BUSHDUCKS COLORADO JEEP TRAILS
WHEN ARE THEY PASSABLE?
DATES FOR 2004

As a guide, you can view the dates and information from the 2003 Season, the 2002 Season or the 2001 Season. The 2003 season was pretty average for opening dates, but the 2002 season was a dry, low snowpack year, so some dates were a lot earlier than usual. So far, the 2004 snowpack in Colorado is mixed. Low snowpack on the front range, higher than normal in the San Juans. Keep an eye on this page for frequent updates in season. Where passes are left blank, no current information has been submitted.

This list is intended as a guide only and no responsibility is taken for any incident arising from mis-information. The ultimate responsibility as to whether the trail is safe to travel, within the capabilities of yourself and your vehicle, or indeed open at all, is taken by YOU.

.

TRAIL NAME	NATIONAL FOREST NAME/DISTRICT	PHONE NUMBER	STATUS	DATE UPD.
Argentine Pass/Waldorf Mine	White River/Dillon	970-468-5400
COMMENTS:
Bangs Canyon	BLM
COMMENTS:
Bill Moore Lake	Clear Creek	303-567-3000	Open	6/12/04
COMMENTS: 6/12/04 - Today, Land Rovers opened the trail all the way to the lake. We had to bust through some deep drifts on the downhill section before the lake. It took chains or lockers to get back out. The mud pit was full, but we were smart enough to stay out of it.
Birdseye Gulch	Uncompahgre/Ouray	970-240-5300	Open	7/17/04
COMMENTS: 7/17/04 - Trail is open all the way. The mudhole is approx 36" of mud under 14" water. No Jeep can go around this, quads can just make it around. Trees can be used as winch points to get through. No hidden rocks under the mud, so it's a safe sleigh ride. The bush has grown in quite a bit, making the trail just wide enough for Jeeps to squeak through, but it's a fun ride. The boulder field still presents a challenge to inexperienced drivers
Black Bear Pass	Uncompahgre/Ouray	970-240-5300	Open	7/8/04
COMMENTS: 7/8/04 - Trail is open and in good shape. Went over the first day it was opened. Had some minor snow, but none on trail. No trail damage. We were pre-running it and Imogene for the upcomming NAXJA ColordoFest 2004 August 8-14.
Blowout Pass	Rio Grande/Divide	719-657-3321
COMMENTS:
Boreas Pass	White River/Dillon	970-468-5400
COMMENTS:
Cinammon Pass	Uncompahgre/Ouray BLM/Gunnison	970-240-5300 970-641-0471	Open	10/10/04
COMMENTS: 10/10/04 - Snow on north-facing slopes but the road is clear. 5/27/04 - Cinnamon Pass is open all the way.
Corkscrew Gulch	Uncompahgre/Ouray BLM/Gunnison	970-240-5300 970-641-0471	Open	6/29/04
COMMENTS: 6/29/04 - Open from Hwy 550 through Animas Forks and on to Engineer Rd. via California Gulch. Snow in higher elevations, but road is clear. 6/12/04 - Trail open all the way from Highway 550 to Gladstone. Good shape, no problems.
Cumberland Pass	San Isabel/Salida	719-539-3591
COMMENTS:
Elwood Pass	Rio Grande/Conejos San Juan/Pagosa	719-274-8971 970-264-2268
COMMENTS:
Engineer Pass	Uncompahgre/Ouray BLM/Gunnison	970-240-5300 970-641-0471	Open	10/10/04
COMMENTS: 10/10/04 - Still open all the way. East side of Engineer Pass (Lake City side) is clear and dry. West side of pass is muddy and snow-packed for the top 1/4 mile nearest the pass (again-west side only). Once passed this section, the road to Animas Forks is clear and dry. No problems for stock Grand Cherokee. 6/12/04 - Open from Animas Forks to Lake City. No problems, just a little rough. Dozer broke through the last snow bank, just on the Lake City side of the pass. 5/27/04 - Open on the Lake City side only.
