Colorado - Alpine Loop Area - Time to Complete

[Cyber_Jeeper]

HI!

I'm hoping to get to the Alpine Loop area this fall, but I'm having trouble figuring out long it will take as I've never been there. My plan is to divide it up into two days. We would get to Telluride the night before so that we can get a early start on the trails.
Day 1.
Telluride --> Yankee Boy --> Ouray --> Mineral Creek --> Engineer Pass --> Lake City --> Camp somewhere near Lake City = 55 miles including a detour to the top of Yankee Boy Basin.

Day 2.
Lake City --> Cinnamon Pass --> California Gulch --> Corkscrew Gulch --> Country Road 110 = 34 miles


I tend to drive pretty quickly, but I'm worried a bit about the first day. Cinnamon Pass and Engineer pass seem to be pretty tame, but Imogene and Mineral Creek are a bit tougher which means slower. Do you think I could get to Lake City by around dinner time? Would there be time to take a detour to the top of Yankee Boy basin, or should I immediately start down Yankee Boy instead? I would like to have time to stop and explore any attractions along the way.
There is also the possibility on day 2 of heading up 550 from Silverton to take Black Bear pass back into Telluride.

Here is a map view showing the proposed route. Pink is day 1, brown is day 2.

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[Aonar]

Just some quick math from some sources. I guess it all depends on stops, speed, skill, JP build, etc. GL and have fun!

Mineral creek:

 

[Aonar]

BYW, The Fun Treks book(s) are great resources to hve along with you on the trip! Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails - FunTreks

 

[LazyJL]

We have driven the Loop twice, completing it in one long day.
Adding the trip over the mountain from Telluride and back will add a day..
Be aware that the high passes can close in the late summer as they did this year, the fall may be too late.

 

[BDinTX]

I'm far from an area expert but I would be worried about the 1st day.

When we were there in September, we went from Ouray to lookout point on Imogene, up to Governor Basin (next to Yankee Boy), then back. That took us 3hr 46 min to drive.

We didn't record a track for the Northern part of the Alpine loop but the Southern part (your day 2), with a small detour was 5hrs driving. Like you mentioned, Mineral creek will be slower going and the stretch between Animas Forks and Engineer pass has always had more traffic / congestion.

Personally, I'd recommend you skip Yankee Boy, take the turn from Imogene on Camp Bird road (it's fun) and then spend a little time in Animas Forks.

A writeup of our trip:
Colorado trip - Blanca, Imogene, Poughkeepsie | Jeep Wrangler Forums (JL / JLU) -- Rubicon, 4xe, 392, Sahara, Sport - JLwranglerforums.com

 

[Cyber_Jeeper]

We have driven the Loop twice, completing it in one long day.
Adding the trip over the mountain from Telluride and back will add a day..
Be aware that the high passes can close in the late summer as they did this year, the fall may be too late.

I'm thinking early Fall, maybe mid-september. I'm hoping with the kids back in school it will cut down on the crowds a bit.

Just some quick math from some sources. I guess it all depends on stops, speed, skill, JP build, etc. GL and have fun!

Mineral creek:

I tried looking this up, but I wasn't sure how accurate the times were. I do tend to drive faster than most, but crowded trails can be a limitation.



A safer possibility would be to turn this into a 2.5 day trip. I added the estimated time from OnX. I'm not sure if these times are round trip or one way though. Yankee Boy Basin would be a 8 hours total if it's one way, but Imogene would be 2 hours if the 4 hours rating is both directions. But you can't do Yankee Boy one direction like you can't with Imogene....
Day 1.
Telluride --> Imogene Pass (4 hours)--> Yankee Boy Basin (4 hours) --> Hike to Mount Sneffels (?)-->
Down Yankee Boy to Ouray to camp for the night.

Day 2.
Ouray --> Mineral Creek (1.5 hours) --> Engineer Pass (3 hours) --> Lunch in Lake City --> Cinnamon Pass (3 Hours) --> County Road 2 --> Eureka to camp for the night.

Day 3.
Eureka --> Silverton --> County Road 550 --> Black Bear Pass (2 hours) --> Telluride


They would still be long days, but a bit shorter. It would skip California and part of Corkscrew Gulch though. Are those worth seeing?

