Hancock Pass

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4.8/5 (49 reviews)
St. Elmo, Colorado (Chaffee/Gunnison County)
Last Updated: 10/29/2023
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Trail Information

Highlights

Situated near the famous ghost town of St. Elmo and within the San Isabel and Gunnison National Forests, this trail will lead you up and over Hancock Pass and the continental divide at an elevation of 12,140'. You will also travel through some of the most historic and beautiful country that Colorful Colorado has to offer. If alpine passes, turn-of-the-century railroads, mining history, and ghost towns are what you are looking for; this entire area will not disappoint! It is a must-do.

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Trail Reviews

4.8/5 (49)
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Official Crew
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40300
Impassable
Visited: 10/29/2023

Winter has fallen on the Colorado Mountains, closing the trail for the season.
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 09/08/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

Ran the Hancock Pass trail from St. Elmo to Pitkin with a Bronco Nation group from Super Celebration Colorado. My Outer Banks with a 2" lift and 35" tires and rear locker had no issues, though I bonked the bash plate a few times here and there on the large cobbles/boulders along the trails. We had a few folks with the unmodified Badlands Broncos on 33s that did just fine as well, though they definitely had to watch their driving line to keep the differential from scraping. Based on the ratings above I'd have to say it was a little harder than advertised; the mile on either side of the Continental Divide has some washed out spots with really large boulders or ledges to navigate around and it helped to have a spotter to make sure you don't end up on your rocker panels. Beautiful scenery with lots of old Railroad and mining history around. Makes for a great loop from Buena Vista if you go through Tin Cup and Cottonwood Pass after.
Trail Review: Hancock Pass - Matthew Corbett
Trail Review: Hancock Pass - Matthew Corbett
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Official Crew
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14400
Open
Rated 4/5
Visited: 09/08/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Ram Hancock Pass with a group of Broncos from Bronco Super Cel. The group consisted of a variety of built Broncos, with my stock Badlands on 33s being the least built or all of them. We ran the trail in reverse order. The trail is pretty slow going since it’s covered in large rocks about the size of basketballs. We rubbed our skid plates quite a few times but we were able to complete it without any issues. Definitely more difficult than Tin Cup Pass.
Trail Review: Hancock Pass - Tyler Genevish
Trail Review: Hancock Pass - Tyler Genevish
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4450
Open
Rated 3/5
Visited: 08/28/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

This trail is a rock garden from hell. I was coming from down tomichi pass then up to the pass and out to Saint elmo. The trail up to the pass was fun but dropping down into Saint elmo I hit my plates several times which is not common. I'm on 35s and 2.5 lift Ford F-150. Stock vehicles on street tires forget about it unless you want the vehicle destroyed and that would be a serious fool. This one is for UTVs or big ass vehicles as for me I won't be back. It's not all that I can think of 50 trails that are better in the front range.
Trail Review: Hancock Pass - Iceman 99
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1200
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 08/22/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

Excellent conditions, moderate mid-week traffic and challenging spots. It's a bit harder than Ten Cup or Taylor so the rating seems low: beware. Bonus points for the refurnished railroad water tank and historical information.

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