ATVs in the Mountains

[gagspa]

I remember reading a post or two on here several years ago about this, so was wondering if anyone has any info that could help...

My brothers and I are considering a no-wife trip. We have been talking about going someplace like Colorado and getting up into the mountains with some spectacular views. Since we are fat and lazy, we don't really want to hike, and would prefer not camp. So we are looking for a place where we can rent 4-wheelers for 3 days and ride some fantastic trails. We would camp if we have to in order to keep the cost down, but would rather stay in a reasonably priced hotel so we can hit the bars in the evening. I googled some stuff, but there are hundreds of places and no way of knowing how good the trails really are. Does anyone know of a place? We would like to have the ATVs all day, and 24hr rental would be nice, but not necessary since we won't ride after dark anyhow.

We all have trucks, so can tow if needed. None of us has any real experience with ATVs, but our main priority would be spectacular views and fun times. We don't really want any group rides/tours.

Does anyone have useful info?

I have also considered Arkansas, but am not sure that the views will be as spectacular as snow-capped 14,000ft mountains.

[dboat]

I would think you could find something in Summit County.. this is where A basin, Keystone, Breckenridge and Copper Mountain are located. Its not too far out of Denver, there are a LOT of places to stay, so finding a good price shouldnt be too hard. Also, there is likely to be a 4 wheeler rental as well. A suggestion on where to stay is look at renting a timeshare/condo.. you get a kitchen, washer and dryer, plus you can/should be able to get multiple bedrooms at a good price. Have a great time!

Dana

[L8 APEX]

I have to go to work now... I would make reservations in Lake City, CO. There are rental places and cabins there with jeeps, side by sides and ATV's. Look at the Alpine Loop http://www.alpineloop.com/HTML/index.html
Cinnamon Pass, Engineers Pass etc. These trails usually clear about mid July. Most folks go in Late July through August. This is the easiest and most beautiful part of CO.
These are nice folks. We rented a Rubicon from them for three days and camped up at San Cristobal Lake. We went over trails through Silverton, Ouray and into Telluride then back over Engineer Pass to Lake City.

http://www.pleasantviewresort.net/

This is a must have book get the spiral bound copy.

http://www.funtreks.com/colorado-books/guide-to-colorado-backroads-4wd-trails-3rd-edition

It looks like he has GPS cards and a book on Lake City now...
http://www.funtreks.com/colorado-books/atv-trails-guide-colorado-silverton-ouray-lake-city-telluride

The jeep was a nice change since it usually snows and rains on you at some point...

[gagspa]

I have to go to work now... I would make reservations in Lake City, CO. There are rental places and cabins there with jeeps, side by sides and ATV's. Look at the Alpine Loop http://www.alpineloop.com/HTML/index.html
Cinnamon Pass, Engineers Pass etc. These trails usually clear about mid July. Most folks go in Late July through August. This is the easiest and most beautiful part of CO.
These are nice folks. We rented a Rubicon from them for three days and camped up at San Cristobal Lake. We went over trails through Silverton, Ouray and into Telluride then back over Engineer Pass to Lake City.

http://www.pleasantviewresort.net/

This is a must have book get the spiral bound copy.

http://www.funtreks.com/colorado-books/guide-to-colorado-backroads-4wd-trails-3rd-edition

It looks like he has GPS cards and a book on Lake City now...
http://www.funtreks.com/colorado-books/atv-trails-guide-colorado-silverton-ouray-lake-city-telluride

The jeep was a nice change since it usually snows and rains on you at some point...
Thanks for the info Terry. I knew that you were familiar with this stuff. I am not sure when we will be going, but I would imagine that it will be sometime in mid-June. Are we going to have problems with passes/trails being closed?

