3 Posted By: E_A_Marcus_949 Info: After Grizzly Gulch/Silver Creek it gets rougher. Any vehicle with some clearance can make it to the second creek crossing. There is plenty of parking there. I took my stock 2018 Subaru Forester up to the upper American Basin TH. I think a 3/6 rating is accurate, and you should have some offroad skills to drive past that second creek crossing. There are some sharp rocks and some spots that require careful maneuvering. I saw an Outback at the TH + the usual 4Runners, trucks, jeeps. It took about 40min from Grizzly Gulch to reach AB TH and about 90min back to Lake City. | ||||
Posted By: Khieras Info: From Lake City to the start of the shelf road is smooth, easy, high-speed dirt. The shelf road through the Grizzly Gulch/Silver Creek trailhead is rough 2WD, but almost any car should make it without difficulty and without any real skill needed. From the Grizzly Gulch trailhead to the creek crossing just beyond the Cinnamon Pass turnoff my stock Forester made it, though slowly, with the only real challenge being a drop in the road about 1/2 mile in. Any 4WD/AWD should make it with a basic skill level. Didn’t drive to the upper trailhead but it did not seem too bad, though you definitely need more skill or great clearance. | ||||
Posted By: overthe59hill Info: I drove our Nissan Frontier pickup the day before our hike up Handies Peak to get a preview of the road. I got to the top trailhead with 4-low, but didn’t like one short, rocky stretch. We encountered another truck coming up on our way down. I did not get to take the line I preferred and went a little to the right to make room, and heard our truck hit a rock. It’s okay, no damage done (we don’t have a skid plate). The muffler and everything else is okay, but I didn’t want that to happen again, and I decided to park at the lower trailhead the next morning. A regular 4WD can get to the lower trailhead. | ||||
Posted By: BillMiddlebrook Info: Road is dry and in summer conditions. The upper stream crossing (~0.7 below trailhead) is manageable for most AWD/4WD vehicles and there’s parking just after it, before the road gets much worse. | 1 |
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Posted By: MountainBuhn Info: Two significant snowfields that make it so you have to park .5 from main TH. Photo shows someone tried to get up main road (fine), then tried to drive onto tundra to get around (dont do this). Will be good to go in 2 weeks or less. | 1 |
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Posted By: COnaive Info: We drove over Cinnamon pass this past weekend, the road from Lake City to American Basin turnoff was basically in summer conditions, we even saw a newer Malibu most of the way to the turnoff. For the pass itself, there were 3 foot drifts from Saturday night on the upper west side of the pass in places, which made the return trip on Monday interesting and required some shoveling. I’m guessing these drifts are pretty well gone at this point though. We also had to saw through a couple logs above the turnoff on the way back. In short, if just going to the turnoff, expect normal conditions, if going over Cinnamon pass, it would be a good idea to bring a shovel and even a saw. | 2 |
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Posted By: ReginaThomas Info: Cinnamon pass is open from Lake City to Silverton so you should be able to get within 0.9 mile of the TH. Kiefer and I are headed up for American Peak tomorrow so will post conditions then and another update. | 5 |
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Posted By: cpdas Info: Made it all the way to the upper trailhead in a stock Mazda CX-9 with no issues, a few rough spots along the way to grizzly gulch, then not so bad to the turn off for American basin but the toughest section forsure was in that last 0.75 miles to the upper trailhead. If you don’t have high clearance I’d recommend parking right near the creek crossing and hiking that last 0.75-0.5 of a mile. | ||||
Posted By: shwilsh Info: Road to Grizzly Gulch is much rougher than the stated 2WD starting around mile marker 10 - you need a stock 4WD. This continues to be the case all the way until the first stream crossing past the junction for Cinnamon Pass, at which point you will definitely need a high clearance 4WD to make it the remaining ~0.75 to the American Basin TH. We camped out just below the stream crossing and hiked in from there and on the way to the TH saw a larger SUV model of Subaru who had popped a flat on a large exposed rock halfway bw the stream and the TH. Didn’t see the stated pull-offs just below the junction for Cinnamon Pass when we drove in in the dark but there is room for a half-dozen cars or so between the junction and where the road gets nasty. | ||||
Posted By: kritifer15 Info: Made it to the upper trailhead in a GMC Yukon (Somehow). Turned on 4WD 14 mi. down CR 30. The only bad spot for us was .1 mi. before the upper trailhead. We had to get out and spot my dad to help him avoid hitting the oil pan. Excellent summer conditions at the trailhead with wildflowers blooming. | 1 |
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Posted By: zmokrycki Info: I saw the other post about taking a stock outback up here, so I felt the courage to brave it in my slightly above stock crosstrek- Falken wild peaks and skid plates. Didn’t have any issues getting up there. I did jump out of the car to scope the line before sending it. It should be noted there are TWO creek crossings to get to the TH, but neither one was an issue. I made it up the American basin creek and then found a campsite 3 or 4 spots in, though I probably could have made it to the top- I figured I’d pushed my luck enough. | ||||
