How should I prepare for Colorado?
05-17-2013, 09:15 PM
#32
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they will start plowing the trails in the silverton ouray area soon if they haven't already started. They want to get them open so the Jeep Money can start coming in.... I don't know exactly what trails they plow but I beleive they do the Alpine loop and some of the ones going into the Telluride area... Imogene and Ophir,,, I also think they plow black bear some.....
05-17-2013, 10:55 PM
#33
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Best bet is to call Ouray visitors center, they get updates daily.
05-19-2013, 07:07 PM
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Thank you. I could not find where you mentioned the dates you plan to be in Ouray. You can check Jeep Jamboree schedule by going to Jeep Jamboree USA. None of use know your level of experience and what your family wants to do. Some other ideas:
a) Do Not go out alone. That is not a wise idea on flat land 4x4 trails. You are going in September and the trails are not as busy as Mid-June through Mid-August. Weather can change in an instant that time of year.
b) Get the trail guide book mentioned before, (I think poster mentioned Well's book). It will provide you with maps, tips and estimated time to run each trail. If you can't find the book, let me know and I'll look it up, (Well's is the author) Another good guide book is "4WD trails - Southwest Colorado - Peter Massey & Jeanne Wilson. It is well worth the money to get at least one of these. The books rate trails for scenic value in addition to difficulty.
c) Plan your own trips, after reading the guide book, that suit your family's wants. You can adjust any trip plan within a few minutes before you head out. Find someone you meet face-to-face, (that you are comfortable with) to help you. I can't think of a bad trail.
d) Leave early - 7-7:30. You'll see more wildlife and have time for family activities and relaxation in the afternoons. Do not plan trips more than 5 hours on the trail. By the time you make stops for kids to look for gold, (rocks), walk around ghost towns/mine sites, throw rocks in the water and take pictures, you end up with a 7 hour day.
e) Don't do Black Bear first day. Get a feel for how you and your family deal with the ledge roads on easier trails. That is why I recommended Yankee Boy basin for first trip....those drop offs are only a couple hundred feet. Don't let anyone trivialize the trails here. All the shelf roads require total concentration and decent technical driving skills.
f) A stock Jeep will NOT make it up the short obsticle on the Poughkeepsie trail without a winch. There are solid winch points for you to use. I've seen dozens of stock Jeeps thrash their vehicles past the breaking point trying to do this part, (I figure you want to drive you Jeep back home). A stock Rubicon, with lockers can do it....if the rocks are not too muddy or wet.
g) Did you order your visitor's pack? (Ouray Colorado - Come Visit) In addition to Jeeping you can take children to the Hot Springs pool, go to the Bachelor-Syracuse Mine for outdoor breakfast, gold panning or mine tour, take a 1 or 2 hour guided horse back ride, (near the mine), visit Box Canyon falls, (in town) and a bunch more stuff. Find things that you and your family want to do.
h) The Alpine Loop is from Ouray, over Engineer Pass, into Lake City, over Cinnamon Pass, into Animas Forks, to Silverton and return to Ouray on highway 550, (or the reverse). I suggest you do not consider this trip....It is waaaay to long and you'll spend the last 3 hours of your day wondering when it will be over. This is not a trip for a family, the trail from Engineer Pass into Lake City and the return on Cinnamon Pass is not that pretty. I believe you can better optimize your time on other trails.
I) Up hill traffic has the right of way. But let common sense prevail. If you are heading uphill and have a pull out area, use it and let the down hill guy pass. Lots of rental Jeep drivers don't know or are too scared to remember this rule.....so just be patient and safe.
Over confidence, complacency, in-attention, (driver-keep your eyes on the trail...Stop if you want to take a picture) and not respecting the weather are what get people in trouble here. I see lots of accident each year because someone didn't follow these simple guidelines. Unfortunately, I've seen a few fatalities as well.
