N. Cottonwood Creek Trailhead

Posted On: 6/25/2026 By: conorpowderhunter
Info: Toyota matrix with less than 6' was easy. Got turned around at the ruts last year, this year you could bring a German sports car up there

Posted On: 6/20/2026 By: IHikeLikeAGirl
Info: On Thu 6/18, we car camped at the, CT, Segment 13 (Silver Creek Trailhead), ~1.5 mi from TH. Flat parking lot; vault toilet was clean, well stocked, and did not smell; and no other cars opening/shutting car doors all night...bougie. :)

Drove to TH at 5:15a Friday. Lot and nearby parking spots were probably 80% full. Did not see a restroom at TH and sign right before turn to CT13 explicitly said no restrooms at N Cottonwood Creek TH.

Road conditions are the same as the last report.

Posted On: 6/7/2026 By: shaines90
Info: After last year's grading, the road is still in great shape and certainly Civicable. Couple smaller bumps and ruts to watch out for, but virtually any vehicle can make it up. No restroom or porta potty at the trailhead itself, but a couple miles down the road at Silver Creek there is a small vault toilet. Tons of dispersed camping along the road starting as soon as you enter the National Forest - highly recommend using them, as they're in great locations.

Posted On: 1/31/2026 By: AlejandraOutside
Info: Summer trailhead still accessible. Very comparable to conditions three weeks ago, if not better. Tire tracks all the way up. Some icy spot & deep snow down the middle of the road for the last tenth of a mile, pictured. TH itself somewhat snowy but very manageable along the existing tire tracks with traction.

Posted On: 11/15/2025 By: finick01
Info: Road clear, in good condition. Some larger potholes, but they’re avoidable even with lower clearance

Posted On: 10/9/2025 By: josephsiefers
Info: Road in great shape - a noticeable difference from earlier in the summer. Should have no problem with 2WD despite a few potholes here and there.

Posted On: 9/15/2025 By: drewskiclimbs
Info: Recent rains have added some potholes, but as of Sept 14 2025 the road is still in good condition and accessible via 2WD vehicles

Posted On: 8/18/2025 By: rshen
Info: As of Mon 8/18 the ruts have been filled! We saw a caterpillar filling the road as we drove out. County Road 365 is back to 2wd.

Posted On: 8/9/2025 By: Sphenna
Info: Rut is pretty gnarly, made it up in a Rav4 with no scraping, but it took a few tries to find the line going up in the dark. Going down was a bit easier. Saw a few other ravs/outbacks at the trailhead but mostly trucks and higher clearance vehicles. I wouldn't attempt this in something with much lower clearance than a rav/outback. Rest of the road is fine.

Posted On: 8/3/2025 By: 6c2cd6fde4f40811
Info: Here's a photo of the current state of the rut right after you leave the county road. Cherokee with a 3" lift and 30" tires did fine, though it did rub in one spot (I likely could have chosen a better line). There were some stock Subaru's at the TH. I'm both shocked and impressed they made it - brave souls. Definitely do not attempt with 2WD. If you can make it past this, the rest will be no problem.

Posted On: 8/2/2025 By: josephsiefers
Info: Similar experience - recent degredation of the road that others have mentioned. I made it up in early July easily but the rut at the beginning is much much worse now and I had to turn around this time. Offered to pick up someone who could not make it in a CX5 and then found myself bailing once I saw how bad it was. My vehicle was a Hyundai Tuscon.

Posted On: 7/28/2025 By: Elbert77
Info: The washed out section with ruts is actually worse than some other comments state, in my opinion. I was just there today and I talked to people with Subaru's, Rav 4s, a newer Jeep Cherokee, and other AWD or even 4WD vehicles that either were unable to make it past that section or it took them several attempts and they mention that there was scraping or bouncing off of the road involved in the process. As of now, due to that section of the road, the road probably shouldn't even be listed as 2WD. Yeah, it's true some people may be able to make it up in a 2WD vehicle, but there are definite risks involved.

Posted On: 7/28/2025 By: ericwolf88
Info: Echoing previous comments, ruts are still there in one spot and many 2WD cars didn't risk it and parked behind them. Any reasonable clearance 4WD would have no problem. Trailhead parking lot was nearly full at about 6:30.

Posted On: 7/21/2025 By: auddupree
Info: Made it to the trailhead with an AWD CRV on 07/19. Ruts at the beginning of the forest road are still there and it took a few attempts to find the right line and make it through. The rest of the road is in good condition. Parking lot was close to full around 04:30 a.m. The way down through the ruts wasn't a problem because you can see the proper line better. There are a few parking spaces below them where you can stop and hitchhike up.

Posted On: 7/10/2025 By: Lanejk
Info: Road was rough in a few spots and a low clearance, or 2-wheel drive vehicle might struggle in 2 of the spots. Soon after the sign signaling that the road is no longer maintained, there is a 10-foot stretch that we had to slow all the way down for. The rest of the road and the trail are in good condition!