7/6/2026 Posted On: 7/13/2026 By: cdbrown8x Info: I highly recommend you don't drive up the 4WD road. It's possible with a short-wheelbase Jeep or ATV (daylight only), but there's a high likelihood of getting stuck in a 4WD truck. There is almost nowhere to turn around until the 4WD trailhead. If you encounter a vehicle going the other way, you're going to have a big problem-- it's one vehicle wide with steep faces on either side. Our Toyota Tundra TRD Off-Road was challenged and bottomed out in cross-road erosion ruts at one point... we had to back down the slope (with the passenger ground-guiding for a half-mile) until we could turn around at the Colorado Trail intersection. | ||||
7/2/2026 Posted On: 7/2/2026 By: KlausThompson Info: Got to the towers in my 2024 Subaru crosstrek sport. There was only one other car parked at the towers, which was a Rivian SUV. The road isn’t too bad if you’re comfortable with 4WD roads, EXCEPT the obstacle halfway up the road. That obstacle is sandy and was tough to navigate going up. There was a Kia Sportage that was unable to make it up the road and had to reverse down. In hindsight, walking the additional 3 miles from the lower TH doesn’t seem so bad, especially if you’re not comfortable on 4WD roads. | 2 |
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6/28/2026 Posted On: 7/9/2026 By: bryanf Info: I drove to the 2WD trailhead and started hiked from there about 6am. It was surprisingly difficult to find the 2WD trailhead. I figured I would be able to turn off for "Mt. Princeton Hot Springs" and there would be an obvious sign for "Mt. Princeton Trailhead" when I needed to turn off... Not the case and I drove past it about 4 miles before I pulled over and checked a map. In hindsight, it wasn't much more obvious. You just have to know which road to pull off on. It's shortly after the country store on the right hand side. I had already decided that I did not want to drive up to the radio towers, in expectation that I would run into traffic and have a bad time, despite driving a Tacoma. The road was a bit worse than I expected from photos, but there was definitely less traffic than I was expecting on the mountain. Pull off locations are really not plentiful. There's a serious chance you have to reverse for a half mile over some bad terrain if you run into another driver. Here's what I saw. Hiking up: At 6 am there were 3 vehicles (including mine) at 2WD trailhead. Saw 1 vehicle coming down around 6:30am. 2 passed me going up. 1 vehicle parked right at the radio towers. Maybe 2 more parked a 1/4 mile past that. There was a surprising amount of parking here, but not exactly at the radio towers. Probably room for 15 from radio towers onward. Saw 1 more vehicle parked just before the turn off of the service road onto the trail proper. Interestingly, I never saw one of the passing vehicles again. I guess they just kept going. Hiking down: Left summit at 15 til noon. I saw 2 new vehicles at the radio towers. 1 vehicle passed me on my way down. Terrain: The terrain is worst between mile 1 and mile 2.5. Not that it matters because this is a full commitment thing. If you start up to radio towers, you must continue, there is no parking before them. There are a couple of quality pull off locations about 0.5 miles from 2WD. Most hairpins are wide enough to allow passing and there are 3 or so of those. After a really technical section, there are a couple of wider places where you can potentially pass a vehicle. | 5 |
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6/22/2026 Posted On: 6/23/2026 By: JasonCrane Info: Reached the summit from the 2WD trailhead by foot. I hiked, so I didn't attempt to drive the road in my rental. It's 3 miles to the Comm Towers from the base of Mt. Princeton Road with one very notable rough section about half way up that looked like an egg crate. The upper road deteriorates significantly with one section at a switchback that literally had a 2-3 foot shelf. I saw 2 vehicles parked at the highest 4WD trailhead at the point where the trail leaves the road at the cairn and stone steps. A Jeep Wrangler had a yellow vehicle tow strap tied to a tree to keep it rolling off the side of the mountain. | 2 |
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6/20/2026 Posted On: 6/20/2026 By: Bmcgowne Info: Same status as the others. Steep, rocky and rough. My stock Nissan Frontier did just fine. Didn’t have to pass anyone up or down which is good as numerous vehicles parked in the pull off sections on my drive down. | ||||
