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Capitol Creek Trailhead

?CAMPING RESERVATION REQUIRED
A reservation is required to camp at Capitol Lake and permits are small in number. This means you may have to either day hike Capitol (long day) or find a dispersed camp outside of the "Capitol Lake Zone," which would be approximately 2 miles below the lake. Check for Capitol Lake camping permits at recreation.gov. For reference, also check out the Overnight Permit Zone Map
  
7/7/2015
Posted On: 7/8/2015 By: herdbull
Info: as of July 7th the road to the Capitol Ditch TH was in really good shape. Any Subaru type vehicle will have no problem getting to the TH. There was even a front drive Pontiac Sunbird there. That may be pushing the limits but it can be done. Appears as if the road has had some work done to it.
 
9/18/2014
Posted On: 9/21/2014 By: Jim Davies
Info: The first 8.5 miles are as good as paved. At 9.0 miles it gets significantly rougher; there are a couple of parking spots at a Y-junction here that would be a good place to stop if you have a passenger car.
 
9/13/2014
Posted On: 9/14/2014 By: bdloftin77
Info: There are some sections of the road with big dips and/or rocks, requiring decent/typical SUV clearance at least. A 2wd vehicle with good clearance can make it if the road is dry (which is was), but a typical 2wd sedan would probably not make it to the TH without scraping and perhaps getting stuck.
 
8/10/2014
Posted On: 8/12/2014 By: mspalding
Info: You could make it up in a 2wd. And there was a Honda Civic at the top. I don‘t know how she made it up. It is a class 3 road and requires lots of clearance. Both of our parties were glad to have high clearance 4wds.
 
9/21/2013
Posted On: 9/22/2013 By: forbins_mtn
Info: Last 1.5 miles have seen some serious water damage which made things a little more challenging. My Accord still made it, but it took some time. I was the only 2WD at the TH when I arrived and when I left, but it is possible.
 
1
11/2/2012
Posted On: 11/4/2012 By: Frontrangeskier
Info: Drove up Friday morning. The last mile to the trailhead is covered in snow, ice and mud. Most of this portion doesn't get any sunlight this time of year so it doesn't melt. The up hill sections are especially bad. I have a 3/4 Ton GMC with mud tires and a Winch so I was fine. I wouldn't advise trying in anything less than a truck or a Jeep with good tires. Good chance you could just slide into a ditch or a tree. On the way down I slid in a couple spots so be careful. Sidenote. Good amount of snow on trail to Capitol. Didn't feel like post holing the whole way up. I could see a good amount of snow collecting on the the North side of Capitol. The picture of Capitol is from the trailhead. The other picture is a Good section of the road down.
 
1
8/27/2012
Posted On: 8/27/2012 By: bking14ers
Info: I was able to drive a Toyota Yaris all the way to the TH. Capital Creek Rd. is paved most of the way. Eventually it turns to red dirt and gets very rough from rocks, pot holes, and wash-out ruts. If you drive very slow and are careful you can maneuver around or straddle the bad spots. The road gets steepest just before the TH. and if this red dirt road is wet it will be too slippery to drive up it. CHOOSE WHISLY... The road is very narrow and there are not many spots anywhere to turn around at if you commit to this road in a car (or anything). There were other cars up there the day I went up.
 
5/7/2012
Posted On: 5/8/2012 By: summitbound
Info: Clear and dry all the way to TH on the way in 5/6. Snowed most of the afternoon on our way 5/7 out, so the road was wet and slick. It should dry out in a couple days.
 
8/23/2011
Posted On: 8/26/2011 By: 2giqs
Info: Made it to TH in 2wd Dodge Caliber. Road bed dry. Took it slow over the humps, didn‘t bottom out.
 
8/13/2011
Posted On: 8/15/2011 By: mountain hiker
Info: Dry, and barely doable for a mid-size sedan. I think it is a little bit harder than Kite Lake road(last summer‘s condition).
 
9/12/2010
Posted On: 9/13/2010 By: crossfitter
Info: Trailhead is in good condition still. Many ruts which are avoidable, and plenty of big rollers that need to be taken slowly but I was able to get my Subaru Outback to the TH no problem. Doggler was also able to get his Nissan Maxima up there.
 
8/4/2010
Posted On: 8/4/2010 By: GoHigher
Info: Road in good condition 7/30 - 8/1. Spotted a BMW/Mini Cooper at the TH.
 
6/12/2010
Posted On: 6/14/2010 By: BoboKnickers
Info: As of June 12th, the road to the Capitol Creek/Ditch TH was wet and muddy due to heavy rain. Capitol Creek had swollen an estimated four times its normal height, making the crossings along the creek trail difficult or impassable. The ditch trail was also slippery and muddy, with ankle high to waist deep snow/slush encountered approximately two miles from Capitol Lake. Conditions further up the mountain past Capitol Lake appeared snowy, unknown depth as our team did not venture further than the lake.
 
4/17/2010
Posted On: 4/27/2010 By: ikkythump
Info: Parked .6 miles from summer trailhead. Will still be a month or more before you can drive to the summer TH. Drive to where we parked was on mud. No 4wd needed. Snow conditions were miserable. Postholed to the lake wearing 30" snowshoes. Snow is rotten everywhere. A pair of skiiers skinned along slightly better than we did on shoes, but were still very slow and had to re-skin a lot. We put up a good booter between the four of us so that others can hopefully enjoy some of our packed out posthole steps. We‘ll be back in about a month ---
 
10/28/2009
Posted On: 10/28/2009 By: Kiefer
Info: Road is semi dry to the trailhead. It isn‘t as rutted or spun out as it has been in years past. Dry as of Monday all the way to the end.
 

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