Posted By: ssowalskie Info: The road is clear all the way to the 4WD upper trailhead, minus the creek crossing after turning onto the American Basin road from County Road 30. I did manage to get my stock Subaru Outback up to the upper trailhead, somehow, but would not recommend it; I would just park at the large pull-off after the creek crossing unless you have a vehicle with high clearance. | ||||
Posted By: Clairebaums Info: This road requires a high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle. We got up it in a rented jeep Wrangler. The last 0.75 miles of the road was blocked by snow. | ||||
Posted By: rsuminsby Info: Cinnamon Pass opened yesterday, 5/28/2023. Although the sign at the entrance to the Alpine Loop just south of lake City still said "Closed" this morning, I assume they’ll update that soon. So it appears American Basin is now accessible from both east and west. | ||||
Posted By: jjjeffries32 Info: I have no updates but am planning to drive to the American Basin trailhead Saturday morning. Just looking to see what the condition of the trail is by someone that has drove it recently. I have a 2015 stock Toyota 4Runner. Sorry, I am out of state and am trying to see what it is like before I commit to driving 13 hours. | ||||
Posted By: JQDivide Info: CR 30 is in awful shape. It is the worst I have seen it in 20 plus years. Getting a 2wd vehicle to the Grizzly Gulch TH used to be the norm. I would not take a regular 2wd up that road anymore. It is rough, rocky and washed out, repaired in spots. Between the heavy rains and OHV traffic this summer, the road is no longer an easy cruise. Even 4wd vehicles will be driving slower, so add anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to your trip. You will want a 4 x 4 to get to the top of the pass, some of the switchbacks are all rock. I spoke with a sheriff deputy on top the of the pass, and he said the road has gotten worse since this spring. Not sure what it will be like once the snow melts for the 2023 summer. | ||||
Posted By: Hiker Mike Info: CR30 past the junction with CR35 is pretty rough I thought. Lots of potholes in the road the further I drove. A 4WD vehicle with good ground clearance is a must. The stream crossing was easy as the water is not high. The drive back down was no easier but the views are spectacular. The Aspens are really in full color. FYI, not that it matters much but I did use Google maps to get to the first trailhead from Lake San Cristobal and it did fine. | ||||
Posted By: soxfan249 Info: Made it all the way to American Basin without scraping in a Subaru Crosstrek with Falken Wildpeaks. Only one spot halfway between the junction for Cinnamon Pass and the parking lot required a spotter, but better drivers wouldn’t need one. I would be nervous driving stock tires past the junction, or even past Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch. It is a long, bumpy road. | ||||
Posted By: mca25 Info: Drove from Lake City to American Basin trailhead via CR30. Gravel road starting at the turnoff from Hwy 149 is in excellent condition until you start gaining elevation at the end of the valley. The road becomes more narrow and has large and high rock as well as deep pot holes. Passable for any car with higher clearance or a pickup truck. I drove a 2011 Forester, no problems all the way to the trailhead. However I had to slow down to 5 to 8 mph for the rougher road. Drive to trailhead took 2 hours. | ||||
Posted By: nutella262 Info: Still in summer conditions from Cinnamon Pass to American Basin, easily passable in 4WD. Saw a Subaru turn back to lower parking between Cinnamon and American. Cinnamon Pass is quite rough on the east (Lake City) side. Silverton side is better, but the pass is definitely not for the faint of heart. Took at least 75min from the Animas Fork in a stock LTD 4runner to get to American Basin. | ||||
Posted By: RUN_IT Info: The rain over the last few weeks, not to mention the heavy and constant OHV traffic scraping the roads, have exposed quite a few sharp rocks in the very last stretch about 1/4 mile from TH. I wouldnt do it without tires with good rock protection and aired down. No scraping in the 4Runner but I was a bit stressed in a few sections towards the end. Maybe I care too much about my vehicle. | ||||
Posted By: MountainManta1 Info: Made it without too much difficulty (just a long rough road and some line picking) in a Subaru Crosstrek to just past the creek crossing ~.3 miles from the trailhead (pull out on left). Only higher clearance Tacomas, 4 Runners and Jeeps made it to the top lot. Theres one rough patch that stopped another Subaru right past where we parked. | ||||
Posted By: Azheng418 Info: Not really a 4wd road, more of a difficult 2WD road, made it all the way up to American basin with ease in a Volvo S60 Cross Country. Just pick your line and take it slowwwww. | ||||
Posted By: bribaker2001 Info: Upper TH is accessible via 4WD and good clearance. Upper creek crossing is maybe 6" deep. Found lost Toyota keys on trail at 13,500, likely dropped by white-bearded, single hiker seen descending from upper saddle at 6:40am; he nor an unoccupied Toyota were seen at the TH or anywhere down into town. | ||||
Posted By: sibetribe Info: Road was free of any snow. There were 2 stream crossings that were no issue. After the last outhouse is when the road starts to get challenging. If you have a 4x4 w/clearance then it is very doable. Without clearance, I would not risk your car much after the American Basin turn. |
