South Colony Lakes Trailhead

Posted On: 9/27/2026 By: mtn14
Info: Took a stock 4runner to 10,100ft, and stopped when the transmission started overheating. Scraped a couple times, and 3-4 more pin stripes

Posted On: 8/31/2026 By: auddupree
Info: No issues getting to the 4WD trailhead in an off-road 4runner. There was a stock XTerra up top which was impressive. The road is in rough shape and there are a few ruts along the way that are getting deep. On the way down, there were a couple Subarus pulled off that wisely decided to call it pretty early, but I'm fairly certain they were parked before national forest. Please be respectful of private property.

Posted On: 8/14/2026 By: ZooDude
Info: Humboldt was my 40th. And getting to the 4WD trailhead was the roughest road I have ever been on. 3 or 4 spots that were pretty gnarly. It was not much of an issue for me, as I was driving a Rubicon (thanks Hertz!). I was thinking as I went over the rough spots "man, no way a Subaru is getting up this road". So naturally, at the trailhead, there were 3 Subarus. Props to those folks!

Posted On: 8/10/2026 By: CodyHowell
Info: My first time up the trail so I didnt have any expectations, but I was surprised how rough it was. The first section after the 2wd parking area to the national forest area was very rough and rocky. After that it was not bad minus a few spots you had to pick a decent line. I was in a lifted GX470 so no issues, but I was surprised to see a few lower clearance vehicles at the top. I personally wouldnt recommend unless you had decent ground clearance and 4low.

Posted On: 8/10/2026 By: Cbbush
Info: Easy up to the 2WD trailhead. Road after the cattle guard is pretty rough. Made it to trailhead with no issues in a stock long bed Tacoma - took it slow. Having a spotter was almost a necessity, some tough spots where line choice is important. Would recommend ground clearance and a true 4x4 system. No mud or slick rock.

Posted On: 8/7/2026 By: CraigE
Info: I drove my stock Subaru Forester to the 4WD trailhead yesterday after reading the recent condition reports here. I made it up and down, but it was pretty rough. Even with some careful scouting and a good spotter, I scraped/hit pretty hard a couple of times. No serious damage, but it was risky. I don't regret taking my car up there because it turned out fine, but I don't want to do it again anytime soon.

Posted On: 8/3/2026 By: imejia92
Info: I made it up in my stock 2012 Jeep Compass with A/T Tires but this is by far the sketchiest road I've taken it on. Very different experience going up at night versus coming down around 2 PM. The road was slightly wet from the night before making some of the rocks a bit slick. It was significantly more washed out coming down. Take it slow, pick good lines, and ideally have a spotter (in addition to high clearance and a skid plate).

Posted On: 7/25/2026 By: efeebeck
Info: My sister and I made it up unscathed in my stock 2013 Jeep Compass yesterday on the way to Humboldt Peak. I was nervous about making it after reading a few other trail reports, but I’m pleased to say it wasn’t too bad. As long as we went slow and were careful picking our route, we didn’t hit at all and had plenty of clearance and made it to the 4wd parking lot.

Posted On: 6/28/2026 By: MaryinColorado
Info: Whew! Parts of the road that were awful last year seem smoothed out now, but then there are other parts that used to be good that are now awful. I would NOT attempt in a standard SUV. Yes, a very skilled driver in a Subi can likely make it to the 4WD hopefully unscathed. And my stock 4Runner did fine. But there are 2-3 exceptionally rough areas where a good line is critical and where I appreciated 4Lo on the way down so as not to have to ride my brakes.

Posted On: 6/25/2026 By: Farney814
Info: It's been quite a few years since I've driven S. Colony road, and the condition currently was far worse than I remembered, especially in the first 1.5 miles or so that cross private land. The upper sections closer to the parking lot are not quite as bad. In my 2000 Land Cruiser with 2" lift and 33's, I didn't have any trouble, but for vehicles with either less clearance, or a longer wheelbase, it would be a pretty miserable trip and you'd need to be comfortable with some scraping.

That said, I saw an F250 Superduty pickup at the top, along with a Rav4 and some Subarus, so it's clearly possible. Just not something I would want to do with my own vehicle. Some of the grade reversals and very sharp dips/large potholes would really challenge something like that F250.

We drove up in the late afternoon/evening on Saturday the 20th as we were heading up to hike in and camp by the lakes in preparation for hiking Humboldt on Sunday the 21st. A lot of traffic coming down between 3 and 5pm, but there's enough places to pull off and get out of the way that it wasn't too much of a problem to be going against the current of traffic that time of day. The parking lot had clearly been full earlier in the day as there were vehicles parked precariously outside the main parking lot when we arrived at about 5pm, but a lot of space had cleared out and by the time we left the lot to hike in, there were only about 7 or 8 vehicles left.

After our hike on Sunday morning, we were back down to the parking lot by around 1pm, and the lot was only half full then.

Posted On: 6/15/2026 By: EndWillows
Info: Upper trailhead is easy tbh, easier than its been in prior years. About 30 min going up from the lower trailhead and 20 min going down. I do drive a lifted GX but I think this trail is absolutely doable in Subarus and the like, saw a rav4 up there. Definitely some areas where with lower clearance you’d want to pick a good line but any mildly capable SUV with good clearance can proceed with confidence.

Posted On: 5/26/2026 By: ceebs_here
Info: Road is in summer condition. No issues with lifted Tacoma. High clearance is definitely rewarded. Saw three Subarus at Upper Trailhead. It is possible, but a few sections require a strategic line if you do not have the clearance.

Posted On: 5/22/2026 By: katarinaa452
Info: South Colony Lakes Road / Upper Trailhead Conditions (5/21):

Started driving to the Upper South Colony Lakes Road around 4:30–4:45 a.m. in heavy fog and reached the upper trailhead around 6:00 a.m. Road conditions were overall relatively dry with only a few puddles from recent weather.

Made it to the upper trailhead in a stock Toyota Tacoma with 33” tires and approximately 11–12” of clearance without any major issues. Careful line choice is still important, especially through the rockier sections and tighter obstacles, but overall conditions were favorable this morning compared to what the road can often be like.

As of this morning, the road was very passable for capable high-clearance 4WD vehicles. Fog was the biggest factor early in the morning.

Posted On: 5/18/2026 By: Sphenna
Info: Made it up in a Rav4 with 8 inches of clearance, but it was pretty sketchy at times and I scraped the bottom a little on two occasions. Did see one other Rav4 up there, but otherwise only trucks and jeeps. I think it's possible to do this in a Subaru type vehicle, but only going slow with an experienced driver, and only if you are OK with maybe scraping a bit. Going down was easier. The crux was in the last .3 miles before national forest starts and private property ends

Posted On: 4/4/2026 By: JerJerBinks
Info: Road is clear. Summer conditions