There is no reason to be scared, but every reason to be cautious.
a) Do Not go out alone. That is not a wise idea on flat land 4x4 trails. You are going in September and the trails are not as busy as Mid-June through Mid-August. Weather can change in an instant that time of year.
b) Get the trail guide book mentioned before, (I think poster mentioned Well's book). It will provide you with maps, tips and estimated time to run each trail. If you can't find the book, let me know and I'll look it up, (Well's is the author) Another good guide book is "4WD trails - Southwest Colorado - Peter Massey & Jeanne Wilson. It is well worth the money to get at least one of these. The books rate trails for scenic value in addition to difficulty.
c) Plan your own trips, after reading the guide book, that suit your family's wants. You can adjust any trip plan within a few minutes before you head out. Find someone you meet face-to-face, (that you are comfortable with) to help you. I can't think of a bad trail.
d) Leave early - 7-7:30. You'll see more wildlife and have time for family activities and relaxation in the afternoons. Do not plan trips more than 5 hours on the trail. By the time you make stops for kids to look for gold, (rocks), walk around ghost towns/mine sites, throw rocks in the water and take pictures, you end up with a 7 hour day.
e) Don't do Black Bear first day. Get a feel for how you and your family deal with the ledge roads on easier trails. That is why I recommended Yankee Boy basin for first trip....those drop offs are only a couple hundred feet. Don't let anyone trivialize the trails here. All the shelf roads require total concentration and decent technical driving skills.
f) A stock Jeep will NOT make it up the short obsticle on the Poughkeepsie trail without a winch. There are solid winch points for you to use. I've seen dozens of stock Jeeps thrash their vehicles past the breaking point trying to do this part, (I figure you want to drive you Jeep back home). A stock Rubicon, with lockers can do it....if the rocks are not too muddy or wet.
g) Did you order your visitor's pack? (Ouray Colorado - Come Visit) In addition to Jeeping you can take children to the Hot Springs pool, go to the Bachelor-Syracuse Mine for outdoor breakfast, gold panning or mine tour, take a 1 or 2 hour guided horse back ride, (near the mine), visit Box Canyon falls, (in town) and a bunch more stuff. Find things that you and your family want to do.
h) The Alpine Loop is from Ouray, over Engineer Pass, into Lake City, over Cinnamon Pass, into Animas Forks, to Silverton and return to Ouray on highway 550, (or the reverse). I suggest you do not consider this trip....It is waaaay to long and you'll spend the last 3 hours of your day wondering when it will be over. This is not a trip for a family, the trail from Engineer Pass into Lake City and the return on Cinnamon Pass is not that pretty. I believe you can better optimize your time on other trails.
I) Up hill traffic has the right of way. But let common sense prevail. If you are heading uphill and have a pull out area, use it and let the down hill guy pass. Lots of rental Jeep drivers don't know or are too scared to remember this rule.....so just be patient and safe.
Over confidence, complacency, in-attention, (driver-keep your eyes on the trail...Stop if you want to take a picture) and not respecting the weather are what get people in trouble here. I see lots of accident each year because someone didn't follow these simple guidelines. Unfortunately, I've seen a few fatalities as well.
There is no reason to be scared, but every reason to be cautious.
regarding H).. you mentioned not considering the Alpine loop (which is what i was i planning on) could you suggest 2-3 trails i should consider? Yankee boy basin is a must from what i hear and also black bear if the day is right. Gravel roads are fun but some small rocks don't scare me. looking for breathtaking views, possible camping in the mountains a night and supporting the small nearby towns. As i build my expedition JK these are the types of trips i'm looking forward to. I love this stuff!
What kind of Jeep do you have and what things do you like to do in CO? pics?!
05-20-2013, 05:46 AM
#37
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Just for fun here are some pics of my JK this past saturday.
<img src="https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=459746"/><img src="https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=459747"/><img src="https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=459748"/><img src="https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=459749"/><img src="https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=459750"/>
<img src="https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=459746"/><img src="https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=459747"/><img src="https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=459748"/><img src="https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=459749"/><img src="https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=459750"/>
05-20-2013, 06:23 AM
#38
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Plenty of water. That is a beautiful route, even if you just stay on the paved roads.
If coming from CO Springs (via Denver, I-70 to Grand Junction) running south from Grand Junction.
The drive down 550 into Ouray and Silverton is awesome as well. Red Mountain Pass is very scenic, just watch your speeds and pay attention. You'll also go over Coal Bank Pass and Molas Pass. If you are going to come as far as Silverton, make a trip down to Durango and we can meet up. From Durango, you can head west on US 160 and into Mancos, make a left there on CO 184 and run that into Dolores. From Dolores, head up CO 145 over Lizard Head Pass into Telluride.
