American Basin Trailhead

Posted On: 8/9/2020 By: jordanthebuff
Info: Definitely need highish 4WD, but this road is no worse than other 4WD roads to 14er trailheads. Its about 4 miles from the Grizzly Gulch/Silver Creek trailhead to American Basin and the cutoff is very obvious. We ended up parking just after turning onto the American Basin road. We could have driven all the way up, but we were looping the Handies southwest slopes and the east slopes, so we'd need to get back to the car eventually anyways. If your car can make it up to the American Basin road, you can make it too the trailhead. Neither creek crossing (first on the CR30 and second on the American Basin road) was deep and could be passed in any vehicle at this point in the summer. I though the toughest sections of road were about 1/2 - 3/4 mile past Grizzly gulch and then again about 1/2 mile before the American basin road. I was driving a stock 2016 Nissan Rogue and I would say any Subaru or crossover/mini SUV could make it to the trailhead. I would say this road is comparable to the Mt Huron road above Winfield.

There is some great camping in and around the Grizzly Gulch TH. We found a spot 0.4 miles past there. If you are only doing Handies, then you could camp closer to the American Basin TH as there were plenty of spots the entire length between Grizzly Gulch and American Basin THs.

Posted On: 8/1/2020 By: Schuck
Info: Question - can I make the drive on CO 30 from Lake San Cristobal to the lower trailhead in a Honda Odyssey? Don't have our Suburban on this trip and not sure how far I could get in the van. Plan to drive to the lower trailhead and hike the extra ~1 mile to the upper trailhead, if possible.

Posted On: 7/30/2020 By: mwhat
Info: Directions on the trailhead page are from Lake City. Are Google Maps directions accurate, if coming from Silverton?

Posted On: 7/27/2020 By: Tim Fab
Info: Does anyone know what to expect from the road condition this Tuesday afternoon 7/28? Given all the rain and the flash flood warning issued for Monday I am wondering if the road is at risk of wash-outs or if the creek crossing will be too high for a Subaru.

Posted On: 7/13/2020 By: aseamans
Info: Just a question: how does the route look going up 30 from Lake City to the TH? Is the creek at Cleveland Gulch pretty nasty or doable? We have a stock 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and are looking to drive up there to do Handies. Any info or advice would be much appreciated.

Posted On: 7/12/2020 By: E_A_Marcus_949
Info: I didn't drive this but walked it back from Handies TH to Grizzly Gulch. There are a few tough spots but saw one Subaru Crosstrek that made it to about 11,400'; the rest of the cars at the upper trailhead were trucks, 4runners, ATVs, razers, lifted SUVs, etc. Too many vehicles were parked on the tundra, grass, and flowers. Honestly most of the road was well maintained - if you know how to pick your lines you'd be able to make it somewhat far. The roughest part seemed to be near the upper trailhead. Attached are photos of the two creek crossing (horizontal is first; vertical is second, closest to upper TH - Subaru I mentioned before made it right past this second creek crossing).

Posted On: 6/26/2020 By: Ugaboo4
Info: The trailhead is only 20 miles south of lake city but takes about 1.5 hours to get to the trailhead. Highly recommend 4 wheel drive. The first 10 miles are not bad but the last 10 are definitely off-road conditions. Once you take a left to approach the American Basin TH, there are plenty of spots to pull off and park. We had no problem crossing the stream yesterday. We have a Jeep Rubicon and has no problem getting to the end of the trailhead. Beautiful spot to camp. The views are breathtaking! Summer conditions!

Posted On: 6/23/2020 By: hogantheepic
Info: Drove up this road after dark on the 19th, couldn't tell where the actual trailhead was. Camped out, and in the morning, ended up hiking about a half mile to the trailhead. Everyone else besides 2 cars ended up parking where we were parked and hiked the extra half mile to the trailhead as well. Oops!

Road should probably have 4WD only (they always say 4WD recommended for some reason) because there are some spots where you might have trouble otherwise. Also, high clearance would make it a lot safer for your car.

Posted On: 6/19/2020 By: CougarOwl+53
Info: Just a question about road size in the final stretch to American Basin. Is that road wide enough for a full sized pickup, or would I be better off bringing my family up in a smaller, more maneuverable Ford Explorer? I would prefer the full sized as I would be bringing my daughters and the extra room would be useful. Thanks. New to this site. It is amazing and is answering most of my questions.

Posted On: 6/15/2020 By: Rcole
Info: The upper parking lot in American Basin is clear and open. The route from Ouray (Corkscrew, California Pass, Animas Forks, Cinnamon Pass) is clear and in good shape.

Posted On: 6/2/2020 By: mtnmaneric
Info: The road to Cinnamon Pass is open, including the turnoff to American Basin, however there are a number of large snowbanks covering the road up to the upper TH.

Posted On: 5/21/2020 By: Squirrellysquirrel
Info: A rogue individual cut the bolt to the American Basin TH earlier last week allowing a moderate amount of traffic into the area. Hayduke does indeed live in the hearts of others, you could say. I've been informed that opening this area is an orchestrated event with the S San Juans to ensure that all roads are contiguous from one side to the other so that if someone is in an OHV, they won't get stuck without gas or encounter a post-winter, gnarly road experience. American Basin closure has since been rebolted and will be closed until probably June 1 (it's usu opening date). Double check status today: it's indeed closed and the campgrounds that surround are packed to the gills.

Posted On: 5/20/2020 By: Tim A
Info: Gate just above Grizzly Gulch still locked for snow clearing. Walked the road to the American Basin/Cinammon split and its 100% free of snow so the county may open it any day. Creek crossing manageable on foot. This does add 4 miles each way and about 1000 of extra gain to any climbs of Handies or American peak.

Did not go further into American basin than the 2wd th where continuous snow starts. The north face couloirs on American are in. Did not climb today so cant comment on snow quality.

Posted On: 10/13/2019 By: sunny1
Info: Dry. No show or ice to contend with on the roads or on Handies & 13,795.
4WD & clearance are necessary to get to the upper TH.
There is parking 0.2 mi below, saw a Subaru and a few trucks parked there.

Posted On: 9/26/2019 By: wolfgangstiller
Info: Cinnamon Pass Road is clear from Lake City to American Basin TH. Parts require high clearance. Last .9 mile to TH is 4WD but a high clearance 2wd could make it to the turn off.