Quandary Trailhead

PARKING ISSUE
Between June 15th and September 15th, a reservation is required to park at the Quandary Peak trailhead. There are a small number of spots and the cost is $30 - $55. Your other option is the Quandary shuttle service, provided by Breckenridge. It's $7, runs 5:00am - 5:00pm, and your reservation allows you to board the shuttles any time throughout the day. Shuttle parking/pickup is at the South Gondola lot parking structure in Breckenridge. To purchase trailhead parking or a shuttle ride, visit HikeQuandary.com. The site should be open for reservations on June 1st.

Location

RangeTenmile Range

Elevation10,850'

Lat/Lon39.38491, -106.06178

14ersQuandary Peak

Road Difficulty

1 (0=Paved, 6=Very Difficult 4WD)
2WD dirt to the TH.

Driving Directions

From Breckenridge, drive 8 miles south on Colorado 9. Turn right (west) on the 850 (Blue Lakes) Road. Trailhead parking is on the right, just after you leave the highway. If you took the Breckenridge shuttle, it will drop you off here.

On-Site Info

ParkingIn summer, reserved only.

CampingNo good camping spots in the area.

Restrooms?Yes, in summer

Fees?Yes, in summer

Winter Access

2WD accessible with parking in the signed lot at the start of the 850 road.

Trailhead added by BillMiddlebrook

Status Updates
Map


12/27/2015 Posted On: 12/31/2015 By: rachel88 Info: Lower winter parking lot is plowed, access off blue lakes rd. From co9. Snowmobile tracks up past 2nd parking lot. Trails obvious in snow to north west of parking lot. No trailers, no overnight parking, no bathrooms.
8/8/2015 Posted On: 8/11/2015 By: scoutbuff1 Info: This report provides info on dispersed camping neat the TH... McCullough Gulch Road (851) offers some good sites approximately 1.5 miles up from the TH on the left side of the road opposite Forest Rd 477 sign. Very nice area accommodates 6-10 tents very near the road and many more up in the trees. (Follow the forest road about 1/3 of a mile and you join the East Route trail to the summit.) The road also breaks right and offers some other usable sites that could accommodate a modest group. Additional camping is down in McCullough Gulch on 851, ~3 miles from TH. Campsites began to get filled around 2 p.m. on Friday...			1
7/26/2015 Posted On: 7/27/2015 By: MGatMileHigh Info: Easy dirt road to the trail head from CO-9. Good condition. Parking lots and the 851 road gets crowded easily on weekends. I could park my car right at the trail head on a Saturday only because I overslept ;-) and got to the place at 9 AM (then had to do a mad dash to summit, just before thunderstorms). Watchout for tight spaces on the road as vehicles get parked and if you face cars from opposite direction.			1
6/17/2015 Posted On: 6/17/2015 By: BillMiddlebrook Info: The McCullough Gulch (851) road is open, including the official Quandary trailhead, 0.1 mile up from the 850/851 road junction.
5/11/2015 Posted On: 5/18/2015 By: WillRobnett Info: Quandary parking is snow free. Snow from there. McCullough Gulch (851) Road was snow covered at the entrance of the road. Some dry patches at the beginning as I passed Quandary's lower standard route.
1/30/2015 Posted On: 3/10/2015 By: amcdonald Info: The winter parking lot is to your immediate right once you turn onto 850 - it is hard not to miss. It was packed down snow, but a 2WD could handle it. There are trails leading up to 851 and the summer trailhead in the back left (northwest-ish) corner of the parking lot. It is not a far walk to get to Quandary‘s summer trailhead from here.
11/27/2014 Posted On: 11/28/2014 By: Jackson12 Info: Road to upper lot snowed in and blocked by drift from snow plow. Lower lot open and plowed.
9/26/2014 Posted On: 9/30/2014 By: masonpips Info: Drove into lower lot and parked with 2 other cars. Took short hike up to the other road and the upper lot had a few more cars, but was not full. Had rented a Toyota Sienna minivan. No issue at all, but you‘re on gravel for less than 100 feet for lower lot.
9/4/2014 Posted On: 9/13/2014 By: bking14ers Info: There are two parking lots good for any car. The lower overflow lot is very large, and has pot-a-johns. The upper lot is small about eight cars could park there. It‘s up the road to the right, past the lower lot about 200yds.
5/17/2014 Posted On: 5/19/2014 By: Leopard233 Info: Lower Parking lot right off of 9 was clear but there is no higher access.
5/13/2014 Posted On: 5/13/2014 By: M1keey Info: Parking lot had ~10" of snow last night, but melting fast. Had to have 2 people give me a push in my 2WD this afternoon.
1/26/2014 Posted On: 1/31/2014 By: Michael Underwood Info: 851 (McCullough Gulch Rd) is currently closed, but the winter parking just off the intersection of 850 and CO 9 is open. This adds only a tiny distance to your hike. There were quite a few cars in the icy parking lot. My 1997 Toyota Camry with snow tires had no problem negotiating the short segment of 850 or the slick-looking parking area.
11/29/2013 Posted On: 12/1/2013 By: wolfgangstiller Info: We parked just off the highway 9 at the big lot close to the turn off to the 851 (the road going north to the East ridge TH) The 851 was still drivable right to the parking by the TH but we had to push out one Subaru which got stuck as we were hiking out so I recommend parking at the big lot just off the main road (hwy 9). The trail was totally packed down and slippery in spots above tree line. Most of our group wore micro spikes and was glad we did but three members had none and did OK. We all carried snow shoes but did not use them. Off the packed down trail the snow was quite deep. Above tree line the snow was wind blown and icy in a few spots.
11/3/2013 Posted On: 11/10/2013 By: AlexeyD Info: Some snow and ice on the road to the upper TH, and on the TH parking itself, but quite passable with decent all-season tires.
10/19/2013 Posted On: 10/19/2013 By: IHikeLikeAGirl Info: TH is still accessible by passenger cars, even with the latest snowfall. The road has been plowed and my Hyundai Veloster was able to make it, and it sucks in the snow.

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