8/25/2012 Posted On: 8/26/2012 By: My-Therapy Info: We made it to the trail head without any problems in a stock 1998 Toyota 4runner. All of the vehicles that were parked at the trail head were true 4wd's except for one older Subaru Forester. Many sections of the road were wet and somewhat slick, however none of the road is what I would consider treacherous. The very beginning of the Fall color change can start to be seen along the road up to the trail head. There was no toilet paper in the outhouse at the trail head, so you will need to bring your own. | ||||
7/14/2012 Posted On: 7/15/2012 By: mkim822 Info: After reading a lot of the other reports regarding driving up Nellie Creek Road, I was really nervous and worried about making it up the 4WD road to the trailhead with my 2WD 2004 Toyota Tacoma (rear wheel drive). However, I successfully drove up Nellie Creek Rd with no problems. I definitely agree with the other reports that you NEED high clearance, but I do not think you absolutely need a 4WD vehicle, as I made it up with my 2WD. I just drove really slow and stayed in LOW GEAR. Also, I have All-Terrain tires, which I think helps. I had read an old trip report that another person made it up with a Chevy S10 that was also 2WD. I will say that I probably only made it up the road because it was completely dry and the 2 creek crossings had very low water levels, as this past winter had very little snowfall. If you do attempt this road with 2WD, just make sure it's dry, go slow in low gear, and try not to make any stops along the way. I was lucky that I didn't have to back up or stop for other vehicles, which allowed me to keep my momentum the entire time. Nellie Creek road is not as steep or bumpy compared to the 4WD road to the Mt. Massive N. Halfmoon Creek trailhead, which is much more steeper. I did not make it up to the Halfmoon Creek TH. | ||||
6/21/2012 Posted On: 7/5/2012 By: AeroFaze Info: My manual tranny, AWD '07 Forester XT Limited with 7.9" clearance and 99.4" wheelbase made it fine all the way to the trailhead. Fun road! The only hairy part was exiting the first stream crossing. I blame it on being lazy and not spending the time to switch out my extreme performance summer tires with something a little more substantial (all-seasons would've been fine). The wheels spun a couple times just before we hit the dry dirt again, so I had to reverse it a couple inches before we were able to get it moving again. Also, I had to ensure plenty of room between my car and the vehicle in front. As they were true 4WD with lo and hi options, they were able to ascend much more slowly, whereas my car needed to maintain speed to get up some of those switchbacks. So the one time they stopped just above us, I had to back down to a flat area a couple yards before I could regain acceleration again. I wouldn't recommend a Mazda 3Speed, WRX, or an Impreza up there. Keep in mind this has been a low precipitation year so far, so the streams may have been lower than in past years at this time. | 2 |
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6/16/2012 Posted On: 6/17/2012 By: Jyak Info: Took a new model Subaru Outback (2" more clearance than the old model) all the way to the upper trailhead. Saw another new model Outback up there as we got back to the car after the hike. Creek crossings are a breeze with good entry and exit points going in both directions. | 7 |
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5/30/2012 Posted On: 6/1/2012 By: hiker55 Info: Road to TH in decent condition. Water crossings were easy with 4 wheel drive, high clearance vehicle. No problems. | 1 |
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5/21/2012 Posted On: 5/22/2012 By: mikefromcraig Info: The trees the previous report mentioned have all been removed. You can make it all the way to the 4wd trailhead if you can cross the creek. There is no snow at all on the entire 4wd trail. I was in a new outback and the 4wd trail was really easy but when I got to the first creek which is about 2 miles up the 4wd trail I decided not to risk it because I was alone. Probably could have made it but I‘m not real experienced with that stuff. There‘s room for one car to park right in front of that creek crossing. | 1 |
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5/12/2012 Posted On: 5/14/2012 By: Chicago Transplant Info: Nellie Creek Road has 4 downed trees stretched over a 1/4 mile span about 3 miles up from the 2WD parking, you will need a chainsaw to take them out. There is only room for 1 or 2 vehicles at this point, so some backing may be required if you don‘t secure one of those spots. Below that, there are some patchy snowbanks along the road after the second set of switchbacks above the lower creek crossing, they have tire ruts through them and should not pose a problem for anyone who was able to drive that far. There is also one really rocky sections that appears to be from a rock slide around the 2.5 mile mark, lower clearance SUVs may hit some of them. I drove my 2012 Outback to the lower creek crossing (about halfway up the road) before deciding I didn‘t want to push it, I had to back down the road a short bit to get a parking space. The road walk for the last 2 miles is pleasant enough and goes quick. | ||||
9/3/2011 Posted On: 9/6/2011 By: blondie1 Info: Henson Creek road is easily 2WD with Nellie Creek defininitely 4WD - there was a lot of ATV traffic and only 4WD vehicles at the TH, creek crossings were easy but there is water. I would not take a 2WD or lower clearance vehicle to the TH. | ||||
8/13/2011 Posted On: 8/15/2011 By: Boomerang Info: Trailhead is easily accessed by small SUV's, and though I have AWD it wasn't needed (Ford Escape). As this vehicle has only decent clearance (8.5"), but I never scraped a rock, I would say all 2wd's with some clearance would have no problem on this road - I saw several other vehicles this size at the TH including an Outback, a CRV and a RAV. The water crossings were uneventful at this time of year. | ||||
7/5/2011 Posted On: 7/8/2011 By: YEONDERIN Info: Both creek crossings running very high, especially during hot afternoon. Couldn‘t do much more with a Dakota longbed. Lower crossing has a deep hole on upstream side that will swallow your right front wheel (going up) if you turn too high. Upper crossing was easier. Road is good to TH. | ||||
7/1/2011 Posted On: 7/2/2011 By: Gahugafuga Info: Clear to the top. | ||||
6/18/2011 Posted On: 6/19/2011 By: colorado yooper Info: Took the Forester loaded with 4 adults, a kid, gear, and a dog up to the meadow just before the 4WD trailhead on the 18th and out on the 19th. Only hit bottom 3 times (lightly) and my fault. River crossings were OK. I did move a few big rocks out of the way and cut a small aspen out of the trail today. There is a big tree that blocks the upper trailhead (14 inches circ) and some snow drifts yet. | ||||
6/5/2011 Posted On: 6/5/2011 By: stevevets689 Info: Took my Jeep Cherokee and was able to drive past the first creek crossing up some switchbacks and was stopped by a major drift a couple hundred yards before the second crossing, about 2 miles short of the summer trailhead. First creek crossing was wide but not deep at all, no problem. Watch for rocks. Large drift continues until the second crossing which was difficult in ski boots. There are a couple small drifts after that but nothing major (i.e. requiring snowshoes or skis) until about a mile later, at the end of a large meadow. Coverage from there on is fairly widespread. | 1 |
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5/28/2011 Posted On: 5/29/2011 By: JsinDeAZ Info: Was able to get about 2.1 miles up the road. Snow drifts are way too deep after this point (maybe 75% chance with a tractor). Rocks had fallen in road and we stopped and moved them in several spots. One big slide across road was barely passable to one side. Creek crossing expanded considerably in the one day we were up and it'll probably get wider with runoff. Still lots of snow up high. | 2 |
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4/13/2011 Posted On: 4/13/2011 By: PKelley Info: Just letting everyone know that the first 1/4 to 1/2 mile of the Nellie Creek Road is plowed and that much of it is passible for 4WD with good tires. Hey it cuts a mile off of the hike right now..... More to follow in the coming weeks. |
