Colorado. trails?

[wanderer]

Of all the passes black bear. Imogene cinamon engineers. Etc How would those of you who have run them actually rank them. Interms of :
1 difficulty
2 scenic. Beauty
3Random. Features?

can you tell I am bored out of my mind waiting for my order to get built?

one final question
Is there a trail of yours any where that you have yet to do but nags at your subconscious ? Where and why?

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[TcDC2020]

I’ve run all 5 in the ouray area.

Difficulty:
1. Poughkeepsie. Aside from the wall I thought the stretch from 550 to the trailhead was the more technical area. But not hard we had a lot of fun. I also thought this was the most beautiful trail as we had it mostly to ourselves and it was lightly snowing. Given it’s primarily in a gulch makes it nice.
2. Black bear. Not super technical but the steps scared the hell out of me. It just seemed uncomfortable to me when you are tilting down to drivers left. I’d do it again and enjoy it more it’s a pretty trail.
3. Imogene. I ran it ouray to telluride. Nice trail. Gets a little busy. Scenic views. not technical but some nice features and options to crawl around on.
4. Ophir. Easy trail. Drove it 550 to Ophir. Nice views.
5. Alpine loop. Engineer. The first time I ran the loop in one long day. I wouldn’t do that again. In the same trip we hiked Handies so seemed like a lot of time on the alpine loop. The second time this past fall I went from lake city over to Nellie creek trail and camped off Nellie creek. Wanted a second crack at Ucompaghre peak so staged up in that area in the nicest camp spot I’ve ever been in. Nellie creek is a much harder jeep trail than any section of the alpine loop or engineer is.

My opinion after doing them all would be to slow down and enjoy them. Or plan to go back several times. Such a scenic area to Jeep, camp, and hike.

pics because why not. 1st Imogene. 2nd camping off Nellie creek. 3rd Poughkeepsie.

 

[Ratbert]

Silver Basin is really beautiful.

Im pretty sure Black Bear never opened this past year. No clue if it'll be back.

 

[Ratbert]

These Aussies might give you some ideas.

 

[dchemphill1]

Cinnamon and Engineer are not difficult trails. Beautiful yes. We did the loop in a day and spent some time walking around in Lake City. We always enjoy our jeep rides. Low and slow is our motto.

 

[wibornz]

Of all the passes black bear. Imogene cinamon engineers. Etc How would those of you who have run them actually rank them. Interms of :
1 difficulty
2 scenic. Beauty
3Random. Features?

can you tell I am bored out of my mind waiting for my order to get built?

one final question
Is there a trail of yours any where that you have yet to do but nags at your subconscious ? Where and why?

Black Bear pass is very easy. There is on off chamber spot, but it is really not an issue. The rest is an easy drive unless big drop offs bother you. Very pretty views.

Imogene is beautiful. Not difficult. very scenic. There are so decent angle short climbs and decents.

Cinnamon is very easy and wa beautiful when I was there. Big views.

Engineer pass is very easy, There was a 2wd Silverado on top of the pass when I ran it.

The ting with Colorado is it is depended on the weather and the time of the year. There is not a big window to run these trails. Just a few months mid to late summer and then it can get limited as you go into September. Many of the passes do not even open until July or so. Sometimes it is even late July. So plan accordingly. You can not really go wrong wheeling in Colorado for the most part. Just know that even though some of these trails have a high difficulty rating, they are for the most part stock Jeep friendly.

For example Black Bear pass is rated as a 8 out of 10 for difficulty. It is more like a 2. I think it get the high rating because if you are not careful, it can easily be deadly. There are places that you are inches to a foot from falling off the mountain. You should not be snapping pictures while driving. Make sure you come to a complete stop to look at views and take pictures.

 

[Chrisbayridge1]

Of all the passes black bear. Imogene cinamon engineers. Etc How would those of you who have run them actually rank them. Interms of :
1 difficulty
2 scenic. Beauty
3Random. Features?

can you tell I am bored out of my mind waiting for my order to get built?

one final question
Is there a trail of yours any where that you have yet to do but nags at your subconscious ? Where and why?

I've run Ophir, Cinnamon, and Engineer Pass bone stock Rubicon on 33s Engineer Pass was beautiful ? got great pics and videos I couldn't do Black Bear, Imogene and Poughkeepsie gulch because they were still snow blocked as of July 3rd 2023 but I'll be back for those trails in August 2024! Engineer and Ophir and Cinnamon were easy trails as long as you are not afraid of heights I'm guessing Black Bear would be a problem for people who are afraid of heights and the steps and switchbacks look a bit technical as far as I can tell from the videos that are out there Good luck with your build!

