Mt. Elbert (South) Trailhead

Location

RangeSawatch Range

Elevation10,500'

Lat/Lon39.09933, -106.36714

14ersMt. Elbert

Road Difficulty

3 Easy 4WD/AWD, good clearance

2WD paved to the lower (main) TH. Easy 4WD dirt to 10,400' at the upper TH.

Driving Directions

From U.S. 24 south of Leadville, take Colorado 82 west toward Twin Lakes. Drive about 4 miles and turn right onto the 24 road. Drive 1.2 miles up a hill to the main trailhead parking area (paved) on the left. This is the lower trailhead and 2WD vehicles should park here. Continue 50 feet past the lower TH and turn left on Forest Service road 125.1B (4WD). From here it's 1.8 miles to the upper trailhead. Walk or drive up the 4WD road to reach the start of the trail.

Along the 4WD road there are several pull-offs and camping spots. Near 0.5 mile there's usually rough section of road but most 4WD vehicles should be able to get past it. Near 1.6mi, cross a small stream. Continue to a parking area with information kiosk at 1.8mi. This is the trailhead.

On-Site Info

ParkingParking for about 20 cars at the lower, 2WD trailhead. Some pull-offs along the 4WD road and then parking for maybe 15 vehicles at the 4WD trailhead.

CampingDispersed camping along the 4WD road and a campground down the road from the 2WD trailhead.

Restrooms?No

Fees?No

Photos

Winter Access

Closed at the start of the 4WD road.

Trailhead added by BillMiddlebrook

Status Updates
Map


5/22/2010 Posted On: 5/22/2010 By: gregpeak Info: The 4wd road is clear and dry all the way to the 4wd trailhead.
5/14/2010 Posted On: 5/17/2010 By: jonesdcu Info: Mad it as far as the water crossing in 2WD 4-runner. 4" of snow made for a pretty sloppy drive out the next morning but still passable.
5/9/2010 Posted On: 5/11/2010 By: EatinHardtack Info: The road to the 4x4 TH is passable now. The trees mentioned in Aubrey‘s post are gone and there is no snow on the road. It was a little muddy near the end but nothing serious.
5/2/2010 Posted On: 5/3/2010 By: Aubrey Info: As of 5/2/10, the 4x4 road was dry and passable for about the first 1.25 miles. At that point it‘s blocked by a large tree that was chewed down by a beaver. It‘s too heavy to lift and it couldn‘t be pulled out of the way with a tow strap because it‘s "locked" in the trees. A chainsaw will definitely be required to remove it. If you have a chainsaw and you make it past that obstacle, there‘s a pretty icy stream that you‘d need to contend with a little farther up. And if you made it past that, there‘s one more fallen tree in the way (which would be easy to pull out of the way with a strap) ... and then some snow drifts closer to the summer trailhead parking area. I imagine the snow will melt off soon, but mud still might be an issue for some vehicles. Less than a couple hundred feet before the first fallen tree, there are at least three parking spots next to the beaver pond. It‘s a short and easy (albeit muddy) hike to the parking area ... and I think it only gains about 300 feet of vertical. (Posted 3 images of the first fallen tree and a shot of the icy creek.)
3/6/2010 Posted On: 3/7/2010 By: Bean Info: Clear to the paved parking lot, impassable except by sled beyond that.
12/5/2009 Posted On: 12/7/2009 By: sgladbach Info: Passable in high clearance 2WD on Saturday 12/5/09. sunday brought snow, so things may have changed.
11/20/2009 Posted On: 11/20/2009 By: Dancesatmoonrise Info: See Elbert TR for 11-18-09. Few icy spots on paved 2wd road. Icy spots but 30% brown ground on 4wd road to TH. One stream crossing on 4wd rd below TH that is a large mostly frozen puddle -- ice is thick enough to walk across. We didn‘t drive the 4wd road but a couple hundred yards, then pulled off and walked. From what we saw, suspect it could be driven. Bring chains just in case for the ice.
9/27/2009 Posted On: 9/27/2009 By: giarcd Info: Open and dry all the way---dry trail to tree line then snow dusting
6/26/2009 Posted On: 6/26/2009 By: HD Producer Info: 6/23/09 4wd trailhead kinda muddy and lots of mosquitos plenty of places to park in between aspens on a small loop trail head begins at wooden sigh, creek crossing to Continental Divide trail break off to the left after 1/4 mile to South Elbert TH. there is an old wooden sigh at that intersection.
5/3/2009 Posted On: 5/3/2009 By: geno71 Info: Cleared to the 4WD trailhead
3/14/2009 Posted On: 3/14/2009 By: mtnmike Info: dirt road from the paved parking area is drivable about 1/4 mile. After that the snow drifts deeply in places. Packed down well for hiking, but not for driving.
2/8/2009 Posted On: 2/8/2009 By: 4HClimber Info: The upper trailhead is not passable by vehicle traffic.
11/9/2008 Posted On: 11/9/2008 By: Gary Brady Info: 4Wd road is passible to the trailhead. I took the road 3/4 of the way until the large strem crossing. The stream has a thin layer of ice so I decided to turn off and not chance it. I am sure my vehicle (Honda Pilot) would have made it though. 3 inches of snow does make the road a little slick.
7/8/2008 Posted On: 7/8/2008 By: azureabyss Info: Road is passable all the way to the trailhead IF you have a high-clearance vehicle. There is a HUGE set of two sinkholes immediately after the 0.5mi mark on 125.1B. Definitely do-able if you take the time or if you have a shorter-wheel base vehicle. I saw a stock Suburban at the trailhead, but I ripped off a mudflap on my Z-71 Truck. Oops. After that, the road is dry, with one stream crossing.
5/12/2008 Posted On: 5/12/2008 By: BillMiddlebrook Info: Broke through several snowbanks about .75 mile up the 4WD road and then towed some trees out of the road so 4WD vehicles can now drive 1.0 mile to the intersection where the road turns left. In about a week, you might be able to drive a bit further to a camping area on the left where it‘s flat, but the last 1/2 mile of the road still has plenty of snow on it.

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