West Willow Creek Trailhead

Location

RangeSan Juan Mountains

Elevation11,500'

Lat/Lon37.95563, -106.96672

14ersSan Luis Peak

Road Difficulty

3 Easy 4WD/AWD, good clearance

Driving Directions

The West Willow Creek Trailhead is nearly 9 miles north of Creede. After taking CO 149 into Creede, turn right onto Main Street and drive north through town to join Loma Ave/Road 503. The 503 road is a well maintained 2wd dirt road, albeit steep and rough in a few sections, and only turns to 4wd when you get within 1.5 miles of the trailhead. Reset your odometer as you pass the last buildings on your right or when the road turns to dirt:

Just outside of town you'll pass a mining museum/community building and a large parking area for ATV/OHV trailers.
Continue north through a gorge, full of mining remnants.
At 2.9 miles the road has a sharp left turn at the Midwest Mine site.
At 4.8 miles continue straight on 503 at a large intersection with Bachelor Road (504). Just past the intersection there should be a sign for Equity Mine.
At 7.1 miles turn left on 503, as you see the working Equity Mine up to your right. The 2wd road ends at the Equity Mine. This last 1.5 miles on 503 requires 4wd and good clearance.
At 8.2 miles the road switchbacks down and crosses a creek. If you somehow made it this far without 4wd, park at the turn before dropping to the creek - there's a pull-off big enough for a few vehicles.
At 8.7 miles reach the unmarked trailhead at a sharp left turn. The road continues west but your trail starts at the turn. There's parking for several vehicles and a few tent spots.

On-Site Info

ParkingRoom for less than 10 vehicles and then you'll have to pull off the road nearby.

CampingA few places to pitch a tent at the trailhead and down the road.

Restrooms?No

Fees?No

Photos

Winter Access

There is usually a winter closure at the Commodore Mine.

Trailhead added by BillMiddlebrook

Status Updates
Map


2/4/2019 Posted On: 2/4/2019 By: SarahT Info: 504 is plowed and in good shape to the junction with 503 which is 2 miles before the mine. There is a nice parking area there at the 503/504 junction. Not passable by any vehicle except a sled after that.
12/22/2018 Posted On: 12/26/2018 By: sdkeil Info: We drove an additional 0.6 miles past the 503 / 504 intersection in our Subaru Forester where we found a nice pull out and decided to park. We had passed a local in a 4wd saying it got a little dicey beyond that point. This left us about 1.7 miles short of the Equity mine. A 4wd with a capable driver would have been able to get close the mine and our way out we observed ORV tracks that made it within a quarter mile of the mine.
10/15/2018 Posted On: 10/15/2018 By: shsdawg58 Info: We made it to the upper th at 11500 in a Toyota Tacoma. We didnt even have to put her in four wheel drive.
7/9/2018 Posted On: 7/9/2018 By: BillMiddlebrook Info: The road is dry all the way to the rugged stream crossing, 1/2 mile before the 4wd trailhead. The 2wd is rough washboard in a few of the steep sections shortly up from Creede.
5/26/2018 Posted On: 5/26/2018 By: AlexanderL4 Info: Drove to trailhead to climb San Luis on 5/25. Definitely need high clearance 4 wheel drive for last 1.6 miles from Equity Mine. Kind of a tight squeeze with some down trees about .2 miles above equity mine, but other than that no problem getting to trailhead with ice or snow.
5/13/2018 Posted On: 5/13/2018 By: Eli Boardman Info: Dry all the way to the end of the improved road at the mine just above 11k. Be aware that some sections are very steep! Beyond the mine, the road is fairly rutted and muddy in places but passable in a Subaru outback. The actual trailhead is filled with ice, so it's best to park just before it.
9/3/2017 Posted On: 9/3/2017 By: merrion13 Info: Creek crossings are low, and but for a couple washouts, fairly straightforward if your vehicle has clearance. There was a Forester at the TH along with the usual 4Runners, Jeeps and Full size trucks.
8/29/2017 Posted On: 8/29/2017 By: dwoodward13 Info: Went up the "reverse" Bachelor Loop (started across from the Ball fields) to Equity and had no issues in a Camry. I would recommend this approach if shooting for San Luis with a less suitable car. Beautiful route!
7/21/2017 Posted On: 7/22/2017 By: benlen Info:
7/1/2017 Posted On: 7/2/2017 By: E_A_Marcus_949 Info: Took a stock Subaru Legacy up to the Equity Mine. No issues with the dirt road to that point - make sure you have good traction and at least AWD though... there are some steep grades to get up to that mine. There's a parking area by the mine. Dirt road in good condition until that point. You'll need an AWD/high-clearance after the mine to get to the TH though. There are some puddles and the creek crossing (first one is small, second one is larger). The mile+ past the mine to the TH is doable in at least a Toyota Highlander, though. Past the TH the road gets steep and rough, so park by the TH start.
6/17/2017 Posted On: 6/18/2017 By: chicagostylehotdog Info: No snow on the road. Took a Jeep Compass to the upper TH with no difficulties. Was considering taking my civic and I'm glad I didn't. Lots of puddles - 6-8"? deep - along the road, some as wide as the entire road, which would make hiking from the lower TH a bit more difficult. Creek crossing is shown in the attached picture. The water level was low here, maybe 4" at the deepest, but some of the later puddles are deeper.			2
4/16/2017 Posted On: 4/17/2017 By: AlexeyD Info: Snow still blocks road in the same place as last week's report, but road to equity mine melting out quickly. Follow summer directions from Creede - no need to take Bachelor Mine alternate route.
4/8/2017 Posted On: 4/11/2017 By: killingcokes Info: Road is plowed to the junction of the Bachelor Mine Road (504) at 10,549'. Still a fair amount of snow past that.			1
11/25/2016 Posted On: 11/26/2016 By: Eagle Eye Info: Drove a high-clearance 4WD as far as (but not across) the second West Willow Creek crossing on the 4WD road, which is about .5 mile from the TH. This creek crossing has a fairly steep decent into it, and a hard ice cover over it. The 503 road is mostly snow covered after the 503/504 junction, with a mixture of snow drifts, ice flows, and even blown bare dirt sections closer to the TH.
6/18/2016 Posted On: 6/18/2016 By: dogballs Info: West Willow Creek trailhead can be easily accessed. There were a couple midsize SUVs there today. Any AWD/FWD should be able to make it with careful driving. There are a few puddles to drive through, but the base is solid so just go slow. I found the directions a little confusing, so here are some more. From the intersection of Main Street and Loma Ave it is 8 miles to the trailhead. Go north on CR503. You will pass the intersection of CR503 and CR502 at .5miles. Keep left on CR503. At 2.4miles you will come to the intersection of CR503 and CR502 again. Keep left. At 2.6miles you need to do a 180 going left continuing on CR503. At 4.4miles you come to the intersection on CR503 and CR504. Keep right on CR503. At 6.4miles you will come to the entrance of Equity Mine. Go left on the 4x4 road (West Willow Rd). At 6.9miles you will cross the creek for the first time. There is a culvert there. Continue on the 4x4 road up the valley. At 7.5miles the road descends back towards the creek where you cross it a second time. This time you drive through the creek and make a 180 to the right. From there its .5miles to the trailhead.

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