[L8 APEX]

The earliest I have ever been up there is June 24th and the main passes were open but there was snow on top and some side trails were blocked. You can check on this site they have current and historical data for which passes have been traveled. July 4th is the first big weekend. The outfitters will know and the rangers office as well.

http://bushducks.com/tripreps/passopen.htm


Cinnamon Pass 2011
10/15/11 - Closed to through traffic according to the Forest Service. Some sections still drivable.
6/17/11 - Trail is open all the through to Lake City. A lot of water still on some parts of the roadway. Switchbacks on the east side have water flowing all the way down, but it isn't bad.
6/4/11 - A little wet in spots but you can drive from Silverton to Lake City in a stock SUV.
5/28/11 - Not open,they are still plowing and are about a mile from the top from the Lake City side.
5/20/11 - Plowed through but snow since may have closed it again.

Engineer in 2011
10/15/11 - Closed to through traffic according to the Forest Service. Some sections still drivable.
10/4/11 - It was "open" on 9-23 but my Jeep made the first tracks. It used to be an easy run; it made Poukeepsie look like a walk in the park. I got out of my Jeep at least four times to see what the heck. The weather, quads and dual-sports have wiped out the dirt; three foot drops between shelf and dirt. It took me almost 3 hours from 550 to the look-out. About half-way up I saw some local dual-sport guys who asked me what I was doing up there...lol. I reported the trail condition to two Jeep rental/tour companies and they said it was crazy to go up there...doable if you have a capable rig and can think. I did it solo....not recommended. The dirt on the lower side has been eroded; if you can't fit on the shelf, stay away.
9/28/11 - Trail is open all the way over the top, from either Ouray or Animas Forks, and clear all the way down to Lake City. From Animas Forks to top of Engineer Pass the road was in the best condition I've ever seen in many years of driving it. Likewise, it was also very good from the top of the pass all the way down to Lake City. But it is the end of September and bad weather is coming this weekend. The lower part of Engineer Pass coming up from Ouray however is reported to be in very bad condition after having been flooded and heavily washed out earlier in 2010. I was going to take lower Engineer down to Hwy.550 but was warned not to by a man who had gotten so badly stuck in the "bomb craters" that he had to have an AAA tow truck come over from Silverton to get him out. He was driving a Jeep Cherokee.
9/24/11 - Open all the way, no snow on the road. Aspen are peaking now!
6/18/11 - Clear from Silverton, Eureka, Animas Forks all the way to the top. Did not continue to Lake City to complete the Alpine Loop, but noticed the trail was bull-dozed clear (30+ feet tall snow at top) and traffic (stock vehicles) coming from Lake City about a vehicle every 15 minutes. Trail is muddy in short sections. Mostly light water streams flowing over the trail. Had to back up twice to allow traffic to pass since snow ensures only one vehicle at time in most sections.
6/12/11 - Closed - Snow covered. The bulldozers start at Siverton. They plowed 2.5 miles past Animas Forks. That gets you to the spot where the trail forks to highway 550 or on to Engineer Pass. They didn't plow further on either fork but they've been working on it. One week ago you couldn't get much past Animas Forks. My guess is that one week from now you will be able to make it to Engineer Pass but no further. That's the county line and San Juan county is better about plowing than Hinsdale county.
6/12/11 - Road is good from Lake City to Rose's Cabin and snow blocks the road but I checked with the forest service and they said it should open on the 20th of this month.Also went across the shelf road from Animas Forks and it is clear almost all the way to Engineer. Not much water on the engineer side yet,but we went over Cinnamon and water is pretty deep in some spots due to the snow runoff,but it is clear all the way to Silverton from Lake City.

I have seen 20ft walls of snow in June. If they did not plow it there are years it would not be passable at all...

3869

[99WhiteBeast]

What Terry said- that is by far the best part of Colorado and was my most memorable trip I've ever taken. We did it on 2 wheel (XT250's) back in high school and have been wanting to get back ever since.

[L8 APEX]

You may luck out this year. The initial reports are favorable.
5/2/12 - Lake City FB page reports Cinnamon Pass open all the way to Silverton. No reports of road condition.

5/2/12 - Silverton to Animas Forks via CR2 is open - not so much snow up there this year. It's still beautiful and no traffic now! The trail is in good condition.

5/2/12 - According to the Silverton Visitor Center the trail is open to the top on the San Juan County side - east side from Hwy 550.


almost all CDOT passes are open early as well. I guess everyone had a easy winter.