Gamble Gulch

3.2/5 (29 reviews)
Rollinsville, Colorado (Gilpin County)
Last Updated: 12/27/2020

Trail Information

Highlights

Located west of Colorado Highway 119 just south of Rollinsville, Gamble Gulch is situated in the heart of the historic Gilpin County mining area. Although not as productive and famous as its neighbors, Blackhawk and Central City, Gamble Gulch and Missouri Gulch boasted dozens of mines and supported the towns of Perigo and Wideawake. Plenty of evidence of this rich mining history is evident along the route. In addition, there are several connections into the extensive network of trails around Dakota Hill and Oregon Hill along the way making this an important point of access into that network. This road can be an easy glimpse into a bygone era or a jumping off point for a day (or more) of offroad adventure.

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

3.2/5 (30)
Open
Rated 3/5
Visited: 05/28/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

One week after taking this in reverse and deciding to turn around before finishing due to snow and mud, I returned and ran this north to south, completing it without issue. All the snow has melted and most of the trail is dry. However from waypoints 6–8, things are quite rocky and rough. There is quite a bit of erosion and a fair amount of water was streaming down the road. This is definitely not currently a 1-rated “graded county road”, especially compared to other mapped and rated dirt and gravel roads in the area. As it stands, a passenger car could reasonably expect to incur mild damage from sections of this trail.
Open
Rated 2/5
Visited: 05/21/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

While most of this trail is little more than a rough road, there are legit rocky sections which would probably warrant a 2 rating just to be clear what can be expected. As others have pointed out, it's little more than a feeder route to and from more interesting trails while not a scenic destination itself, however it also does at least provide an alternative to asphalt through the area. I attempted a reverse solo run and opted to turn around at the hill of muck and snow near waypoint 9 down towards waypoint 8 on my chill Sunday afternoon jaunt, as it looked too sketchy to risk alone and only seemed to get worse further down the heavily-shaded slope. Based on the latest reviews it seems likely that that is the case...
Impassable
Visited: 05/12/2023

5/12/23 impassable snow at marker 6.
500
Impassable
Visited: 04/01/2023

Way to much snow to pass as reported by Andrew
2000
Not Reported
Visited: 03/25/2023

We came in south-to-north and made it the whole way, but I'm not calling this "passable" as it was a huge winch-fest even downhill. This was exacerbated by having to pull the second rig that didn't have a winch. At the north end, there's an enormous ice/snow plow pile blocking the trail entrance at the last house on the road. You will take damage winching over this 5 foot tall pile. The day after we visited, a group of 8 jeeps followed our tracks and all got stuck around waypoint 14, requiring Colorado 4x4 Rescue and Recovery.

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