N. Halfmoon Creek Trailhead

Location

RangeSawatch Range

Elevation10,500'

Lat/Lon39.15341, -106.46353

14ersMt. Massive

Road Difficulty

3 Easy 4WD/AWD, good clearance

2WD easy dirt road to 10,100' at the main Mt. Massive TH. Then, narrow Easy 4WD to 10,500' at the N. Halfmoon Creek TH.

Driving Directions

From U.S. 24 just south of Leadville, turn onto Colorado 300. Drive 0.7 mile, turn left onto County Road 11 and continue another 1.2 miles before turning right onto the Halfmoon Creek road. Reset your trip odometer and follow the Halfmoon Creek dirt road for 5.3 miles to reach the Mt. Massive parking area on the right. The road above this point becomes more difficult so low-clearance or 2WD vehicles should definitely park at the Mt. Massive trailhead. Continue to 7.3 miles and keep straight at a junction. Now the road gets more difficult, requiring 4WD with good clearance. Overcome the last 0.5 mile to reach the small, marked trailhead on the right. There's parking for about 8-10 vehicles at or near the trailhead.

On-Site Info

ParkingParking for a few vehicles at the actual trailhead and maybe space for a dozen in the pull-offs nearby.

CampingDispersed camping near the trailhead.

Restrooms?No

Fees?No

Photos

Winter Access

Usually closed just a short distance up from where the road changes to dirt - over 8 miles below the TH.

