Yankee Boy Basin Trailhead

Location

RangeSan Juan Mountains

Elevation12,460'

Lat/Lon37.995, -107.78472

14ersMt. Sneffels

Road Difficulty

3 Easy 4WD/AWD, good clearance

2WD to the junction with Governor Basin. 4WD (3 rating, good clearance required) to the restroom parking. Difficult 4WD (5 rating) to the upper TH.

Driving Directions

Take US 550 to Ouray. 1/4 mile south of town, turn west onto Country Road (CR) 361 (2WD, Dirt) toward Yankee Boy Basin and start measuring mileage from this point. Your mileage may vary slightly, but the following list describes the turns and milestones:

4.6 miles: Stay right on CR 26.
5.2 miles: The road is cut into the cliffs like a "C" so there is rock hanging over the road.
5.9 miles: Stay right on CR 26 at the junction for Imogene Pass.
6.7 miles: Stay right at the junction for Governor Basin. The remaining drive is 4WD and 2WD cars should park at or near this junction.
7.5 miles: Reach the lower "trailhead" where there's a restroom.

Driving beyond this point requires high-clearance 4WD

100 yards after the restroom parking area, pass a large rock and stay right at a junction.
8.0 miles: Stay right.
8.2 miles: There's a sign that recommends only 4WD, high-clearance, short-wheelbase. 4WD vehicles can continue another mile to the signed, upper trailhead at 12,460'.

On-Site Info

ParkingRoom for ~15 vehicles at the lower (restroom) parking. Some pull-offs and parking higher and room for 5 vehicles at the upper, 4WD trailhead.

CampingDispersed camping along the road.

Restrooms?Yes

Fees?No

Photos

Winter Access

Usually closed low on the road.

