Rainbow Trail Trailhead

Posted On: 5/31/2025 By: AurumSun13
Info: Took my Jeep Renegade up the trailhead. Although I made it there, I don't think I'd do that again anytime soon. My 4WD was enough to make it up but with not enough clearance my undercarriage got some good scrapes I think. Some of the gullies and rocks along the road were just massive

Posted On: 5/7/2023 By: supranihilest
Info: Intermittent snow and ice patches to the Rainbow trail junction but any vehicle capable of getting here in dry conditions won't have any problem with getting here right now either. Lots of trucks and such up this high and a little higher towards South Colony Lakes trailhead.

Posted On: 1/31/2023 By: kyrawhitworth
Info: Attempted to drive up in an FJ but we did not make it far at all before spinning out in the fresh snow and having to turn around and park at the 2WD TH. Snow on the road up to Rainbow Trail was relatively deep in spots and inconsistent--not sure if a better equipped street vehicle could make it too much further.

Posted On: 1/14/2023 By: yaymountain
Info: Drove all the way to 4WD TH at 7am in a Jeep Rubicon on 37s. Had it on 4L and used lockers but did not air down. Did get stuck on one uphill portion quarter mile from TH with deeper snow which required some shoveling, then backing up, and using momentum to get up. A truck (GMC?) in front of us got stuck half mile from TH and parked there at a turnoff. Hope you guys got out ok after the hike! When we left at 430pm, another Jeep Wrangler was at TH. A Jeep Trailhawk also made it with chains on.

Posted On: 1/9/2023 By: Ryan987
Info: Drove in the night before 1/7 and made it up alright with a 4x4 Tacoma w/ no locker until 0.4 miles prior rainbow trail and had to then constantly snow bash/dig out the road. Was aired down and in 4lo. Leaving the trailhead the next day 1/8 the snow melted a bit and exposed some rocky terrain but made it down alright. A jeep Wrangler had similar issues but had it easier than me

Posted On: 12/18/2022 By: sarahmariekirk
Info: Made it to the upper trailhead in a Jeep - minimal snow.

Posted On: 5/3/2022 By: piper14er
Info: This is a trail status report for the Peerless Mine Trail and the North Brush Creek Trail. You can start on the Rainbow Trail but this way you drive to the trailhead from FS 337 which is accessed from Highway 69 by Hillside, west on CR 198 and Cr 32 to FS 337. Follow FS 337 to FS 331 left to the end of the road. Unfortunately, there was still one drift that has probably melted away by now that made me park before getting to the end of the road and the trailhead. Parked 1.25 miles below. The road was fine and the start of the trail, while having some snow was good to go in the morning. The snow was set up and I actually booted my way all the way to the summit. Unfortunately, this trail is a blow down/tree down mess once you connect to the North Brush Trail. The first section of the trail is called the Peerless Mine Trail. Yikes the downed trees were obnoxious. It may be better to leave the trail when it starts getting bad and follow the creek. There have been years of trees that were cut to make the trail useable. As a matter of fact, to follow the trail you have to keep a sharp eye out for the old cuts and stay between the cuts as best as possible. I suppose once the snow is gone the FS may cut the trees across the trail. They have in the past and there are lakes to be fished.

Posted On: 4/10/2022 By: tjvanfossen
Info: All snow starting a couple hundred yards past the 2WD lot. Impassable (2-3')

Posted On: 1/8/2022 By: daway8
Info: 2WD trailhead is dry as a bone - any vehicle can easily get there. Don't be fooled by the road to the 4WD trailheads - it too starts totally dry but I only got my Jeep ~0.6mi up before I had to turn around and go back to the 2WD lot (it's private property with no parking between 2WD and 4WD lots). On my return someone with better tires than me made it slightly further but it was clear they got stuck and did a multi-point turn-around to get out. There's too much hard packed snow and ice on the road to the 4WD trailheads to make it worth trying unless you just have some time to kill and want to see what your rig can do (I only tried it because the wind this morning was insane and I was hoping to avoid the half mile of wind blasted walking before reaching trees/hills that block much of it).

Posted On: 6/2/2021 By: gpeoples
Info: As of May 30th the Rainbow TH is snow free. Be advised, if you don't have high clearance 4X4 you will be very sorry and wish you didn't attempt the road. From about 50 yards of the 2WD trailhead you will encounter the 1st obstacle and it gets worse. A Honda CRV finally called it quits about 1-mile into it. It was not a problem for my Nissan Pathfinder, but it was completely DRY conditions, which was the game changer.

Posted On: 5/15/2021 By: rudi32
Info: Pretty rough beyond the Lower 2wd. Road is dry until about 9,600, shortly after it becomes on and off snow / mud. Parked at a nice pulloff around 9,475'.

Posted On: 5/10/2021 By: Kevin Baker
Info: I hiked 12er Blueberry Peak from the Rainbow Trail north of Medano Pass. The road to Medano Pass is currently gated at 9160'. The Rainbow Trail is accessible from Promontory Ridge via FS 416. Note this is not the same area as Colony Lakes road. The Sangres are at 40% of normal, so even east facing roads are melting out. The road just had a few patches of minor mud.

Posted On: 3/6/2021 By: Carl_Healy
Info: *Do Not let Google Maps blindly navigate you to the 2WD trailhead for Rainbow Trail/South Colony* Google will navigate you to the trailhead from the North via Colony Lane (125) because it considers the last 0.5 miles of this road as a real road. It is not... It's a goat trail through a field (attached photos indicate this). Navigate to the 2WD trailhead from the North via Colfax Lane (119) then turn West (right) onto South Colony Road to access the 2WD trailhead. All the roads in the area are pretty much dry like the attached photos of Colony Lane show. However, the last 0.25 miles or so approaching the 2WD trailhead the road has a bit of snow on it making navigation more difficult, though a Jeep Renegade without 4WD activated made it up just fine. Later in the day however the aforementioned section of road became a bit muddy making navigation more difficult. The same Jeep operating in 2WD was still able to make it fine. Past the 2WD trailhead there's nothing to stop someone from going up the 4WD road... But the road is notorious enough in summer that it's a given that it's not a good idea to try it in winter (conditions on the 4WD road today confirmed this).

Posted On: 2/21/2021 By: wintersage
Info: Deep snowdrifts block access 0.4mi from the 2WD TH. The 4WD road is completely snowed in but packed.

Posted On: 12/6/2020 By: bangerth
Info: The road to get to the Rainbow Trail trailhead is impassable. We took a 4x4 pickup to give it a shot, but the 4-8" of snow are underlain by an icy layer. With difficulty, we made it to within 1/8 of a mile of the end of the private property, but got hung up on large rocks coated in ice and ended up driving back down. Short of an ATV, I don't believe that any car/truck can make it through the last section of private property and then on to the trailhead. Be prepared to walk the 2.5 miles (each way) from the winter lot.