IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Gothic Road (Crested Butte, CO)

Gothic Road is an easy graded route that takes off from Mount Crested Butte and heads up to Schofield Pass. This road travels past the town of Gothic and then passes under Gothic Mountain before reaching a nice picnic area and campground. Shortly after the campground is the trailhead that leads up to Rustlers Gulch.

Soon you will reach a short spur trail on your left that will take you down to Emerald Lake. This lake offers some great photo opportunities and a nice place to stop for lunch as well. Just past Emerald Lake is Schofield Pass at 10,707 feet and the the intersection with the Paradise Divide trail. If you plan to continue on to the Schofield Pass trail, a high clearance 4×4 vehicle with low range is recommended.

While this trail is suitable for a passenger vehicle, it is included here because of the great views along the trail, and the fact that it is an important access road to other trails in the area.

Please feel free to leave your comments and post your pictures from Gothic Road below.

Gothic Road KML Track
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Open file above in Google Earth.

Billings Canyon (Grand Junction, CO)

Billings Canyon is one of my favorite hardcore trails that I have ever run. It is a short, but very challenging trail. While I was able to run the trail on 33’s, it is recommended that most people have 35’s to run this trail. Obviously lockers and a winch are mandatory. Strong axles and spare parts are also highly recommended.

This trail is located just minutes out of Grand Junction in the Bangs Canyon special management area which makes it a great trail for a short half day trip for GJ locals. If you are looking to extend your day after running Billings Canyon, the Bangs Canyon trail is also located in the same area and can be explored as well. If you are looking for a good challenge and will be near Grand Junction, I highly recommend checking out this trail.

Please feel free to leave your comments and post your pictures from Billings Canyon below.

Billings Canyon KML Track
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Open file above in Google Earth.

Paradise Divide (Crested Butte, CO)

The Paradise Divide road is a beautiful and easy drive just north of Crested Butte that follows the Slate River up to the Paradise Divide and then continues on and connects to both Schofield Pass and Gothic Road. This road is one of the two options you have when travelling between Crested Butte and Schofield Pass. If you are not looking at taking Schofield over to Crystal, but would still like to check out this area, you can also make a nice easy loop when you combine this road with Gothic Road.

Besides the very scenic drive along this road, there are a few other short spur trails that take off from this road including Gunsight Pass and Oh-Be-Joyful. There are also some nice campsites along the way once you get a bit further away from Crested Butte.

Please feel free to leave your comments and post your pictures from Paradise Divide below.

Paradise Divide KML Track
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Open file above in Google Earth.

US Basin & Browns Gulch (Silverton, CO)

US Basin & Browns Gulch is a nice six mile loop trail that takes off from US 550 near Red Mountain Pass and returns to the highway closer to Silverton. This loop makes for a nice short alternate route instead of taking the highway the whole way from Silverton to Ouray. Charles Wells includes this trail in his book as part of the Red Mountain Mining District trail. However, this trail can be run separately from the rest of the Red Mountain Mining District and is quite a bit different from the other area, so I am considering this one as a separate trail here.

The trail starts off near Red Mountain Pass and heads up to US Basin where you get some great views into the basin. In the spring, this basin is full of wildflowers. Once you pass US Basin the trail quickly climbs up high above 12,000 feet and offers great views down onto US 550 and the historic Chattanooga area. The trail finishes off by switchbacking down into Browns Gulch where you will pass through the Brooklyn Mine area.

This trail is pretty easy and any stock 4×4 should have no problems with it. The first time I tried to run this trail at the beginning of July, it was blocked by some snow drifts.

Please feel free to leave your comments and post your pictures from US Basin & Browns Gulch below.

US Basin & Browns Gulch KML Track
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Open file above in Google Earth.

Corkscrew Gulch (Ouray, CO)

Corkscrew Gulch, also known as Corkscrew Pass is a relatively easy trail that winds itself between Red Mountains #1 and #2. While most of the trail is easy, there are a few tight and steep switchbacks that need to be traversed. Any stock 4×4 should have no problems with this trail.

This trail can be used to complete a loop after running Poughkeepsie Gulch, or can be used to get from Gladstone or Animas Forks over to US 550. The views of the surrounding Red Mountains are spectacular and offers a lot of great photo opportunities. Once you descend between the two Red Mountains, you will also pass by the Carbonate King Mine.

One word of caution is if it is raining, it might be a good idea to stay off this trail as it can get very slippery. There are also a few sections of the trail that are prone to frequent washouts.

Please feel free to leave your comments and post your pictures from Corkscrew Gulch below.

Corkscrew Gulch KML Track
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Open file above in Google Earth.