Hancock Pass

4.9/5 (38 reviews)
St. Elmo, Colorado (Chaffee/Gunnison County)
Last Updated: 05/21/2023

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.

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

4.9/5 (39)
Official Crew
32850
Partially Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 05/21/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

To can get to the trailhead with deep snow on the road. Going to be several weeks before you can make progress up the pass.
800
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 09/12/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

Very rocky! 2dr Rubicon, 35" tires, 2.5" lift. Fun trail
Open
Visited: 09/03/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Very rocky, you will get bounced around a lot.
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 08/20/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Drove this trail from the Pitkin side. Trail was damp from rain the previous night, which kept the dust down but made the one steep section above the switchback a little harder and required rear locker. Overall, the trail was great; based on the rating descriptions, I would say it is as advertised It was definitely harder than Tincup Pass which we did after this. Only saw one OHV and no other vehicles, which was nice, given the tight trail and blind corners. TRD Offroad w/3" lift and 32" tires; glad to have both.
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 08/19/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

Traveled from Pitkin to St Elmo. I was the only Jeep on the trail at the time, but passed a lot of OHVs. I suspect the OHV use is degrading some parts of the trail, making this more difficult than rated. Headed up the switchbacks from the Gunnison/Pitkin side, there's one steep and narrow climb on a switchback that, at least on a drizzly day, required low gear, engaged lockers, and a lot of faith in your driving ability. I'm mostly a beginner and expected this trail to be on the easier side and almost turned around at this point, but gave it my best efforts and made it over, which boosted by confidence. It's a dangerous section where OHVs kept coming around a blind corner at full speed, so not only did I need to navigate up the slippery, narrow rock face, but I was concerned about the safety of oncoming traffic, seemingly unaware that Jeeps are even allowed on the trail. I imagine I could have done this trail in a stock Jeep, but I was thankful to have a 3.5" lift and 35" tires on a Rubicon.

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