Trailhead added by BillMiddlebrook

Status Updates
Map


6/9/2012 Posted On: 6/10/2012 By: Fisching Info: Definitely passable in 2WD to the Forest Road 110J turnoff. I made it all the way to the TH in my 2WD Honda Accord. My Accord has decent clearance and we only hit one rock on the under-carriage (it was avoidable but was a result of driver error - my bad!). There are two steeper spots that can be conquered in 2WD as long as you have momentum.			1
6/2/2012 Posted On: 6/4/2012 By: jeremy27 Info: My stock Ford Ranger 4x4 made it to the end of the road with no problem. Had to use 4wd on one steep section. Saw a Subaru Outback at the TH.
5/5/2012 Posted On: 5/5/2012 By: CarpeDM Info: Road to N Halfmoon Creek TH is bone dry. And despite the sign saying high clearance is required for the last couple of miles, it's low-clearance, 2wd accessible to the 110J intersection at least (0.5 mile from TH). I also saw an Audi A4 at the TH itself.
4/7/2012 Posted On: 4/11/2012 By: Marmot72 Info: I got to one mile from the TH in my humble RAV4. Trail beyond that point narrowed considerably and had a high center of icy snow. Up to that point, I followed ruts in the snow - the RAV coasted over sections like a sleigh, as the snow grated against the undercarriage. There were two points where a trail deviated to the left to circle around more difficult icy sections. Road was excellent to the Elbert TH.
1/21/2012 Posted On: 1/24/2012 By: tx_mountain_medic Info: My 2x4 Nissan frontier got stuck a little past the mileage sign on Halfmoon rd. Some guy in a sizable 4x4 got stuck several times pretty early in the trail. You can park at the winter parking lot or if you have a capable vehicle, you might make it a mile or two. The halfmoon trail has lots of snow past the distance sign. Snowshoes/skis advisable. We went all the way to the north halfmoon creek TH, about calf deep snow and some ice in places. The area was getting nailed by a storm as we were leaving. The forcast said something about 20 inches. There was lots of wind. Temps in the halfmoon area were in the thirties during the day dropping to the teens at night. For the three days we were there, the sun would only show for about thirty min before more clouds covered it up.
9/10/2011 Posted On: 9/10/2011 By: rockymountaindiva Info: Got all the way to the trailhead in my Subaru Forester, no problems at all. Saw another Forester there plus some larger vehicles. A few puddles and large rocks, was able to avoid the worst of these.
9/1/2011 Posted On: 9/1/2011 By: alpinenut Info: Drove my 99 Audi A4 to the F110J junction this morning. I hit one loose rock that got in my head right before the junction. Otherwise, I could have driven all the way to the 4WD TH. My car has medium clearance and AWD(which wasn't needed). Road was rough in spots with puddles but nothing deep. All that said, I‘d you‘re worried about your car, it only cost us 30 min of total hiking time to walk between the F110J junction and the TH.
7/10/2011 Posted On: 7/10/2011 By: avaske Info: Not really a status...but the road is really not bad. Would have taken my mid-low clearance 1997 sub legacy GT to the top. In my opinion, almost any car could make it all the way to the top, or at the very least to the 1/2 mile cutoff. We saw 2 minivans at the top.
6/12/2011 Posted On: 6/13/2011 By: E-dorvs Info: I saw an update in a peak conditions report but figured I would add an update here too. Trailhead is open and dry. Road doesn‘t seem that rough. We had high clearance but I really think it can be done with much lower clearance; true passenger car may have a problem but I really think it could be done in my wife‘s mid clearance Subie.
4/25/2011 Posted On: 4/25/2011 By: elchivoloco Info: Tried to drive up to the TH, but hit 12 inches of wet sloppy snow on Lake County #11 about 1/2 mile after the paved maintained section ended. It‘ll be a week or so longer at least.
11/15/2010 Posted On: 11/15/2010 By: Coppersnowboarder Info: Drove 2WD to Mount Elbert TH two weeks ago. Snowpack and very icy on climbs past the day parking area at Halfmoon Campground. Recommend parking there and hiking to the trailhead now. Last week, I chose to start at Leadville Fish Hatchery for Mount Massive. Ankle-deep snow to top of gaiters with untracked powder beyond Highline Trail junction with Colorado Trail. No tracks on the Mount Massive summit trail. Fresh snow today means that Elbert and Massive must have knee-deep powder above tree-line.
8/29/2010 Posted On: 8/29/2010 By: Cruiser Info: Multiple Subarus at the trailhead today (along with lots of other vehicles). The road doesn‘t even require 4wd, just a bit of clearance.
8/21/2010 Posted On: 8/21/2010 By: Climbdent Info: North Halfmoon is now accessible via passenger car, just take your time. Apparently they have done some work on the road. FS110J is cross-able with stock SUV, however, the road gets rough quickly and unless you have a "rig" its probably better to walk. Definately not crossable at mile 1.1 unless you have a custom 4X4 or don‘t care about your vehicle.
8/2/2010 Posted On: 8/5/2010 By: TravelingMatt Info: I've driven this road a couple times in the last week; it can used to access several high 13ers in addition to Massive. I agree the segment past the Colorado Trail (the main Massive/Elbert THs) is "easy 4wd". Saw a car parked at the FR 110J turnoff. FR 110J may also be known as 1103A (Roach's books), 3A (the Benchmark Colorado atlas) or 110.3 (the Trails Illustrated map). It is signed as 110J. The creek crossing on 110J was a bit high due to the recent rains; the easiest way across is to the far left. A 4wd vehicle with decent clearance can make it up to about 10,800' on 110J, but one can walk the road almost as quickly.
7/17/2010 Posted On: 7/19/2010 By: MonGoose Info: Summary: I assume they have done some work on this road because it was not bad at all. I rode in the back of a pickup truck on a hard bedliner and had a fairly comfortable ride. We never bottomed out or had any problems. The road is narrow and if the traffic were heavy, it could get interesting but other than that it should easy for anyone with any off road experience. Detailed Description: The road from the Mt Massive Parking Area (East Slopes TH) to Forest Road 110J (distance of 2 miles) was slightly harder than the road all the way from Leadville mainly due to a few big potholes. From Forest Road 110J to the North Halfmoon Creek TH (a distance of .5 miles) it was a little rockier but could easily be handled by a pickup, SUV or any car with some clearance. 4WD is not necessary if conditions are dry. If your car is low clearance, you can park at the Forest Road 110J fork and walk the extra .5 miles.

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