Culebra (Main) Trailhead

Posted On: 5/20/2018 By: merrion13
Info: Completely dry and in good shape; however, the road does get pretty steep after the ranch on the way to Four Way...a FWD CRV with street tires got stuck on the hill and had to be towed to a flat area yesterday. If you don't think your car will make it, simply park at the HQ and ride up with others.

Posted On: 4/10/2018 By: hberry
Info: As of 4/7 you still have to start at the Ranch HQ. Similar to what the post below said, a 4x4 vehicle could make it just under 2 miles further without needing chains - but no matter, what the ranch says goes. The road below HQ was fine for almost any vehicle.

DO NOT FOLLOW GOOGLE MAPS/WAZE DIRECTIONS TO THE RANCH - They will put you at the wrong gate and you will have wasted 4 hours driving there - FOLLOW THE 14ERS DIRECTIONS.

Posted On: 1/7/2018 By: BrentRichter
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Posted On: 1/7/2018 By: Thevirtualsherpa
Info: Spoke with new owners and camping is allowed inside gates as in past. Must park car and walk in. He said fires are acceptable as well as long as they are in ring and under control. Trailhead has ample parking and how far you drive up depends on owner. Road to 4 way and upper TH is very steep in sections, AWD or 4x4 recommended. Not technically difficult at all. No bathrooms.

Posted On: 6/24/2016 By: Corey17
Info: Drove a Subaru Crosstrek to the upper Culebra TH today. The road was dry, well graded, and generally friendly. There was one or two water bars where I appreciated my clearance. It got a bit rockier above the Four Way, but was still an easy road. By far the crux of this one is the grade. A few parts were so steep that I was flooring the gas in 1st gear, and still creeping up at 5 MPH. Be prepared for the steepness. At the gate, Ron was recommending sedans to hitch rides.

Posted On: 8/1/2015 By: mtgirl
Info: Road thru ranch to the upper 4wd trailhead was in good condition today. Parked at lower Fourway trailhead just to get some extra vertical, but most other vehicles drove up to the upper trailhead one mile farther with no issue. Honestly, I think the road between Fourway and the upper trailhead is easier than the section between the ranch headquarters and Fourway. No clearance issues at all. We drove a Ford F-150, but I would have been comfortable driving my Subaru. Road is a bit steep approaching Fourway, so low gear while descending is advised. Power would be the biggest issue getting up the steep sections, not clearance. Slept in truck at gate. Ranch hand arrived 5:50 AM and promptly opened the gate and escorted hikers to headquarters to sign in at 6 AM. Hiking by 6:35 am. Tent camping is just inside the gate along with clean porta potty.

Posted On: 6/29/2015 By: fahixson
Info: Road to upper 4WD parking was in good shape. A few steep sections getting up to four way, but no rocks or other significant obstacles to speak of all the way to the end of the road. Most difficult part of the drive was getting in and out of the parking lot. We were in an AWD Nissan Rogue loaded down with 4 people.

Posted On: 6/27/2015 By: BillMiddlebrook
Info: Open, if you have a reservation

Posted On: 8/11/2014 By: OutbackDobbs
Info: I made it up the four-wheel drive road from the ranch to the trailhead in a Ford Escape Hybrid with all-wheel drive. So I was not even driving a true four-wheel drive and I still made it up the road. In fact the road was much better than I was expecting it to be and I went right up it with no problems. I thought going down it was harder than going up because of how steep the road is. I kept my vehicle in low gear and carefully work my way through the rougher sections of the road and made it back to the ranch with no issues. Based on what I saw it looks like the ranch is using the hiking fees to keep that road in good condition.

Posted On: 6/28/2014 By: jsdratm
Info: I made it up in my Subaru Forester OK today. The road is quite steep so i had it floored in 1st gear on several stretches. The ruts are easily avoided.

Posted On: 6/23/2014 By: mspalding
Info: No 2wd. If you try a 2wd you can straddle the large ruts on the way to the ranch. And you could pick your way around rocks and more ruts after the ranch. But the road from the ranch to Fourway is so steep, I could only get up to 10 to 15 miles/hour with the accelerator of my 4wd floored. And some of the steep stuff was littered with loose rock.

On another note, camping is allowed. The ok to camp sign was stolen, but I talked to the ranch hand and he encourages you to use the flat area across from the outhouse and on the corner with the telephone pole. Lots of good flat sites. Just step through the bars.

Posted On: 7/24/2013 By: zdero1
Info: The road was in great condition and easily passable in my Subaru Forester. I don‘t know how conditions were last year, but this road should be easily traversable by a Jeep or any 4wd vehicle. I only saw 4wd vehicles at the TH but a very determined driver of a 2wd vehicle could make it IMO.

Posted On: 6/24/2012 By: --bb--
Info: One minor note: the gas station at the intersection of Highway 159 and P.6 (4th street) in San Luis is now a Conoco (not Phillips 66).

Also, the 4wd road is fine. Just make sure you are comfortable driving. Carlos helped two jeeps out yesterday. if you are weary about driving, go up the hill last or ask a fellow hiker for a lift.

Posted On: 6/23/2012 By: jfaust
Info: Road to the ranch HQ can be driven by any car, very dusty. Recommend clearance and 4WD for anything past that. The clearance doesn‘t need to be anything crazy, but due to the steepness in several sections of road it is very easy to spin out in 2WD.

Posted On: 8/28/2011 By: Roald
Info: Just want to make sure everyone is clear that the road from the gate to the ranch headquarters is great, but the road from the headquarters to four way and on to the upper trailhead is terrible. You will need AWD at a minimum, and decent clearance would help. Several people had to get rides from 4WD vehicles today from the ranch. It sure doesn't look like they're using some of the $100 fee to maintain this road, or at least not using enough of it.