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


10/27/2012 Posted On: 10/28/2012 By: Hypersnow Info: Minor snow patches to trailhead, easily passable with a four wheel drive vehicle.
8/11/2012 Posted On: 8/11/2012 By: Jay521 Info: No problem with the creek crossings at all now. Saw a couple small SUV‘s at the trailhead. But the road is closed through the Equity mine - note the signs just before the mine that direct you to the bypass (which is in MUCH better shape than it was a few years ago).
7/9/2012 Posted On: 7/9/2012 By: WheelerDealer Info: Johnny Depp is gone and the West Willow Trailhead is back open! The recent thunderstorms have made the road pretty difficult past the equity mine, and the big creek crossing is pretty nasty. Maybe scout it before you commit. Keep an eye out for a family of moose in the area of Willow Creek.
6/23/2012 Posted On: 6/24/2012 By: djkest Info: Normal access to this trailhead is CLOSED. They currently have security barring access with County Sheriff backing them up. See recent PEAK CONDITIONS report for the workaround. We didn‘t know about the possible detour, so we had to drive 100+ miles to the Stewart Creek TH to hike San Luis Peak. They said it may be open again by the end of the month but you might want to call the county sheriff before you attempt to use this approach.
8/13/2011 Posted On: 8/15/2011 By: gouldst Info: The description is a bit dated and hard to follow, so here's an update that hopefully users will find helpful. Going north out of Creede, stay left at the large display for the Bachelor Loop. This will take you through the Commodore mine complex. Road can be steep here, but it is in excellent shape and any car taller than a Corvette can use it. Next fork, stay left. The next turn is at the hairpin curve. Don't go into the mine area in front of you, but follow the hairpin curve to the left. The next intersection is a four way - go straight at this intersection. Next landmark is the Equity Mine. You cannot go through the Equity Mine property, so you bear left onto a 4WD road here. A 2WD car can make to this point easily. The 4WD road is not bad - we made it easily with a Honda Pilot. I would NOT try it with any low clearance vehicle - there are several streams to cross and some washouts where a low clearance car would probably bottom out. The trailhead is pretty obvious and there is room for several vehicles to park. Will try and post some pictures, but not having any luck with that.
5/15/2011 Posted On: 5/17/2011 By: JMB Info: Clear to Equity Mine. Impassable (by car) snow beyond.
5/23/2010 Posted On: 5/23/2010 By: emcee smith Info: The road north of Creede seemed to be blocked a bit above town at an old mine site; equipment was parked in the road. The Bachelor loop road is clear and dry up to the Equity mine site. Also clear to about 1/8 mile beyond the mine, where drifts still block the road. The road was muddy, with some drifts up to the point where it crosses the creek. The creek is high, alternate trail on the east side of the creek, with some mild willow bashing.
6/17/2009 Posted On: 6/17/2009 By: Dad Mike Info: June 4, 2009...Roach‘s description is outdated and confusing. The bridge he refers to is the small bridge in the center of Creede and it is not labeled. It is not "south of creede" as he describes it. The north most of the 3 dirt roads past the bridge is now the only road of the three that is paved. When you see the cemetary sign...do not turn right...keep the sign on your right and go straight up the hill. Conditions...We were able to get all the way up to the upper parking area...past the Equity mine...in a stock Jeep Liberty. The creek crossings were insignificant. The only difficulty was a mud pit 100 yards from the top. On the way down we helped pull a Range Rover out of it.
5/26/2009 Posted On: 5/26/2009 By: JB99 Info: Passable to the 4wd trailhead. There is a major mudhole that is a couple hundred yards from the parking at the 4wd trailhead that is several feet deep and not worth the risk of driving through until things dry out quite a bit, a truck got stuck in it in it and I got my Cherokee stuck going around him in what turned out to be a nasty bog. 7 hours and a very helpful Creede local with an F250 got us out.
5/20/2009 Posted On: 5/20/2009 By: elchivoloco Info: Totally clear, dry, and graded to the Equity Mine / 2WD parking.
5/17/2008 Posted On: 5/17/2008 By: Gahugafuga Info: Despite rumors to the contrary, the road is not yet clear to the Equity Mine. 4WDs have punched through many smaller drifts, but 4-5‘ deep drifts still block the last mile of road.
5/23/2007 Posted On: 5/23/2007 By: Chris P. Info: As of Tuesday 5/15, the road was passable to just past Equity mine, within about a mile of the trailhead. The rest of the road appeared to be melting off quickly.
5/30/2006 Posted On: 5/30/2006 By: scotthsu Info: Clear and snow-free to 4WD parking at 11,500 ft. passenger cars OK to Equity Mine, high clearance 4WD needed beyond.
9/26/2005 Posted On: 9/26/2005 By: mjlucarelli Info: Road is completely clear as of 9/24. I think any two wheel car could get to the trailhead via the 4x4 road with some easy manuevering around some large holes filled with water. But you may want high clearance two wheel drive just to be on the safe side.

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