Georgia Pass	White River/Dillon	970-468-5400	Open	7/19/04
COMMENTS: 7/19/04 - Too many motors for the area here this weekend. From the sounds, you would think you were in the middle of a dirt bike track. More traffic than I see in my neighborhood at home. 7/13/04 - Georgia Pass (open all the way through) - Took it from the Jefferson, CO side. The East side is the easiest side. The West side at the top is a really fun trail to take. Easy enough, but it appears really steep and formidable. 5/2/04 - Not open all the way yet. We approached it from the Jefferson side. You can get to within 700 feet of the summit in a lightweight and heavily outfitted 4x4 with a winch & shovel. At that point it is way off camber with heavy snow making the last section impassable. Since it's just at about tree line there are no good winching points. Deep drifts start way below the big switchback and first cabin. There are many long sections of snowy, drifty whoops. Some clearings & switchbacks including the big one have 4 feet of snow.
Governor Basin	Uncompahgre/Ouray	970-240-5300 970	Partially open	6/27/04
COMMENTS: 6/27/04 - Blocked by snow shortly after second stream crossing. Turn around before entering shelf road after second stream crossing or you will have to back out.
Hancock Pass	San Isabel/Salida	719-539-3591
COMMENTS:
Hagerman Pass	San Isabel/Leadville White River/Sophris	719-486-0749 970-963-2266	Open	7/16/04
COMMENTS: 10/16/04 - Open all the way. Starting from the Leadville side, shady sections below treeline have long stretches of thin snowpack. Just before the summit, several vehicles had pushed though a couple powdery drifts, 8 inches deep and a few feet long. 7/17/04 - Open all the way, encountered almost no snow at all. Trail is in superb condition, no new mud has accumulated around the train tunnels making the climb down still fun and interesting. 6/09/04 - Blocked by huge snow drift at 11,680 foot elevation (at knob just beyond ski hut) - about 1.1 mile east of summit (coming from Leadville).
Hayden Pass	Rio Grande/Saguache San Isabel/Salida	719-655-2547 719-539-3591
COMMENTS:
Imogene Pass	Uncompahgre/Ouray	970-240-5300	Partially open	9/7/04
COMMENTS: 9/7/04 - Imogene was open from Telluride to the last switchback below the summit. About three feet of snow blocked that last five hundred feet to the summit. Trail was dry with the exception of a few spots above the Tomboy mine. 7/8/04 - Open and in good shape. 6/30/04 - Open all the way from Camp Bird Rd. to Telluride. Lots of snow on higher elevations, but road has been plowed. No unusual problems.
Italian Creek Road/Upper Reno Divide	Gunnison/Gunnison	970-641-0471	Open	8/9/04
COMMENTS: 8/9/04 - The trail is open all the way. There is a very narrow shelf road on slide rock on this trail. Do not attempt with a stock full-size vehicle. Even smaller vehicles will find the upper trail narrow and off-camber. The shelf road is dangerous and not recommended for solo travel. We traveled the trail from the Gunnison side towards Taylor Lake - this is the easier route to take. Travel in the opposite direction will require climbing large loose rocks while on the shelf road. Lower Reno is an option if you are not well equipped for Upper - it will get you to the same places. After doing Upper Reno we also went to the top of American Flag Mountain. The trail was in good condition and the view was excellent. The trail surface is loose rock but easily do-able. 7/11/04 - Open all the way - Taylor Resevoir to Crested Butte. This trail has apparently been open for a while. There's one small patch of snow at the top, but it's not blocking the road. I took the 'high road' across the talus slope (see Charles Well's book) without a problem, a group ahead of me took the 'low road'. I saw them again on the way down Cement Creek Road, so they didn't have any problems either.
