Off Roading Need Colorado Jeeping Recommendation

[Mike Ellis]

This summer I will be up in Colorado with my boys and want to stay in an RV park and rent a jeep to do some high country driving. Don't plan to do anything like the Rubicon :-laf just want to grab a Wrangler etc and be able to go up and explore the high areas where there are old mines etc.



Any recommendations for a good place to stay that is near a bunch of suitable trails? We had a ball doing this in Red River NM, looking for a similar area in Colorado that won't require really aggressive 4-wheeling

 

[moparguy]

Mike, hope you get good response on this. I reciently added a 79 CJ5 to the stable and have thought about pulling it to Colorado for the exact same reason. One word of advise, don't buy an old jeep, they're as addicting as our Cummins Dodges, :>).

 

[GHarman]

This summer I will be up in Colorado with my boys and want to stay in an RV park and rent a jeep to do some high country driving. Don't plan to do anything like the Rubicon :-laf just want to grab a Wrangler etc and be able to go up and explore the high areas where there are old mines etc.



Any recommendations for a good place to stay that is near a bunch of suitable trails? We had a ball doing this in Red River NM, looking for a similar area in Colorado that won't require really aggressive 4-wheeling

Mike, Durango, Silverton, Ouray and Leadville come to mind. Greg

Check out;

Durango And Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and Museum | Colorado.com

Silverton Colorado Jeep Rental Discounts

Leadville, Colorado history, recreation, sight seeing, historic buildings, biographies, museums

Colorado scenic drives & 4 wheel tours directory, Leadville, Twin Lakes, Lake County

 

[B.G. Smith]

Some of the best is out of Ouray, you can go from there to Silverton, Lake City, Telluride and other places and Ouray is a very pretty place. bg

 

[Mike Ellis]

Thanks gentlemen, I'll check out the links and look for a place where the land is tilted up --- strange stuff for us flatlander types :-laf

 

[bheiting]

Some of the best is out of Ouray, you can go from there to Silverton, Lake City, Telluride and other places and Ouray is a very pretty place. bg

I agree with Ouray. It's a beautiful area. We took our kids on some of the

old mining roads in our Land Cruiser. There was one road that was cut out of the side of a cliff. That scared the hell out of the kids, but you can get as

aggressive as you want.

 

[Troubleshooter]

If you're going to be in the SW corner near Durnago and Silverton (ride the train!) you might want to try Animas Forks. Pretty easy drive, although 4WD is "required. " That said, a dozen years ago or so, I did observe two obviously inebriated folks in a rental car bump and scrape their way up the trail. Almost had to pull them out once.



Also recommend that you peruse the site Ghost Towns and History of the American West for other towns, depending on what portion of the state you intend to visit.

 

['strokeThis_'07]

Telluride definately has some good trails. Never personally been, but Four Wheeler magazine always has an article on it. Great scenery there, and like has been mentioned previously, the trails link to other places (Silverton, Ouray, etc. )

 

[B.G. Smith]

Another place I would like to mention is the Redstone, Marble, Crystal area. Lots of history in this area, the marble quarry out of Marble and the old water wheel mill up above Crystal. It is pretty remote and not much if any rentals in the area that I know of but there has been in the past a jeep tour up the Crystal river from Marble. Really some beautiful country up there. We saw people in their own vehicles up there when we went a few years back. There are a couple of motels in Redstone but none in Marble that I know of and Crystal is a deserted gold mining camp. I believe there is a jeep trail up from the Crested Bute side to near the Marble quarry but I don't think you can cross over from there to city/area of Marble. This area is quiet primitive but there was some activity going on (marble mining) the last time we were there two years ago. bg

 

[BarryG]

Durango,Silverton, Ouray area is very good as mentioned previously. Check out your local library for the Colorado Pass Book.

Amazon.com: The Colorado Pass Book: A Guide to Colorado's Backroad Mountain Passes: Don Koch: Books

 

[CRuth]

Wish I could help. I just keep staring at my Amazon.com: Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails, 2nd Edition: Charles A. Wells: Books book wondering when I"ll get a chance to go.

 

[Jeff Knight]

Another vote for Ouray and surrounding areas... . Jeff

 

[ddechris]

Ditto.



We road tripped out to the San Juan mountains (Silverton, Ouray, Durango areas) in the SW corner of CO back in 2004. Animas Forks (just ouside of Silverton) has a lot of mining remains and serves as the entrance to the Alpine Loop. The Loop runs from to Lake City and back on two different trails. Since we were in a borrowed 1/2 ton Chevy at the time we ran other trails: Corkscrew Gulch, Yankee Boy Basin, and California pass/canyon. Both had excellent views without being too difficult. There are Jeep rental outfits all over those towns. If you want to get in on an event, The Mile Hi Jeep club runs an All 4 Fun weekend in late July and there is a Jeep Jamboree in Late August.



Moab is only about 3 hours away to see Arches and Canyonlands National Parks which we did next.



If you have more questions, email direct at -- email address removed --.



- Dave

 

[TSPowell]

Everyone is correct with the San Juan Range (SW Colorado). There are so many trails from joy-rides to down right scary. Yankee Boy Basin has a lot of old mines and great views (you can climb Mt Sneffels from Yankee Boy also!). Another great place to go is south-east from Ouray to Engineer pass into Animas Forks, then east to Cinnamon Pass into American Basin and on to Lake City (a little more secluded than Yankee Boy Basin). Ive never done it but Imogene Pass east of Telluride is supposed to be good.