Trailhead added by BillMiddlebrook

Status Updates
Map


8/17/2023 Posted On: 8/21/2023 By: csteffl Info: Your results may vary based on your vehicle, road conditions, and driving capabilities. I took a stock 2015 Highlander up to the outhouse lot in the pre-dawn hours (dark). With new all-weather tires, traction control off, and careful lines with a spotter in a couple of places it was doable. The pucker factor was real though. The hitch scraped a couple of times. There was a newer Outback and a Jeep Compass (I think) at the outhouse lot among a few other vehicles with better clearance. It took 55 min to hike up to the upper trailhead at a casual pace from the outhouse lot. The upper was empty when we arrived, but had a few lifted vehicles with big tires (Wrangler, X-Terra, 4Runner) as well as several high clearance side x sides when we came down. Some other folks with SUVs just parked at the 2wd area and hiked or hitched a ride up to the outhouse lot. Hiking or driving that road is certainly part of the adventure!
7/30/2023 Posted On: 8/3/2023 By: Oso Blanco Info: Driving an AWD Cherokee Latitude, didn't make it more than a few hundred yards past the Jct of Yankee Boy Basin and Governor Basin Road towards the Outhouse before encountering huge bumps and deep holes. Didn't have the juice or clearance. A Subie driver behind me also tried a few times and turned back. Several higher clearance Jeeps and trucks passed us up without any problems. We parked in a wide pull off and thumbed a ride in a new Bronco, took us all the way to the upper 12,460 lot w/out any problems.
7/25/2023 Posted On: 7/27/2023 By: john curtis Info: I made it to the upper trailhead (12,460') with my Jeep Wrangler (2.5 inch lift and 33" tires). There was one rough section where I had to use 4 low to get up over some rocks and I scraped bottom a little. This was around 12,160' (I think) just beyond a small snow field where the road turns left just below the snow. I managed to take a better line on the way back down and did not bottom out. There were two other Jeeps and maybe six Can-Am/Polaris vehicles at the upper trailhead.		1
7/7/2023 Posted On: 7/7/2023 By: Wentzl Info: The road is in decent shape now, not any real difficulties up to the outhouse. They oiled the road up to Senators Gulch, which is nice. No dust up to there. The snow is melting quickly and you can now drive past the outhouse up to the Wrights Lake trail cutoff. There were tire tracks through the initial snowdrift, but there is considerable snow above that point so no point in going further for a couple weeks at least.		4
6/19/2023 Posted On: 6/19/2023 By: supranihilest Info: Plowed to outhouse. Road is a bit worse than in past years but most vehicles with moderate clearance and 4WD/AWD should be fine. Bathroom open and stocked with TP. Not plowed at all beyond the outhouse and deep snow on the road begins within 100 yards of the outhouse, so no point in attempting to drive farther.
5/26/2023 Posted On: 5/30/2023 By: durkan Info: Open! Plowed all the way to that lower 4wd TH with the shack. Construction and work is still occuring below that, so drive slow and cautiously.			1
5/23/2023 Posted On: 5/23/2023 By: HikerGuy Info: In case anyone was looking to get a jump on the holiday weekend. Per Ouray County Road and Bridge FB page: CR361/26 CLOSED FOR CULVERT REPAIRS Thursday, May 25. In preparation for a busy Memorial Day weekend and summer season, we will need to close CR361/26 (Camp Bird Road/Yankee Boy Basin) for necessary culvert repairs. The closure will begin at the Senator Gulch gate area at 8am and will reopen as soon as repairs are completed. We appreciate everyone's patience and understanding as we work to maintain this important and heavily traveled road.			1
5/4/2023 Posted On: 5/5/2023 By: Wentzl Info: Winter gate open, not yet clear to trailhead, but the 4.3 mile hike has been cut back to 1.1		3
11/8/2022 Posted On: 11/8/2022 By: Wentzl Info: Winter gate is closed.
10/26/2022 Posted On: 10/26/2022 By: 100PeaksAdv Info: Its crazy how much things can change in a little over a week! The trailhead is completely snowed out starting a little past the turn-off for governor basin. I also wouldnt be surprised if this gets pushed back even further following the snow on 10/26 and 10/27. Possibly even the gate closure. I broke trail through about 12,800. Some post-holing as much as 2 feet deep already. Couldnt capture any footage due to earlier than expected white-out conditions. So I called it a day and turned around.
10/16/2022 Posted On: 10/19/2022 By: Wentzl Info: The road has never been in better condition all the way to the outhouse. The washout shown in the photo on the 8/26/22 report has been repaired. They have run the grader over this thing and made it so I could just about get my Accord to the outhouse. Seriously, I have been driving this road several times a year for 25 years. NEVER BETTER!!
9/4/2022 Posted On: 9/5/2022 By: dt_forrest Info: Drove up in a Honda civic and parked about a mile before the outhouse, with a good amount of space for other cars at that area (around 10,500 feet elevation). Pot holes to watch for before that, but nothing major. A little after that point the road gets much rougher, and there is a major washout, although there seems to be a path around the washout on the left side (going up). If I had driven my Outback I think I could have made it up to the outhouse, but it would take a little care and bravery.
8/26/2022 Posted On: 8/30/2022 By: mehale00 Info: With recent rain there are some significant washout ditches about a half mile after the restrooms. Made it through in a Jeep Grand Cherokee at night with just 1 inch tire lift but it was sketchy. Couldn't get back out the next morning because a Suburu with lower clearance got wedged, had to wait a few hours for a crew to get it out.		1	1
8/26/2022 Posted On: 9/1/2022 By: GSODJA Info: My climbing partner and I were also climbing Mt. Sneffels last Friday. Adding some additional pictures to previous post where Subaru got stuck to give additional view of road. We couldn't get past the Subaru and had to park below. The rain has created a number of washouts. Strongly suggest only 4 wheel drive vehicles and with lift - we spoke to a caravan of jeeps at the upper 4WD trailhead on our way down. They told us while waiting for the Subaru to get towed it cost $1700 JUST for the tow (before damage to the car)!		2	1
8/18/2022 Posted On: 8/18/2022 By: dlaw Info: There are some potholes worth avoiding on the way up to 2WD parking. From there to the outhouse parking, AWD and at least 8" ground clearance are needed. We made it up in a Crosstrek. A few of the obstacles required a second attempt and many require a careful choice of line. Other vehicles at the outhouse included an Outback, a CRV, and a CX-7. We hiked up higher and observed that stock Rubicons were making it to the upper trailhead, but they had to work for it.

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