South Colony Lakes Trailhead

Posted On: 9/8/2022 By: Thighs
Info: Made it to the 4wd TH in a 2010 Subaru Outback with some off-road tires. I scraped maybe one or two times but with no significant damage done - just poor split second judgement. Two other outbacks at the top with normal touring tires installed. One big water pool but otherwise dry and in pretty good condition.

Posted On: 4/16/2024 By: Rafreaki
Info: At its worst spots, road was more deeply rutted and with larger rocks exposed than I remember seeing my last drive up in 2012. I did make it to the 4WD trailhead in my stock 2018 Subaru Crosstrek (8.7" ground clearance) with cheap all season tires without scraping... but I wouldn't want to do it again. Had to give a couple sections a second try to get through. Probably more my lack of commitment to my chosen line than the car's capabilities but I was worried about my weeny tires. Bigger tires and beefier suspension would be a definite plus.

Posted On: 8/29/2022 By: b_esker
Info: Posting this to instill confidence in the thrill seeking Subaru drivers out there. I'd say it's Subaruable, others may disagree. The road is in the best condition I've seen it in since the first time I drove it 7 years ago. I was able to get my old forester up to the pullout right before the 4WD lot (lot was full) and it was a feat. Somehow I didn't bottom out on anything. Just make quick line choices and go for it. Momentum is key which may make some AWD drivers cringe on this terrain. If my car was new, I may have been more hesitant. There was one other Subaru (forester) in the 4WD lot.

Posted On: 8/19/2022 By: Shaller13
Info: Had to use 4H in a few spots in my stock XJ. Otherwise very manageable to reach the 4wd trailhead. Other high clearance/4wd vehicles should be able to reach the TH with relative ease. I would advise any other kind of vehicle to not try driving past the 2wd lot. FYI for those who air down, Westcliffe Petroleum Inc in Westcliffe has free air.

Posted On: 8/20/2022 By: CommanderDawn
Info: Drove mostly stock Jeep TJ to 4WD trailhead. Lot was getting close to full on Friday morning at 6:30am with several groups having camped overnight on the Humboldt trail. I did not find this road fun to drive at all. Although I know there are experts who could do it with enough patience, I would not drive my Subaru on this road.

Posted On: 8/15/2022 By: haup0021
Info: I was worried about the difficult of the road to the upper TH having never been here, nor have I driven much 'high clearance' roads; so this was a pretty big step up from the rough road to Sherman . I did make it to the upper TH with my Nissan Frontier Pro 4x; but I would say the road was at about the limits of that vehicle; and I did have to use 4WD on the way up in one section. There were several Subaru's at the upper TH; so its doable with a vehicle of that clearance; but like many others have said; you really do have to pick your lines as there are some pretty big rocks and ruts. The lot was almost full when we arrived Friday afternoon; and was 100% and beyond full when we left Saturday mid-day. (we passed a few cars going up, no idea where they ended up parking; further down I suppose). On a weekend I would probably just park in the lower lot if just doing the day hike to avoid the clutter of the upper TH; but when backpacking/camping its nice to avoid that 2 1/2 miles.

Posted On: 8/15/2022 By: coopergould
Info: Personally found the road up to the 4WD TH in considerably better shape than a year ago. Huge improvements and the main obstacle from August 2021 is completely gone. No problem for a stock Taco, plenty of less capable vehicles up there as well. Nothing to sweat about - go get it!

Posted On: 8/4/2022 By: spitfiremare
Info: The 4WD road is ROUGH for a Nissan Rogue. I managed to navigate without scraping bottom. You've got to carefully pick your lines. It's much worse than 4th of July Rd, for comparison. We got within 3/4 mi of the 4WD TH. There are places to get turned around, should you need to, but you may have to back down in order to get to one of these spots. I'm sure heavy rainfall would have an effect on the stability of this road so take that into consideration (conditions could worsen significantly). Several of the pullouts as you near the 4WD TH are marked 'no parking/no camping' as both THs and road are bordered by private property. I would not choose to drive my Rogue again on this road. We planned to sleep in our cars but if we would have had tents, we could have gotten a ride up the night prior. Hope this helps!

Posted On: 7/31/2022 By: LetsGoMets
Info: No issues with a 1.5" lifted Land Cruiser. Also saw someone get a Crosstrek up there. Road overall is in better shape so far than years past, but it's so variable and would still recommend good clearance/tires etc.

Posted On: 7/28/2022 By: jordanthebuff
Info: I drove to the upper trailhead in a stock Nissan Rogue. A couple times I had to reverse and try a different line, but for the most part the road is doable in a standard SUV if you are comfortable with driving on roads like this. Clearance would be the biggest issue IMO with anything smaller than what I drive (the Rogue has great clearance 8+"). The key to getting up this road is to know what your car can handle and pick good lines. I'd anticipate that the road will deteriorate as the season goes on with each rainstorm.

Posted On: 7/19/2022 By: skyrme17
Info: The road conditions to the 4WD trailhead are highly variable. I was able to drive in without much trouble, but on the way out found several big boulders in the middle of the road.

Posted On: 7/16/2022 By: ChossyChimayo
Info: To echo the sentiment of others, the road is for sure crossover-able. Made it up without issue in a normal Subaru Forester with normal all season tires after some rain. You just have to pick the right lines and keep speed where it matters. If the first half mile stresses you out, I recommend parking at the 2WD lot; it gets harder. If the very first hump makes you think twice, definitely park in the 2WD lot. The first major obstacle is better than it was a month ago, but other challenging sections remain. However, getting down is trickier than going up. And bring bug spray.

Posted On: 7/17/2022 By: spehkonen
Info: Road up to the 4WD trailhead is not bad. Saw several low-ish clearance Subarus make it without any issues. Locals in town told us it was impossible to make it to the 4WD trailhead in our Toyota Tundra (2WD). Definitely not true at all. GPS showed 16.7 miles round trip to the summit of Humboldt from the lower trailhead.

Posted On: 7/10/2022 By: daway8
Info: Arrived at 2WD TH at 5:30pm on Friday July 8 to find it already very nearly full. Left one vehicle there and went on up to 4WD TH in my Jeep. Road is pretty rough, I slightly scraped my skid plates a couple times although that probably could have been avoided if I had put more effort into careful maneuvering. Arrived at 4WD TH at 6:30pm and took pretty much the last spot, though a couple creative, daring folks squeezed in here and there afterwards and there may have been one or two vehicles from people out on long days that left after that (only to have those spots soon filled again). Multiple pull-offs not too far below the 4WD TH were empty on our way up on Friday but mostly full when we left Saturday afternoon. Got super lucky to find an established campsite right by the 4WD parking that was open (much better camping if you hike into the lake but way less weight to lug this way). Lots of people who didn't feel like hiking in just slept in their vehicles - just don't expect undisturbed sleep with all the vehicles coming through looking for parking.

Posted On: 7/12/2022 By: cyrrus
Info: Not bad at all. Any crossover could make it easily. I drove an xterra and could have closed my eyes and made it. Last year, my buddy's explorer barely made it. Road is much improved.