the car to scope the line before sending it.

It should be noted there are TWO creek crossings to get to the TH, but neither one was an issue. I made it up the American basin creek and then found a campsite 3 or 4 spots in, though I probably could have made it to the top- I figured I'd pushed my luck enough.

Posted On: 6/30/2023 By: ssowalskie
Info: The road is clear all the way to the 4WD upper trailhead, minus the creek crossing after turning onto the American Basin road from County Road 30. I did manage to get my stock Subaru Outback up to the upper trailhead, somehow, but would not recommend it; I would just park at the large pull-off after the creek crossing unless you have a vehicle with high clearance.

Posted On: 6/19/2023 By: Clairebaums
Info: This road requires a high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle. We got up it in a rented jeep Wrangler. The last 0.75 miles of the road was blocked by snow.

Posted On: 5/29/2023 By: rsuminsby
Info: Cinnamon Pass opened yesterday, 5/28/2023. Although the sign at the entrance to the Alpine Loop just south of lake City still said "Closed" this morning, I assume they'll update that soon. So it appears American Basin is now accessible from both east and west.

Posted On: 5/25/2023 By: jjjeffries32
Info: I have no updates but am planning to drive to the American Basin trailhead Saturday morning. Just looking to see what the condition of the trail is by someone that has drove it recently. I have a 2015 stock Toyota 4Runner.

Sorry, I am out of state and am trying to see what it is like before I commit to driving 13 hours.

Posted On: 10/3/2022 By: JQDivide
Info: CR 30 is in awful shape. It is the worst I have seen it in 20 plus years. Getting a 2wd vehicle to the Grizzly Gulch TH used to be the norm. I would not take a regular 2wd up that road anymore. It is rough, rocky and washed out, repaired in spots. Between the heavy rains and OHV traffic this summer, the road is no longer an easy cruise. Even 4wd vehicles will be driving slower, so add anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to your trip. You will want a 4 x 4 to get to the top of the pass, some of the switchbacks are all rock. I spoke with a sheriff deputy on top the of the pass, and he said the road has gotten worse since this spring. Not sure what it will be like once the snow melts for the 2023 summer.

Posted On: 9/28/2022 By: Hiker Mike
Info: CR30 past the junction with CR35 is pretty rough I thought. Lots of potholes in the road the further I drove. A 4WD vehicle with good ground clearance is a must. The stream crossing was easy as the water is not high. The drive back down was no easier but the views are spectacular. The Aspens are really in full color.

FYI, not that it matters much but I did use Google maps to get to the first trailhead from Lake San Cristobal and it did fine.

Posted On: 9/26/2022 By: soxfan249
Info: Made it all the way to American Basin without scraping in a Subaru Crosstrek with Falken Wildpeaks. Only one spot halfway between the junction for Cinnamon Pass and the parking lot required a spotter, but better drivers wouldn't need one. I would be nervous driving stock tires past the junction, or even past Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch. It is a long, bumpy road.