Jones Pass	Clear Creek	303-567-3000	Partially Open	7/05/04
COMMENTS: 7/05/04 - Pass is open to about 1/4 mile from the summit. Quite a bit of snow covering the summit and the last 1/4 mile of road leading to the summit. There's maybe 10 to 15 feet at the summit and the snow covering the road looked anywhere from 4 to 6 feet deep. Best guess is that maybe the pass will be open by the beginning of August at the earliest. 5/30/04 - Clear to about 11,300 foot elevation (switchbacks just below timberline). Snow mounds with icy base across road at higher elevations. Three plus inches of new snow overnight and snowing at noon Sunday.
Kebler Pass			Open	10/09/04
COMMENTS: 10/09/04 - Dry, busy with foilage viewers and hunters. Foilage about a week past prime but still some good spots. 5/27/04 - Open all the way.
Lamartine/Saxon Mountain	Clear Creek	303-567-3000
COMMENTS:
Lead King Basin	White River/Sophris District	970-963-2266	Open	8/10/04
COMMENTS: 8/10/04 - The trail is open all the way. 3/4 of the road from the Marble end was deep dust, I'm sure it would be muddy in wet weather. The last mile on the Crystal end is very rocky. Great views of the peaks from this road. 5/30/04 - Open from the Crystal approach only with dry conditions. The Marble approach is blocked 1.5 miles in by snow. There are probably additional drifts on the higher portion as well.
McAllistair Gulch	White River/Holy Cross	970-827-5715	Open	7/3/04
COMMENTS: 7/3/04 - Wearyman is fun due to narrow trail and 5 water crossings. We turned right at the end of Wearyman and took McAllister Gulch over to Camp Hale. McAllister is a fun trail with some very steep trail sections.
Medano Pass	Rio Grande/Saguache San Isabel/San Carlos	719-655-2547 719-269-8500
COMMENTS:
Mosquito Pass	Pike/South Park San Isabel/Leadville	719-836-2031 719-486-0749	Partially open	7/17/04
COMMENTS: 7/17/04 - Open all the way to the summit from the West, snow drift still blocking the East side approx 1/8th mile down from summit. Trail is good as always. 6/5/04 - Closed due to heavy snow. Traveled from the Alma side(east). Heavy snow covers most of the mountain still above 12,00 feet. on the east side.
Mount Baldy/Captain Jacks	Pike National Forest/ El Paso County	719-836-2031	Open	6/5/04
COMMENTS: 6/5/04 - Open and in good shape. Some water crossings less than 8" deep. Lots of ruts and rocks, need high clearance vehicle. No real obstacles. Narrow trail - could be tricky with wide vehicles. On the trip down be on the lookout and watch for other vehicles in case you need to back-up.
Ohio Pass	Gunnison	970-641-0471	Closed	5/11/03
COMMENTS: 5/11/03 - Trail is still closed - still a fair amount of snow on the road at lower elevations.
Ophir Pass	Uncompahgre/Ouray	970-240-5300	Partially Open	6/18/04
COMMENTS: 6/18/04 - Trail open all the way. Traveled from Ophir to CO550. Some snow along sides, particularly at the summit but no problems. The road is in very good condition. 5/21/04 - Ophir Pass is cleared from U.S Hwy 550 to the summit. Still closed from summit to the Telluride side. Snow was about 20 feet high at summit. Some stream crossings were getting washed out due to the rapid melting of snow.
Owl Creek Pass	Uncompahgre/Ouray BLM/Gunnison	970-240-5300 970-641-0471	Partially Open	5/27/04
COMMENTS: 5/27/04 - Open to the top on Ridgeway side. From Cimarron side, open to Middle Fork bridge.
Pearl Pass	Gunnison/Gunnison	970-641-0471	Open	8/11/04
COMMENTS: 8/11/04 - Trail is open all the way. We drove in snow about 30 feet - but had no problems. 7/25/04 - Trail is open all the way through. We traveled from Aspen over to Crested Butte, having to shovel out the very last section of snow on the Crested Butte side. We made it over in a stock TJ with little incident. There is still one snow field that requires either big low psi rubbers or small fast mph. We chose the latter and had no problems. 7/18/04 - I traveled from the Crested Butte side and there is still a snow slide blocking the road about 1/8th of a mile from the summit. :( May be passable by late August, but doubtful. We encountered a bit of sleet at the summit. I'm not sure about the Aspen approach, but from what I could see there was still snow over the road in a few places. (depth unknown)
Poughkeepsie Gulch	Uncompahgre/Ouray	970-240-5300	Partially open	6/28/04
COMMENTS: 6/28/04 - Blocked by snow on Corkscrew side. Open for about 2.5 miles from Engineer road. Wall is inaccessible because of snow. Trail is somewhat muddy but passable from Engineer Road until you reach snow banks.
