7/8/2025 Posted On: 7/8/2025 By: wwdonaldson Info: Was able to take a Chevy Trailblazer all the way to campsite #6. Basically any 4WD or AWD car can make it to 6 and 7. A Subaru made it to 8 and 9. Someone took their Nissan Frontier to the end of the road or about 12,800 ft. Wouldn’t recommend but it’s worth possible. | ||||
7/2/2025 Posted On: 7/4/2025 By: sglow319 Info: This road report mostly addresses conditions before and at the stream crossing, as past that to the pass junction and above, high clearance + 4wd is an obvious must. *Most* cars can make it to site 1, probably 2. Carefully. There are still spots between pavement and site 1 that would give me pause without at least a bit of clearance. I made it to site 3 in my 4wd/8” clearance Highlander with regular nothing special tires. I opted to not continue up the road, as I was scoping it out for my partner, who was in a sedan - turned around at site 3. I suggested she not attempt the road at all. (We ended up car camping at the 2wd lot and since there are limited places to park between pavement & site 3, we started from there in the morning.) Just past site 3 gets a bit rough, but seeing it on the hike, if you have better tires than me, you can make it. Past site 7 is some significant rutting (there’s a line through it but still need clearance), but the only cars I saw after this point were trucks, one 4 runner, and one ATV. The rock on the road looks like it would’ve given my tires a flat immediately. At the stream crossing, there’s ONE pull off just prior to it, no parking directly before or after crossing. The creek itself isn’t as much of a problem as the large rocks at the entrance and exit of the crossing. I’m attaching pictures from the stream crossing (1&2), 3 is a photo of ruts above site 7, and 4&5 is right above site 3. I couldn’t find great info on this road for this season, so hopefully this helps someone who has a non-beefy 4wd car. Had I had better tires, I definitely would’ve been comfortable driving further up the road, but NOT past site 7. | 1 |
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6/2/2025 Posted On: 6/2/2025 By: S-Parx Info: Drove to about 10,600 up Castle Creek, roughly 0.8mi past the creek crossing. We used a stock 1st gen Tacoma. We carried skis and didn't feel the need to transition to ski boots/skins until about the end of the summer road at 12,700. Skied much further down on the way out there just did not think skinning a consistent traverse would be fun. Good boot tracks/postholes thru the snow. Castle N. Couloir is melted out. Bottom ~2/3 is still in, top 1/4 is narrow/peppery-looks like thin rocky skiing. Conundrum Couloir was in, only okay skiing though. | 2 |
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5/28/2025 Posted On: 5/28/2025 By: BillMiddlebrook Info: Open to the creek crossing, so the established campsites are accessible. | 2 |
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10/4/2024 Posted On: 10/4/2024 By: dividedsky Info: Made it to 12,800 in a stock Jeep Wrangler with road tires. Only one other Jeep up there while we were up there, one Tacoma at a pull-off not long before the road turns into a shelf road. Its a tough road, a few spots would give you a lot of trouble if you dont have high clearance and experience, the toughest parts are the creek crossing (get out and assess before you go through to get a good line coming out because of the large rocks in the road), and the shelf road portion above the Pearl Pass/Montezuma Basin junction, the are a couple washouts that are difficult to maneuver but if you pick a good line you are fine. The last part of the shelf road is a bit of a puckerfest with it being very narrow, a lot of loose rock, a drop off on one side and two large slanted humps that lean you towards the drop off, the second one is much worse than the other. | ||||
10/4/2024 Posted On: 10/5/2024 By: dividedsky Info: Made it to 12,800 in a stock Jeep Wrangler with road tires. Only one other Jeep up there while we were up there, one Tacoma at a pull-off not long before the road turns into a shelf road. Its a tough road, a few spots would give you a lot of trouble if you dont have high clearance and experience, the toughest parts are the creek crossing (get out and assess before you go through to get a good line coming out because of the large rocks in the road), and the shelf road portion above the Pearl Pass/Montezuma Basin junction, the are a couple washouts that are difficult to maneuver but if you pick a good line you are fine. The last part of the shelf road is a bit of a puckerfest with it being very narrow, a lot of loose rock, a drop off on one side and two large slanted humps that lean you towards the drop off, the second one is much worse than the other. | ||||
