N. Cottonwood Creek Trailhead

Posted On: 4/16/2022 By: 14ercooper
Info: Road was pretty much bone dry up to just before Harvard Lakes TH; and was passable up to Silver Creek TH. Would not attempt to drive past that point, and the tire tracks stopped pretty soon after - still a fair bit of snow. Restroom at Silver Creek was unlocked, but was not restocked with toilet paper. The ruts that formed just after getting into the national forest are still there (better than in the fall, I should note), but with a little bit of care basically any vehicle could make it past them and up to Silver Creek TH.

Posted On: 2/12/2022 By: dennywitte
Info: I just hiked and snowshoed the FS365 road from the NF boundary 3 miles back to the N Cottonwood TH. 4WD is helpful to drive CR365 to the NF boundary. Past the NF boundary the road gets difficult in a hurry. Around .7 miles into the NF stock 4WD trucks were getting stuck in multiple locations. The only way to get a vehicle to the Harvard Lakes or Silver Creek TH is to have very high clearance and very aggressive tires. The only vehicle I saw at Harvard Lakes and SIlver Creek was a Polaris side-by-side with 18 inches of ground clearance and very aggressive tires. From the NF boundary to Silver Creek I used microspikes. Past the Silver Creek TH there is a single snowmobile track that works well for snowshoeing. Recommendation: park at the NF boundary!

Posted On: 12/17/2021 By: joshgrundy
Info: Drove the road with an Outback today. Based on the previous reports, I think the obstacle .2 miles into the national forest has been repaired at least somewhat. It's still noteworthy, but was easily doable in an Outback. The Grays/Torreys road definitely has worse obstacles than this currently is. Snow covered for the last mile and a half as of 12/17, but I was able to make it to the trailhead as a fairly conservative driver.

Posted On: 12/11/2021 By: dennywitte
Info: The FS365 road to the N Cottonwood trailhead is open and snow covered. The main obstacle continues to be the deep holes at .2 miles into the national forest. High clearance and 4wd is advised. There is 4-5" of snow at the trailhead.

Posted On: 11/20/2021 By: Wentzl
Info: The holes in the road about 2.5 miles before the trailhead are getting worse. Would like to hear from someone with a subaru who has been up there lately to know if still passable by a sedan.

Posted On: 11/7/2021 By: bangerth
Info: Easily drivable all the way to the top with the exception of the big holes about 2.5 miles from the top that were mentioned in previous reports. But no problem at all with a Subi Outback if you took it slow -- just take your time finding a way through and around.

Posted On: 10/30/2021 By: RWSchaffer
Info: The road was dry to trailhead. 4WD and at least eight inches clearance would be desirable for the still unrepaired obstacle (pictured) about 2.5 miles below trailhead.

Posted On: 10/17/2021 By: scottda
Info: The rough patch in the road, 3 miles before the North Cottonwood TH, is surprisingly bad. The attached photo (shot from above on the way out) does not do it justice. We made it through with our 4Runner, but the depressions are really deep.

Posted On: 9/26/2021 By: TZDWyo
Info: Can confirm that 4-5' stretch is worse now. Couldn't figure out a good way to get my Liberty past it. Watched several SUVs and a pickup think better of it.

Posted On: 9/26/2021 By: JasonCrane
Info: Road is okay until one 4-5' section that has deep, massive potholes located on an upward sloping ramp portion. There's no way around it. I watched an ATV pass through okay, then 2 other vehicles (Subaru Outback & an SUV) bottom-out & with tires contorting in all different directions. It was violent. I tried to pass through with a Ford Escape & temporarily got the front tires stuck in the abyss before deciding to back down the slope. My SUV is a rental & just decided to turn around & preserve the vehicle w/out making it to the TH.

Posted On: 9/14/2021 By: jyoumans
Info: There's roughly a 4'-5' section of road that was washed out, it's been "patched" with rocks but the dips are still large & very difficult to traverse. If you're unable to proceed, you'll need to budget an additional 3-4mi (one-way) just to get to the TH.

Posted On: 9/15/2021 By: telecast09
Info: Beware, the road is rough 2WD except for one 4WD section 2.4-2.6 miles from TH which is deteriorating quickly. The short 4WD section has a handful of wide and 1 ft deep potholes spanning the road. We had 8-9 inches of clearance (without skid plates) and needed to add more rocks to the potholes to avoid scraping. Even with the rock "patches", the section worsened over the course of the day.

Posted On: 9/11/2021 By: ae_gentry
Info: I drove to the trailhead on 10 September, and agree that the one section is very sketchy. Some kind folks put some rocks in some of the deepest potholes, but there are a bunch of really deep ones, and it's not easy to thread your way through them. Although I did get my Subaru to the trailhead, I don't recommend it.

Posted On: 9/1/2021 By: psa954hiker
Info: Agree with the previous status report. On Aug 20 I took a 2WD Camry to the trailhead, but at the aforementioned potholes (in the dark) it was rough. When I go back again this weekend I'm going to borrow someone's truck.

Posted On: 8/26/2021 By: dennywitte
Info: I live along this road. The CR365/FS365 had major work done on it last fall with all ruts and washboarding repaired. However, with the heavy rains and heavy traffic this summer the road has gradually deteriorated. About 1/10 of a mile into the Natl Forest there are at least three potholes about a foot deep. Without careful tire placement cars will get themselves in trouble. Beware.