Silver Crk/Grizzly Gulch Trailhead

Posted On: 7/2/2026 By: ttroy14
Info: Made it up to the TH in honda accord, so yeah road is solid. Last 4 miles is the slow section for 2wd cars but nothing crazy at all. Road isnt too narrow but its all a crapshoot with oncoming traffic if theres a pullout to use. Lots of OHVs but preferable to the random F350 where you need a proper pull off

Posted On: 6/28/2026 By: josephsiefers
Info: Update: came back to do Redcloud and saw the famous porcupine right as we were starting the hike. The deer were chasing it off so it looks like they don't like it either.

Posted On: 6/28/2026 By: josephsiefers
Info: From 149, the first 12 miles are 25-35 mph easy dirt roads.The next three miles is the shelf road which is in good condition ranging from 1/6 - 2/6. I didn't think it was really that narrow and there are plenty of pull offs for oncoming traffic. The last mile is a bit rougher but I think this road was way easier than when I did Shavano or Columbia in 2025, Kite Lake in 2024, or G&T in 2023.

I was in a vanilla Jeep Compass rental (not the trail rated edition) and never felt uncomfortable.

Posted On: 6/3/2026 By: Kcarter
Info: Heads up the porcupine is still there. Woke up at 3:30am to it scratching on our van. Turned on the van and saw it run off. Drove down the road & found another spot for the rest of the night.

Posted On: 6/3/2026 By: Kcarter
Info: Heads up the porcupine is still there. Woke up at 3:30am to it scratching on our van. Turned on the van and saw it run off. Drove down the road & found another spot for the rest of the night.

Posted On: 5/31/2026 By: ScottLovesRMNP
Info: Road is in better shape than I've seen it in the past 3-4 years. Made it to within a mile of the TH with a Toyota Corolla and slow driving. Probably could've made it the whole way, but I didn't want to press my luck so I parked short. The last mile to the TH is practically flat anyway.

Posted On: 5/31/2026 By: katarinaa452
Info: Road to the Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch Trailhead is in good shape as of this morning. Mostly dry from Lake City to the trailhead. The shelf road has a small section of water runoff but no significant obstacles. Rough 2WD conditions; most vehicles with a little bit of clearance should have no issues if driven carefully. Trailhead is fully accessible. Bonus wildlife sighting: a moose crossed the road around 4:30 a.m. on the drive in.

Posted On: 9/13/2025 By: mikeb85
Info: Road from Lake City to the trailhead was decent. I have a 08 Honda Ridgeline. I bottomed out at one spot, it was probably my error and could've been avoided. 2 days of rain made it wet but they are laying to gravel and regrading so the road up wasn't bad but there are some spots you need to navigate cautiously if you have low clearance. Trailhead was great with walk in spots and CLEAN outhouses. Creek runs through campground so theres immediate water for filtering. Trails were very well maintained and a pleasure to hike. 2 days of rain and it did not cause any issues on trail, campground, or road in.

Posted On: 9/1/2025 By: sehessler92
Info: Road has seemed to improved quite a bit since my last visit a couple years ago. The last mile or so I would say you need decent clearance ( maybe 6-6.5”) but the first 3 miles any car with careful driving could make it up.

Posted On: 8/31/2025 By: dolphan39
Info: Handies Peak from Grizzly Gulch Trailhead and down from American Basin
We decided to hike up grizzly gulch and down American basin because our Tuscon was only making it to grizzly parking and wanted to see American basin. This was a spectacular hike. Highly recommend doing both. Handies peak views are best I've ever seen especially on a clear day like today. Saw lots of birds, marmots pikas and deer. We hiked 3 miles on road before a nice family from SLC Utah drove us the last 2 miles. The road to Grizzly gulch was not scary in the dark when couldn't see ledge. Only the last 3.5 to parking area required AWD high clearance.

Posted On: 8/27/2025 By: beddowchels
Info: Was there overnight 8/21/25. Made it in a stock AWD Rav4 - came in at night when it looked worse so drove about 5 mph the last few miles. Didn't look as bad in the daylight so maybe drove 10mph - I was purposefully slow because I didn't want to get stuck. Pick good lines and hope for no oncoming traffic and it's okay. Did not have any animal issues but also brought dried urine granules to sprinkle around my vehicle.

Posted On: 8/23/2025 By: halley
Info: Made it up in a 2WD low-clearance sedan twice (8/11 and 8/12). Road is fairly nice with a few potholes until the last 4 miles, where it gets significantly worse with rocks, etc. Drove about 5 mph for the last bit.

There were maybe a few points where I was worried about bottoming out, but I didn't end up bottoming out. Was a bit sketch without clearance, but likely a breeze if you do have more clearance.

Did not meet the porcupine :(

Posted On: 7/21/2025 By: Tpham316
Info: The legends are all true … the porcupine does in fact come in the night and preys on the wires of Subarus. We banged on the car, turned the lights on, and yelled at it … it eventually slinked away petulantly … only to return later in the night to scrape the bottom of the car again … just when you think you’re safe.
Would not recommend parking in the parking lot across from the bathrooms.
Other than that, the road was great if you have any clearance.

Posted On: 7/24/2025 By: JasonKline
Info: With slow, careful driving, my Hyundai Ioniq was able to get to the Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch trailhead, so any vehicle should be able to get there if driven appropriately. There was no way I was going to drive a sedan to the Cooper Creek trailhead, so I walked there from the Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch trailhead.

Posted On: 7/13/2025 By: andibertolina
Info: the porcupine persists. I hissed and smacked my trekking poles together and he finally ran away from my car