6/3/2026 Posted On: 6/3/2026 By: erdi9596 Info: Hiked Princeton on 6/2/26. In stock 2016 subaru crosstrek I made it to parking above the radio towers. There was only one crux section of the drive that I had to get out and pick my line. IYKYK, that car does not have the greatest engine for climbing but it does have 8.7 clearance. Nothing was too steep for the subie. Just the one spot of line choice to get through deep potholes. | 1 |
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5/30/2026 Posted On: 5/30/2026 By: wallabally Info: Personally was not brave enough to make it up the 4WD road in our Subaru Forester. Turned around when it got really gnarly about halfway up. Had to back down about a quarter mile to a pull-off. I think you could do it if you have more experience off-roading. | 1 |
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5/25/2026 Posted On: 5/26/2026 By: Okottke Info: The road is rough and narrow with one major obstacle around half way up. Two incredible young women proved to me that when there’s a will there’s a way by bringing their outback all the way up. I was shaking in my boots in a Bronco sport and needed some emotional support from kind strangers in order to make it past a couple spots where I got stuck. There are no turn outs and it is pretty bumpy so if you are like my and off roading scares you, you should probably park at the bottom lot. Also there is additional parking a short ways up from the radio towers I would shoot for that lot first. | ||||
5/16/2026 Posted On: 5/16/2026 By: Cruiser Info: Mt Princeton road was in good condition today. We didn't encounter any snow or mud before the radio towers. There's was a switchback before the place where the hiking trail leaves the road that was still holding enough snow that I wouldn't have tried to drive past it but things are melting very quickly and I'm sure you'll be able to drive to the end of the road really soon. There were multiple spots not very far above the radio towers that could have accommodated 2-4 cars. Road as far as the towers seemed subaruable to me if you're careful and take it slowly. | 2 |
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3/12/2026 Posted On: 3/12/2026 By: Skimo95 Info: 4wd friendly to radio towers. Possible past that but I wouldn’t advise it | 5 |
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1/11/2026 Posted On: 1/11/2026 By: arthurspiderman Info: Made it to the radio towers (10,800') in a CR-V without much struggle. The crux is at the switchback at 9,500' due to a big icy section. Overall, the south facing portions are quite bare and the rest is just compacted snow/ice. Great way to get an easy snowflake on Princeton! | 5 |
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12/21/2025 Posted On: 12/22/2025 By: AlejandraOutside Info: One port-o-potty was tipped on its side, as a heads up. Lower trailhead is almost completely dry. | 1 |
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11/2/2025 Posted On: 11/2/2025 By: joflyer22 Info: 4x4 road open and snow-free to the radio towers and beyond as of 11/2. There were ruts like other reports mentioned earlier this year but very easy going the whole way in a higher clearance vehicle (stock 4Runner). | 1 |
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9/25/2025 Posted On: 9/26/2025 By: feldyinstilly Info: As others have said, the road is quite rutted out by now. I still think it's Subaruable and that I could have gotten my Forester Wilderness up there without much hassle. But, I'm not an off-road driving guru and took my mountain bike instead. Two Rubicons and one Trailhawk were parked up there. Probably 2-3 difficult obstacles to clear, with the rest of it just slow-going. 16 old-school Army-style Jeeps were headed up. As much as biking up kinda sucked, I'd rather avoid a one-up/one-down standoff lol. | 1 |
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9/14/2025 Posted On: 9/14/2025 By: paigemoney Info: The road is in worse condition than when I was here earlier this year on Memorial Day. The road overall is much more washed out, and the ruts around 9,700 feet are significantly deeper. Some rocks have been placed to improve traction, but vehicles without good clearance may scrape on them. On a switchback after the ruts while ascending, there’s a spot where it looks like people have gotten stuck or spun out; it’s avoidable but difficult to see in the dark. Above the camping area, there are a few pulloffs that can accommodate about three cars total—one each! One at roughly 11,600 feet, another around 11,450 feet, and one on the first curve past the camping area. No parking beyond these spots before the trail. | 1 |
