Posted By: sarahmariekirk Info: This road is unreal! Colorado Jeep Club was out there today getting after it, but it is insane and I definitely do not recommend driving up it unless you have a heavily modified Rubicon. | ||||
Posted By: daway8 Info: Having just hiked the Lake Como/Blanca Peak road yesterday here are some thoughts: by comparison the road to Lake Como is the kiddy park of 4WD roads, the area surrounding the main trail on Bierstadt is comparitively void of vegetation and you’ll see only slightly more dry ground on your way up to Wheeler Lake then you will on your typical crossing of the Pacific Ocean... In other words park at the trailhead described for this route. Jaws type obstacles are a dime a dozen on this road and huge, deep mud puddles are so abundant and prevalent that they pretty much all have permanent bypasses for hikers though sometimes you have to hunt for them. If you just go to the 2WD trailhead it’s easy other than one fairly steep dirt hill and a handful of potholes. By afternoon there were about 20 4WD vehicles at various spots along the road - most of them heavily modified. You need a very serious rig and extremely good driving skills to drive to Wheeler Lake. Unless you thought the Lake Como road was just too easy then don’t even think about trying to drive to the lake on this one. | ||||
Posted By: colin j Info: Gate is open and road is dry to parking area on west side of reservoir. Patchy ice starts at Magnolia mine and becomes more consistent about 0.7 miles in; impracticable to drive up 4x4 road | ||||
Posted By: E_A_Marcus_949 Info: Dirt road in great shape from paved road turn off to the trailhead/base of 4WD. Only serious off-road capable vehicles past there. Easy 3-mi hike up to Wheeler Lakes though. | ||||
Posted By: rudi32 Info: Definitely 2wd capable. Pretty steep in some sections and also fairly narrow, but the road is in good shape ! | ||||
Posted By: CheapCigarMan Info: Mr. Roach says you can get 2.4 miles up further in a 4WD. Then need modified after that to Wheeler Lake. I seen stock Toyota’s and Range Rovers and some others make it all the way to Wheeler. I also seen someone working late into the night putting on a new axle. To me if you can make the first three obstacles you can make it to Wheeler Lake. I attempted it in my Nissan Pro-4x but with my bald tires and pouring rain I didn’t take the chance. All three of these made it. BTW if the car in the first pic made it to Wheeler Lake, why can’t yours? | ||||
Posted By: dcruz654 Info: Dry and easy passage up to parking at cement wall. Snow on road almost immediately after that, not passable yet even with a modded 4x4 | ||||
Posted By: 9patrickmurphy Info: Road is open and free from snow to Wheeler Lake. Lots of mud puddles, as usual, with social trails to get around them pretty easily. There is a creek crossing just before Bowling Ball Hill (the last, steep hill up to the lake) that as far as I can tell you need to take your shoes off for. Water’s flowing strong and I couldn’t find anywhere to cross without being in grave danger of water-logging my mountaineering boots. | ||||
Posted By: BillMiddlebrook Info: The road is now open around Montgomery Reservoir and dry to the parking near the concrete wall. The nasty 4WD road into Montgomery Gulch is blocked by snow a short distance up the hill from the trailhead, near the Magnolia Mine. Also, if you’re thinking of hiking up the road, it is currently a frustrating mixture of collapsible snow, large puddles and running water for over a mile before it becomes continuous snow. | ||||
Posted By: nathansmithpiano Info: Easy access, no snow on road, gate at the usual spot maybe 1/2 mile from the summer parking area, no one else was there on Fri 4/26/19 | ||||
Posted By: E_A_Marcus_949 Info: Parked below the mine parking lot right before the bridge - walked to the mine. Any car can make it to the mine itself. Easy and clear dirt road all the way. | ||||
Posted By: cardgenius Info: 3 or 4 small puddles and one really big one with deep mud and large rocks. Saw 2 Jeep Rubicons w/lifts and 33s make it to Wheeler Lake. | ||||
Posted By: WildWanderer Info: Open to the end of the 2WD trailhead. Easy to drive and clear. 4WD is closed and covered in hard packed snow. | ||||
Posted By: BillMiddlebrook Info: As stated previously, the road is clear to the parking area on the other side of the reservoir. The 4WD road is now mostly clear of snow for the first 2 miles but has a LOT of water on it. Some rock-crawlers made it up about 2.5 miles before they encountered wide, deep snow fields. | ||||
Posted By: adrenalated Info: Clear and dry to summer 2WD trailhead. Wheeler Lake 4x4 Road is blocked by snowdrifts within the first 1/2mi. Some are quite deep and probably a month out from melting. Continuous snow doesn’t start until treeline, however. | ||||
Posted By: BillMiddlebrook Info: Winter closure still in place but now the road is plowed around the lake, making the walk around much easier. | ||||
Posted By: BillMiddlebrook Info: Normal winter closure in place, on the north side of the lake. Currently, the road around the lake is too rough/dangerous for snowmobiles because of the way the snow has settled. | ||||
Posted By: My-Therapy Info: Any car should be able to make it to the trail head as of Sunday evening 11-15. We hiked up to Wheeler Lake. The trail from trail head to Wheeler Lake was 90% snow and ice covered. There is a nice boot/snowshoe trail/trench all the way up to the lake now. Traction/gaiters advised after about a mile or so from trail head. | ||||
Posted By: stefan_SCHWEIZER Info: Road to the TH before the small bridge is bone dry and easily doable in a 2WD. Road is also in a good condition with no potholes. From there it‘s only a short distance to the TH. The last ~300yards are closed. | ||||
Posted By: SolarAlex Info: The road to the upper trailhead is beyond gnarly. I watched a guy break his front axle in a lifted 4 door jeep (brand new) trying to get over the first obstacle near the parking area. Thats not even the crux of the road either. Id imagine it would take a very heavily modified 4wd to even have a chance. Getting to the lower parking area is easy though, any vehicle with decent clearance should be fine. | ||||
Posted By: major_tom Info: Drove CR 4 from SH 9 to the Magnolia Mill. Road is in great shape, one big rut right before the mill at the bottom of the hill can be negotiated, don‘t let it stop ya. No snow anywhere on the lower half of the Jeep trail to Wheeler Lake. |