 

[GATORB8]

A note on engineer, it's going to depend on your west end entrance (Mineral Creek or Animas Fork/CR 2). Animas Forks east is not bad, the technical section is Mineral Creek. It's 100% doable in a stock Rubicon, but I'd recommend at least some off-road experience.

I like Corkscrew Pass as well, it's another entrance from the Ouray side on Million Dollar Highway.

 

[Ratbert]

If you're looking for difficult trails in Colorado the most challenging I've done is Independence Trail. Not very scenic and very short, but holy crap, the drop in is a beast. My JLURD on 37s with a 3" lift was by far the least built rig on that run and it made me realize that my next set of tires won't be KO2s and will probably be a bit larger.

I'm pretty sure you can't do the bottom part without being in a buggy.

https://www.trailsoffroad.com/public/deep-links/trails/956/share

 

[SoK66]

All those trails are in my backyard, I've run them all many times. NEVER say Black Bear is "easy". It leads inexperienced, unqualified people up there who have no business attempting the sections down Ingram Creek (ledges) and the switchbacks down to Bridal Veil Falls. This past season heavy snows brought down rockslides that kept it closed. A group of out of State jackasses went around the closure signs, cleared a snowfield with shovels, proceeded on down the creek, attempted the switchbacks section past Ingram Falls and nearly rolled at the rockslide. It required a rescue by local authorities and at that point San Miguel County road crews and the local sheriff had had enough of the bull$#!+ this kind of nonsense was causing them. It remained closed for the rest of the season and I'd wager it will never open again. The County boys risk their necks every year clearing it with a Dozer and they've had enough.

Our local club sponsors the trail up to the Pass, a club from Montrose sponsors it from the Pass down to Telluride (The two sections are in different National Forests, two different volunteer agreements). We do everything possible to keep it open, but the "Stupid Factor" may have done us in.

 

[Powelligator]

Another trail that's pretty tough and worth doing if you find yourself in Colorado with a well built rig is Holy Cross City. Holy Cross is more in central Colorado than the southern San Juans like the trails you have listed above. It's scenic as well, though not like the big passes. Certainly well worth doing, one of my favorites.

 

[DewHawk]

Animas Forks east is not bad, the technical section is Mineral Creek. It's 100% doable in a stock Rubicon, but I'd recommend at least some off-road experience.

Was gonna echo this for sure. Stock Rubi heading up Mineral Creek towards Poughkeepsie/Engineer is definitely not a trail I'd recommend to someone with little experience. There's spots on that trail that will definitely make your butt pucker with the view out your passenger window.

Another trail that's pretty tough and worth doing if you find yourself in Colorado with a well built rig is Holy Cross City. Holy Cross is more in central Colorado than the southern San Juans like the trails you have listed above. It's scenic as well, though not like the big passes. Certainly well worth doing, one of my favorites.

I have yet to see Holy Cross in person, but there's no way I'm venturing out there without full armor underneath. I've seen way too many videos of how sketchy that trail can get even with a decent lift and 37's.

 

[Chocolate Thunder]

Each of them are equally scenic in their own way. None will leave you disappointed on that front. Difficultly is subjective; it depends on what you’re good at and comfortable with. I believe cinnamon is the easiest and least technical. I wouldn’t agree with anyone that says they’re very easy. What some lack in sheer steepness or huge boulders to navigate, they make up for by being very narrow shelf roads with very little room for error. There are many of these narrow sections with tight switchbacks where backing up is either treacherous or impossible. They are all doable with a good spotter and proper respect for the dangers involved, but I don’t consider them easy (except cinnamon) unless you’re one off those “super-wheelers” who’ve done it all. Fall foliage is gorgeous, but you have to time it well. Last year I went over Labor Day weekend and it was a few weeks early. Too late and there’s snow. The Wall on Poughkeepsie looks easier than it is IMO.

 

[Ratbert]

The Wall on Poughkeepsie looks easier than it is IMO.

It's all about having a spotter that knows how to straddle that crack. Another member of our club gave up since his spotter (a know-it-all that I'll never allow to spot me again) couldn't grasp that concept. I went straight up while they winched up the left side.

 

[thekevin]

I don't know what kind of build your Jeep will have but BleepinJeep did a series of Colorado trails on their Youtube page.

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