From Telluride, you can head on over to Ridgway (CO-145 to CO-62) which will run you back into Ridgway and out you back on US 550. You can then run that north through Montrose and into Grand Junction. Grand Junction will get you back I-70 and you can then run that back east to the Denver area.
You can go south from the Springs down I-25 and through Walsenburg. From Walsenburg, get on US 160 West towards Alamosa, between Alamosa and Pagosa Springs, you will go up over Wolf Creek Pass. Again, very scenic but you need to watch your speed and pay attention. Also, be aware of the weather. Wolf Creek Pass gets the highest annual amount of snowfall in all of the US. Can be very treacherous......
US-160 from there will bring you into Pagosa Springs and then through Bayfield and into Durango. From here, it's just as described above to Telluride or running US-550 north to back to Grand Junction via Silverton and Ouray.
If coming from CO Springs (via Denver, I-70 to Grand Junction) running south from Grand Junction.
The drive down 550 into Ouray and Silverton is awesome as well. Red Mountain Pass is very scenic, just watch your speeds and pay attention. You'll also go over Coal Bank Pass and Molas Pass. If you are going to come as far as Silverton, make a trip down to Durango and we can meet up. From Durango, you can head west on US 160 and into Mancos, make a left there on CO 184 and run that into Dolores. From Dolores, head up CO 145 over Lizard Head Pass into Telluride.
From Telluride, you can head on over to Ridgway (CO-145 to CO-62) which will run you back into Ridgway and out you back on US 550. You can then run that north through Montrose and into Grand Junction. Grand Junction will get you back I-70 and you can then run that back east to the Denver area.
You can go south from the Springs down I-25 and through Walsenburg. From Walsenburg, get on US 160 West towards Alamosa, between Alamosa and Pagosa Springs, you will go up over Wolf Creek Pass. Again, very scenic but you need to watch your speed and pay attention. Also, be aware of the weather. Wolf Creek Pass gets the highest annual amount of snowfall in all of the US. Can be very treacherous......
US-160 from there will bring you into Pagosa Springs and then through Bayfield and into Durango. From here, it's just as described above to Telluride or running US-550 north to back to Grand Junction via Silverton and Ouray.
Either one of these routes is great. And each has pros and cons. IMHO the north to south is more scenic but the COS to Denver to Grand Junction can be annoying. If there is not a heavy time constraint, you can take 24 west to 82 (via Aspen) then over to I70 and down. Lots of ghost towns and jeep trails in that area.
05-20-2013, 11:01 AM
#39
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All in all it wasn't bad. If I go again I'll pray for dryer weather. It was rainy when we were there and it honestly wasn't too bad since the trail drained well.
05-20-2013, 05:29 PM
#40
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Ranger - Awesome thanks again for taking the time to post this. This post should be a sticky because i'm sure I'm not the first or the last to ask for this.
regarding H).. you mentioned not considering the Alpine loop (which is what i was i planning on) could you suggest 2-3 trails i should consider? Yankee boy basin is a must from what i hear and also black bear if the day is right. Gravel roads are fun but some small rocks don't scare me. looking for breathtaking views, possible camping in the mountains a night and supporting the small nearby towns. As i build my expedition JK these are the types of trips i'm looking forward to. I love this stuff!
What kind of Jeep do you have and what things do you like to do in CO? pics?!
regarding H).. you mentioned not considering the Alpine loop (which is what i was i planning on) could you suggest 2-3 trails i should consider? Yankee boy basin is a must from what i hear and also black bear if the day is right. Gravel roads are fun but some small rocks don't scare me. looking for breathtaking views, possible camping in the mountains a night and supporting the small nearby towns. As i build my expedition JK these are the types of trips i'm looking forward to. I love this stuff!
What kind of Jeep do you have and what things do you like to do in CO? pics?!
if I where to do just a part of it I would drive up to Animas Forks, then over to American Basin via Cinnamon pass... and then up to the look out area by Engineer pass.... I would come down Mineral Creek.. also driving west on Cinnamon is a pretty drive then going east....IMO.
so if you came in from Lake City take Cinnamon pass drive over to American Basin then over Cinnamon pass to Animas Forks then to the engineer pass look out area.. then down Mineral creak (which is basically the start of engineer pass from HWY 550) pass to Ouray... that would be one way to do it....
it's really hard to go wrong what ever way you take will be awesome...
Last edited by JK-jeepit; 05-20-2013 at 05:33 PM.