Ptarmigan Pass	White River/Holy Cross	970-827-5715
COMMENTS:
Radical Hill	White River/Dillon Pike/South Platte	970-468-5400 303-275-5610	Open	7/19/04
COMMENTS: 7/19/04 - Open all the way. 7/4/04 - This is a steep, rocky shelf road (at the top) that can get your heart thumping. We found a snowfield 1/2 way up that we winched across (others who do not believe in 'Tread Lightly' used a go-around started by Quad riders). I'd rather pioneer it to encourage the snow to melt. From the snow field it is a climb up a very rocky trail. You really have to pick your line carefully and still expect to experience some rough riding. Further up the trail appeared to be covered with additional snow fields - go ahead and take it as it is clear. Toward the top the grade changes from 45 degrees to almost 60 degrees. There is a ninety degree turn near the top with an elevated drop off at the other side of the road at the turn. We turned, and was stopped by the trail. It was a nerve wracking experience to back up and find the line. With a bit of heart pounding excitement, we turned the corner and proceeded up to the top. Near the top we started honking the horn to relieve some of that heart-pounding excitement. The group of people at the top shared the excitement with us.
Red Cone	White River/Dillon Pike/South Platte	970-468-5400 303-275-5610	Open	7/4/04
COMMENTS: 7/4/04 - This is a truly fun steep trail with a definite pucker factor to it. Follow CR60 about 5 miles South of Grant, CO on US 285. There is branch off to Red Cone a little ways up the trail. The lower 3 miles is very rocky. You climb pretty quickly. Following that is a narrow, steep, tree laden trail with some tight turns. Eventually you get to timberline and can see the additional elevations involved. You can get to the top of Redcone peak and get a phenomenal view. There is one section very high in elevation where you ride the ridge top with just enough room for the Jeep to pass. You can look down and watch as the sides dropp off very steeply to each side. The final downhill to Webster Pass is very steep. I suggest that you do not use your brakes on the way down. Instead, use your low range and first gear to slowly navigate the hill. It would not do to have the back end of your vehicle pass the front end on the way down. As is usual, the people at Webster Pass watching gave us a big cheer when we got down.
Rollins Pass - East Side	Clear Creek	303-567-3000	Open	7/25/04
COMMENTS: 7/25/04 - Trail is completely open to the road block before the Needle Eye Tunnel. Trail was in excellent shape. A little bumpy in some spots, but other than that, it's a nice easy ride. A shame there's still some people that don't understand what Tread Lightly means.
Red and White Mountain	White River/Holy Cross	970-827-5715
COMMENTS:
Schofield Pass	White River/Sophris District	970-963-2266	Open	10/17/04
COMMENTS: 10/17/04 - Open all the way. A light dusting of snow in some corners, but all the serious spots were dry. 9/30/04 - Still open all the way. Went uphill from Crystal to Crested Butte. Light sleet and snow increasing to moderate as we neared the summit. No accumulation of snow, but trail was wet and slick. 7/26/04 - Open all the way through. No problems. Trail is in great shape this year. The Devil's Punchbowl is beautiful and scary as ever. Deepest creek crossing was about 15". We started on the Crested Butte side and came over with no problems in a stock TJ.
Shrine Pass	White River/Sophris District	970-963-2266	Partially Open	5/5/04
COMMENTS: 5/5/04 - Open from the Red Cliff side for approx. 3 miles. Deep muddy ruts approx. 2 miles. from Red Cliff. Snow depth at 3 miles. is approx. 8"-10"
Spring Creek Pass	Gunnison	970-641-0471	Open	5/16/04
COMMENTS: 05/16/2004 - An easy drive on a Sunday.