 

[Mike Ellis]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the info! Can't wait to get up there and have fund with my boys... we'll see if they like getting back off the highway as much as their old man does :-laf :-laf



I haven't been 4wheeling in the mountains in about 10 years. Last trip I took was to Red River NM in my Cherokee. Had a ball in that Jeep, it would go anywhere... . until the day we left, when heavy rains way upstream left the river "a little higher" than when we had crossed it the week before.



It sure looked the same at the time. But I had plenty of time to ponder the difference after I waded out of the river and walked into town to find someone to pull me out :{ :-laf.



Tip #1: Jeep Cherokees can be surprisingly good off road.



Tip #2: They don't work quite as well underwater.

:-laf :-laf

 

[Andres]

Hi mike,



I try to go out to the Ouray, Silverton, Lake City, Telluride area twice a year. I live in Ohio, so it's a long drive (1600 miles), but I sometimes fly into Denver and rent a Rubicon or Hummer H3. It's not so much what I drive or ride, it's just being out there.



I started out there with a new Cherokee in 1991 and have been hooked since. I usually stay in Ouray at the Riverside Inn. It's got cabins on a stream for about $55 a nite and is surrounded by red rock on 3 sides. The other nearby towns don't have the ambience that Ouray has, just bring the night life because they all roll up the carpet at 9pm.



Lots of Jeeps, and KTM's there. Ouray is nicknamed "Switzerland of America" for a reason. It's got 13-14K' mountains on all sides.



Sold the Cherokees and I trailer my '93 Cummins H1 or a KTM 525 out there now, or I'll fly in and rent a Rubicon for a few days. Jeep rental is about $150/day. The trails are wide, just some of the rocks are sharp, so good tires and a spare are a must.



Ouray is the epicenter of scenic jeeping in Colorado. Head south on 550 and take Black Bear over to Telluride, and Imogene back to Ouray. Or Engineer's over to Animas Forks and to Lake City, over to Cinnamon and down to Silverton.



The trails are easier today since the graded portions of them, but Black Bear, Pookepsie Gulch and Corkscrew are still fun.



A stock Jeep with good tires will easily make most of this, but it's always best to travel remote areas with another vehicle if you need to do an extraction.



Weather can get bad quick at 12,000 ft, so take rain gear and provisions if you get stuck.



People are real friendly and don't care what you're driving. Lots of Texans there, and good BBQ at the Riverside.



If I toss my KTM in the Ram, I can get across Engineers to Animas and down to Silverton and up 550 to Ouray, but some of the trails aren't kind to the longer wheelbase or ground clearance of the Ram.



As mentioned, Governor's Basin is worth the effort. Engineers and Imogene are worth the trip, but I like the Corkscrew, Cinnamon and Gov. Basins areas the best.



Pics attached.

 

[fmj]

there are a lot of good recommendations. we went to ouray last year, not with jeeps but with rhino's. here's youtube videos of the trip. it will give you a snapshot of riding out of ouray. you can spend a month there (like the other places mentioned) and not take the same trail twice.



YouTube - engineer pass

YouTube - lower part to imogene pass

YouTube - imogene pass



oh ya, keep your eye open and you'll see the tour guys driving cummins up and down the lower parts. we stayed in a place called rivers edge motel. its in middle of town off main road. they had kitchens and it was quite, clean. no matter where get going on reservations. hope it helps.

 

[ddechris]

"aren't kind to the longer wheelbase or clearance of the Ram. "



I was hoping to return to the area and do Engineers and Imogene Passes in our 2nd gen 2500. Will I be able to pick my way through as long as I add some skid plates? Or will I just get high centered?



- Dave

 

[Andres]

Coming from the east (on 50) I drop down 149 to Lake City. From there your Ram will have no issues going over Engineers to Animas Forks and down to Silverton. Most of that is reasonably graded. if you elect to go from Animas Forks to Mineral Point to Ouray, well you'll want skid plates and some taller tires.



Imogene just has a few sections where you'll have an approach angle, or breakover angle. There is a spot above the Camp Bird mine and then just before the pass/summit going to Telluride.



I think you're probably best renting a Jeep in Ouray, head south on 550 to Black Bear (one way to Telluride) do Black Bear and come back to Ouray via Imogene.



The Ophir Pass area (South of Telluride) is nice and perfect for the Ram.



The trails are fairly wide everywhere, so you wont get scratches, just take it slow around the obstacles.



I think that area is the best part of Colorado. Here's a pic of Governors Basin, the trail is graded here, but the switchbacks getting to here are often washed out with lots of sharp rocks. The "basin" is huge, and there are some decent old mines to check out (take a flashlight).



Worth the trip, although this one is best done with some ground clearance.



The Cabin is Tom Walsh's at Animas Forks, the "Cut Out" road is on the way to Telluride via Imogene above the Camp Bird. The rest are of Gov's Basin (Off Imogene)

 

[fmj]

andres recommendations are right on. we ran the trail from ouray to telluride and a long wheel base would need a lot of experience in a couple of places on the ouray side. his best recommendation is to rent a jeep in ouray. we wanted to make the black bear run but we weren't street legal and couldn't do it as you have to take highway from trail end to telluride to access trail back to ouray. when we were there a guy at the motel had rented a jeep and was going to just do it for a day with his wife and two kids so they could see some of the trails. he ended up renting the jeep for 4 days cause they had so much fun. one place that i wouldn't recommend, even with a jeep, is poughkeepsie gulch unless you have a lot of experience and a winch. the alpine loop and yankee boy basin are a orv's dream.