Baldwin Gulch Trailhead

Posted On: 5/26/2025 By: TakeMeToYourSummit
Info: Road is snow free up to the unnamed creek above Baldwin Creek. Some ambitious driver left marks in snow drifts as high as 11,300ish feet. Some snow patches between 11,100 & 11,300 will stop most drivers. Road is in pretty standard shape & I'm glad this visit ended much better than my previous trip a few years ago. FYI- Cronin is still in for a summit descent but the basin is quickly becoming hot garbage.

Posted On: 1/9/2025 By: elevatedtv
Info: Plowed to the beginning of 4WD road (CR 162 & FS 277). Still a bit slick tho.

Posted On: 10/8/2024 By: NativeTransplant
Info: Stock tacoma made it to 12,000' easily. Could go higher to 13k if desired

Posted On: 9/15/2024 By: nohandz
Info: Drove up to 13,700' in a stock GX (Land Cruiser) and camped the night, 45 mins hike from the summit of Antero. Despite being an experienced offroad driver, I did test the skid plates a few times. Generally I agree with the previous post, that it is reminiscent of South Colony Lakes, but that had a few gnarly obstacles that I got out and looked at. This had continuous rough road and tire placement required, but also pucker factor. I did most of the route around 5mi/hr, the whole 7mi taking about 1.5hr. There were several camping spots on the corners of switchbacks along the way, or up at the saddle where we were. You could even drive up/camp on top of the 13,800' unnamed peak. I would not take a Subaru past the 2wd TH - you need 4LO IMO. Stick to Wranglers, Broncos, 4Runners/Land Cruisers. Tacomas and other trucks would work, except higher, on the tight switchbacks. Even I was having to do 3 point turns on some with a shorter WB.

Posted On: 8/26/2024 By: Pedro F
Info: Drove a stock Wrangler with road tires to the signboard at 13,100' near where 278 splits into A/B. Concur with other's comments that the most difficult portion is immediately after starting up the 4WD portion: if you can make it past there you can make it the whole way. But this is not to say that it's totally smooth sailing thereafter...rather, the whole way it toggles between easier sections where you can drive at 10mph and rougher stretches where you can only crawl or do 5mph. Struck me as similar flavor to the 4WD portion of the South Colony Lakes TH road. Took 30 min to get from the 4WD turnoff to the 10,850' stream crossing. A good dozen spots along the way to allow for opposing traffic to pass by. Higher up, the switchbacks from 12,100' - 12,700' are pretty tight and might give you some grief if you have a longer wheelbase vehicle (there are generally landing pads at each switchback though so it might be possible to do a 3-point turn if you need to?). Other vehicles at 13,100' = a Bronco and a Cherokee, neither of which was lifted

Posted On: 8/18/2024 By: maylemay1
Info: Drove my 4runner up to the 13,100 turnoff without too much trouble. There are definitely some spots you have to be careful and it is a long bumpy ride, but much better than hiking the road in my opinion. Made for a nice short jaunt to the summit. Tried to get to Baldwin lakes but that road is much worse so we turned around after only a short drive up that direction.

Posted On: 8/18/2024 By: matt9094
Info: Any car can drive to the 2WD trailhead. I only saw Jeeps, and SUVs do the 4WD trail. I saw them all throughout the trail, either camping overnight or stopping along the trail to hike. A Hummer H2 went all the way up to 13,700. I feel like a Subaru could also make it, but did not see any today. There are not that many spots that require the clearance or a truck or SUV. Most of the Jeeps went all the way up to 13,700 with no issue.

Posted On: 8/13/2024 By: bigfoot1
Info: Dirt portion of the road is perfect and only like 2 miles! This is how all dirt roads should be. Plenty of parking along the side of the road before 7am and at noon. Saw a lot of cars driving up 277 and 278 as I was heading down, and saw an ATV at the top lot at (38.668445, -106.248126). Also saw a car parked at the highest trailhead for Mt White. Pictures attached show a bunch of cars parked at the various trailheads.

Posted On: 8/12/2024 By: R7777777
Info: This might be one of the worse roads I have driven on. I would not recommend going on this road without a Jeep or some 4x4 car with high clearance. The road is also narrow which makes it hard if vehicles are coming the other way. The road is not just rocks but big boulders. There are tons of camp sites after the big creek pass at around 10,800. And the campsites go all the way up to around 11,800.

Posted On: 7/13/2024 By: Patrickk
Info: Drove this road to 13,400 in a stock Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road. The first mile and the road above 13,400 are the worst parts. Really have to watch your lines on this road. I only saw trucks, jeeps and atvs above the 2wd trailhead. Lots of sharp rocks so I'd have good AT tires. Took about 2 hours up and 1.5 down.

Posted On: 6/27/2024 By: Dbrink
Info: Drove a tacoma up to 12,743 at which point you can park 4-5 vehicles at that switchback. Saw a stock 4runner and tacoma up there as well. There is a snow bank covering the road after this. No point in going much further because as someone else noted there's a boulder at 12,969 (38.66539, -106.25447). Photo #2. If it weren't for the boulder you could park at the large parking area at 13,095.

Posted On: 10/10/2023 By: Jajohnson11
Info: Snow blocking the road at the top of the switchbacks right around 13k. There is parking for 2-3 vehicles at the switchback at 12600. Parking for maybe 5-6 vehicles at the top of the switchbacks at 12800. Made it easily in a stock ranger tremor aired down. The worst of the road is before Baldwin gulch imo.

Posted On: 9/5/2023 By: Ed_Groves
Info: I drove a stock 2022 Toyota Tacoma V6 4wd to approximately 10,900 feet just beyond the creek, and I could have driven higher but I wanted the elevation gain for the hike. The road was rough with rocks that could damage the bottom of a vehicle. I made it up and down without incident. The road is very narrow in most places and I met one 4Runner and a few 4 wheelers on the way down. Fortunately, I was in areas where we could maneuver around one another. The road does keep one on your toes for sure. I have 9.4 inches of ground clearance and I don't think I would want any less for this road.

Posted On: 8/7/2023 By: Bob Mitchell
Info: Went up to about 12,000 ft. in my 2017 stock Tacoma. Went slow and it was fine. The road was very busy but everyone on it was very respectful and made it easy to get up and down!

Posted On: 8/21/2023 By: ochres
Info: Made it up the 4WD road to ~11200ft in a stock 4Runner with AT tires. Took 1hr up and 1hr down. Road is in good shape and could've made up to 12000 or higher, just wanted to get at least 3000ft of gain in. Was surprised to see a Rav4 parked before the stream crossing. Not sure I'd feel comfortable driving in low clearance vehicle--guessing they probably scraped a little on the way down. We didn't run into anyone on the way up but ran into quite a few vehicles on our way back down. There are a few narrow spots but no terrifying shelf roads with sheer drops offs like the road to Lead King Basin from Marble. Easier drive than South Colony Lakes or Nellie Creek imo. No significant obstacles, just a couple shallow stream crossings and A LOT of bumpy rocks. Dramamine recommended for passengers unless you're able to air down. :)