 

[Fabtech Motorsports]

Give yourself a bit more time for Black Bear, that seems fast. We left Silverton in the AM (8ISH, if I recall) and headed down Black Bear and got into Telluride mid-afternoon.

I like these places:

https://www.browndogpizza.com/

http://smugglerunion.com/

 

[Cyber_Jeeper]

Give yourself a bit more time for Black Bear, that seems fast. We left Silverton in the AM (8ISH, if I recall) and headed down Black Bear and got into Telluride mid-afternoon.

I like these places:

https://www.browndogpizza.com/

http://smugglerunion.com/

That’s much longer than I was expecting, I will keep that in mind. Those restaurants look tasty too!

 

[dchemphill1]

Just FYI. Black Bear pass is closed in definitely and not just for weather. I think they had to reconstruct part of the trail? Just be sure to monitor and check ahead.

alpine loop is a full day with time for some lunch in Lake City.

 

[embedded rock]

So, I'm not sure how to interpret this without any dates posted on the webpage. Is this closed still from the winter months, or will the Alpine Loop not open this year at all?

https://www.alpineloop.info/

 

[Cyber_Jeeper]

So, I'm not sure how to interpret this without any dates posted on the webpage. Is this closed still from the winter months, or will the Alpine Loop not open this year at all?

https://www.alpineloop.info/

I believe it’s still closed for the winter. Still too early in the season.

However, I was reading that Imogene pass in particular had some landslides so it will probably open up later than the others.

 

[Fabtech Motorsports]

Often opens end of June/start of July, as mentioned, depending on snow fall and how fast it melts.

So, I'm not sure how to interpret this without any dates posted on the webpage. Is this closed still from the winter months, or will the Alpine Loop not open this year at all?

https://www.alpineloop.info/

 

[embedded rock]

The website has an update with the wording. Better clarity now. Have been there twice now after openings in July--motorcycle riding. Busy. Last year in the Jeep in September. I like that timing better.

https://www.alpineloop.info/

 

[Fabtech Motorsports]

It's so crazy, I am on the Front Range (work remote) and today in the Denver area it will be in the upper 80's and the mountain passes are still a month out, at least, from opening. I get it, but always catches me by surprise.

The website has an update with the wording. Better clarity now. Have been there twice now after openings in July--motorcycle riding. Busy. Last year in the Jeep in September. I like that timing better.

https://www.alpineloop.info/

 

[TORRyan]

FYI, the full alpine loop (cinnamon and engineer) opened, I believe two days ago. So you have nothing to worry about there. The trails get plowed as the weather allows. Your biggest concern should be Imogene and Black Bear. Imogene was severely damaged by storms last year on the Telluride side, and the San Miguel county road crews said it will be closed until at least September because they have to rebuild the road and a retaining wall to prevent future issues. San Miguel county is THE WORST! Nothing moves fast there when it comes to offroad repairs, so I wouldn't be surprised if the repairs drag into next year. Black Bear was closed all last year only because the county was understaffed and they were continuously working on other roads, like Imogene, due to a lot of severe storms. They never made it a priority to never go clear rock slides on Black Bear. I don't know how this year's Imogene repairs will affect there plans to get on Black Bear. Just have other plans ready in case those are still closed.

I can't speak for how onx uses trail durations, but Trails Offroad uses it one way. So if it's an in-and-out trail, you have to double that time.

Looking at your last plan of 3 days, the time estimates look pretty good to me for day 1, but short for day 2. Both ends of the loop take about 4hrs each. I move pretty fast as well. I've spent tons of time on those trails and am very comfortable on them. It was my summer vacation spot every year as a young man. You can probably do it in around 3, but you literally would not stop driving, and there is a lot to see... ghost towns, mines, waterfalls, scenic picture spots.
I think California is worth seeing. Way better than CR2. But every trail down there is a little different, but also pretty much the same. They are high altitude, narrow shelf roads with epic mountiain top views and likely mine ruins. You can't go wrong with selecting any, or skipping any, really. You won't be disappointed. But the routes you have, are main routes, so they will be a bit congested, even that time of year, because everyone goes for leaf peeping.

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