Taylor Pass	Gunnison/Gunnison	970-641-0471	Open	7/20/04
COMMENTS: 7/20/04 - Open from Ashcroft/Express Creek all the way to the summit. The "mud slide" is nowhere to be found. There are no obstacles, and wet weather travel isn't bad at all. We went up in the rain and came back across Richmond Ridge down the face of AJAX with no problems at all in a stock TJ. 7/18/04 - Open to summit from Crested Butte side. Not open from Ashcroft. Trail is open all the way to the summit from the Crested Butte side but there is a mudslide on the Ashcroft approach. You can still get through to or from Aspen by taking the service road to Aspen mountain. A sign toward the top will direct you to Taylor Pass.
Tincup Pass	San Isabel/Salida	719-539-3591	Open	9/11/04
COMMENTS: 9/11/04 - Open all the way from Taylor Park to St Elmo. Rough, rocky, but can be easily traveled in a stock 4WD. Lots and lots of traffic: 4WD, bikes, and ATV's going both directions. Many instances of stop and back up. Spectacular views.
Tomichi Pass	Gunnison/Gunnison	970-641-0471	Open	8/8/04
COMMENTS: 8/8/04 - Trail is open all the way. The trail is very narrow on the Alpine Tunnel/Hancock Pass side. There were a couple of eroded areas where you will need to pay attention to avoid problems. The logs in the mud hole at the bottom are getting out of place and require care to stay on them.
Uncompahgre Plateau Area			Mainly Open	5/27/04
COMMENTS: 5/27/04 - The trails on the plateau area are mainly open, although they are muddy, with some snow mounds.
Webster Pass/Handcart Gulch	White River/Dillon Pike/South Platte	970-468-5400 303-275-5610	Open	7/19/04
COMMENTS: 7/19/04 - Open all the way. USGS had drilling equipment on it Saturday, July 17th. 7/4/04 - At the top of the pass, there was a snow field that was cut through. High walls of snow on both sides as we turned onto Webster Pass from Red Cone. Upper Handcart is fun due to it being a shelf road with very narrow areas and pretty severe cambers.
Weston Pass	Pike/South Park San Isabel/Leadville	719-836-2031 719-486-0749	Open	6/5/04
COMMENTS: 6/5/04 - Trail is open all the way through, south park to Leadville. Traveled from the south park side on my GS, only a few wet patches left from the snow on the west side of the pass. 5/7/04 - From the East, open to within 100 yards of the summit. Heavy wet snow, with runoff under the snow, saturating the road making it very soft and difficult to maintain traction at 11,900 feet. Snow from 12"-18" with 1" ice base with water under the ice. Did not try the West side, unable to reach summit from the East with stock Tahoe and BFG TA/AT's. Coming up the pass from the East, the road is very good and without any obstructions until the summit.
Wheeler Lake
COMMENTS:
Yankee Boy Basin	Uncompahgre/Ouray BLM/Gunnison	970-240-5300 970-641-0471	Open	6/28/04
COMMENTS: 6/28/04 - Open to parking area at toilet. Road blocked by snow approximately 3/4 mile up switchbacks leading to Sneffels trailhead. Muddy but no problems until you reach snow. Some flowers beginning to bloom. 5/25/04 - Yankee Boy is open all the way to Yankee Boy Basin.
Yankee Hill	Clear Creek	303-567-3000	Partially Open	5/23/04
COMMENTS: 5/23/04 - Main trail snow free from Saint Marys to Central City. Encountered snow mounds 2-3 feet deep and up to 20 feet across within forested areas on some of the side trails.

Home  Back Country Planning  Adventure Guides  High Country Pass Status  Adventure Reports  Bushducks Land Rover  Webbed Links  Email Us

Be informed when this page is updated:

Join the mailing list Enter your name and email address: Name: Email:   Subscribe      Unsubscribe