9/29/2024 Posted On: 9/30/2024 By: NativeTransplant Info: Made it to 11,200' in a stock tacoma without any scraping or drama. Take it slow and choose your lines wisely. If you can make it past the water crossing, you can make it up to 11,200'. Side note, the trail doesn't look much more difficult (if at all) beyond 11,200' up to 12,800'. If you can make it to 11,200', you can probably make it all the way to the top. | ||||
9/14/2024 Posted On: 9/16/2024 By: BricART Info: Made it to campsites 8/9 in a Crosstrek Wilderness. Getting through the washout after site 7 wasn't terribly difficult as there are a couple lines through it. Could have probably made it through the creek crossing and then the road eases a bit from there, but wasn't sure about camping availability after it so we stopped there. | ||||
9/7/2024 Posted On: 9/8/2024 By: ColoNativeGal Info: As described, definitely need a high clearance 4x4. Saw an Audi Q(?) that made it up to 11,100 ft, not sure how. Saw several Tacomas along the way. Saw a Dodge Truck up pretty high, some 4runners, near the mine and a stock Nissan Xterra and some Jeeps at the upper TH. Got my F350 tank to campsite 2 no issue, but was glad not to have to take it further, the creek crossing turn, exit with a large boulder would have been very tough to navigate in my tank. Creek wasn't that deep, no other major things to report, standard 4x4 road with some easy stuff and some challenging obstacles that are not a major issue with the right vehicle to handle it. | ||||
8/30/2024 Posted On: 8/30/2024 By: CraigE Info: I got my Subaru Forester with all-season road tires up to 11,050 feet, just below Pearl Pass junction. There's a deep washout right after Campsite #7, but there are a couple of good lines through it. The exit from the creek crossing was a little tight, but passable. After those spots, it was all pretty good up to the short bridge below Pearl Pass junction. One of the switchbacks right after the bridge was more than I wanted to deal with by that point. | 1 |
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8/17/2024 Posted On: 8/18/2024 By: codyli34 Info: Made it to the junction split to Pearl Pass in a stock GMC Sierra. Took it a bit slow and careful at points but nothing crazy. Many other pickup trucks, Jeeps, and 4runners all made it too. Saw a Rav4 up there too but not sure I'd recommend anyone trying it. A handful of vehicles got all the way to the end of the road. Seemed doable while hiking the road. | ||||
8/11/2024 Posted On: 8/11/2024 By: NathanMihm Info: A bit sketchy but was able to get my Subaru Crosstrek to campsite 4. Easy from 4 to 7. 8 and 9 are after a big rut and really rocky to drive into anyways so probably not worth it. | ||||
7/23/2024 Posted On: 7/23/2024 By: Emilygrippin Info: Hiked on 7/21. To mirror previous posts, the road gets a bit spicy past campsite 3, I decided not to risk it with a Subaru Crosstrek. After this patch the road is relatively good until the large rut that spans across the entire road near campsite 7. The first three campsites are in high demand as you can imagine, but if you have the correct vehicle or are willing to hike, there are several dispersed campsites with established fire pits beyond the creek crossing. 4Runners and jeeps were handling this road without issue. | ||||
7/14/2024 Posted On: 7/16/2024 By: dwoodward13 Info: Took a Subaru to campsite #7, approximately 1 mile from pavement. Just past this there is a road-width water rut mentioned in prior reports. It looked pretty dicey for standard SUVs to cross, however a Expedition parked just beyond. This is only a quarter mile from the stream crossing, which would likely stop any SUV anyways so probably not worth it for most. Only pickups, 4runners, etc past the stream. A modified F150 (?) made it to the switchback just below 12,600. | ||||
6/20/2024 Posted On: 6/20/2024 By: S-Parx Info: Stopped at campsite #3 about 0.5mi from the pavement due to holes I did not want to take my CRV through. A more capable vehicle could make it to ~11,300 if I remember correctly until a large drift blocks the road. This is the same location there is a private house on the E side of the road. |