Gamble Gulch

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.

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...

5/12/23 impassable snow at marker 6.

Way to much snow to pass as reported by Andrew

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.

I would give this more than a one as it is a bit rocky. Any stock 4x4 will be fine with stock clearance. Only a few views for brief moments to be had. Don't make this a trail a destination.

Nothing special about it - just a dirt road with private properties left and right.

Coming north to south we couldn't get past waypoint 7 - made it about 100 yards after the last house and plowed section. 35s, locked and chains. 37s, locked.

An easy, beautiful drive. The 1-1 rating is a bit mis-leading as there is more undulation than just a dirt county road. If you’re with your buddies and wheeling it’s just a connector, but if you take family (or a baby) it’s a tad bumpy. Noting an AWD vehicle can’t do but where county maintenance ends some of the washout/rocky begins.

Road has a few bumpy spots but overall just a dirt road. High Clearance only needed in a few spots. Was able to get a good camping spot just north of Bennett Mine on Gambler Gulch Rd.

Completely clear. Took this up to shaft house and pickle gulch. Good warm up trail for the season

Was able to make it up waypoint 16 (fairburn spurs) coming from the south (Pickle Gulch). Road to waypoint 16 was passable (needed a bit of clearance due to ruts in the snow) and makes for a good lunch spot but continuing on was not possible due to snow. Otherwise would be a nice drive is looking for something a little easier. Road is still covered with snow and lots of water running with the run off.

Attempted to run from north to south. The road was plowed until just past the last private residence. They piled a bunch of snow on the road to keep people from continuing on.

Went on Sunday About a foot or two of snow less than a mile into the actual trail. Conditions were icy as soon as you lost momentum.

Based on reports from nearby trails, the trail is probably very difficult or impassible due to snow

Tried to salvage the day after getting turned away by snow up Rollins. The plow stopped near Perigo WP7; we saw one set of tracks further (I’m guessing they were coming down the hill) so we tried to press on but were stopped by deep snow about 100yards past.

Per the National Forest Service: FORT COLLINS, Colo (Nov. 9, 2020) – More forest closures are being lifted across the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests as all Stage 3 restrictions are rescinded beginning at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10. Closures will remain in place around areas that experienced wildfire in Grand, Boulder and Larimer counties. These fire areas present a public safety threat as burned trees can fall unexpectedly, hot spots are still burning, and new hazards can be hidden under snow.

Due to extreme fire danger the Ntional Forest Service has temporarily closed all National Forest land in Clear Creek, Jefferson, Gilpin, Boulder, and Larimer counties. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/arp/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD831612

Drove the south half of this road after doing Pickle Gulch. It was very windy with just a bit of smokey smell in the air. Road is dry and dusty.

Conditions were good today, no noticeable snow left. One section had a downed tree but someone did a clean job with a chainsaw. Entire trail was wide enough for F150. Lots of signs from the locals discouraging you from using the road, but the chain across the road was no longer there so I drove straight through.

Currently closed because apparently even if you stay in your vehicle you can still give covid to residents in their homes. Didn't know some locals had the authorization to shut off a road leading to their house.

Went today from the North heading South. Trail is fine up until waypoint 7. It is impassible from this point. Snow plows stopped and piled the snow in front of the trail.

Ran from South to North & made it to Waypoint 11 before deep drifts forced us back. Getting to that point there are numerous stretches of very deep snow that we pushed through but it was getting late and we had a ways to go so turned around .

Coming from the south, the trail is open but snow packed and icy until waypoint 11. I turned off at that point, so I'm not sure what the conditions are like on the north side. A stock vehicle is probably going to have issues, and the next snow storm will likely make the trail impassable since it drifts in pretty good in the shady sections.

Heading up Dakota Hill is still snowy. Trail is open, just be ready for sections of deeper, wet snowpack.

I rode my dirt bike on this trail One of the easiest trails to ever ride on. If you are looking for easy and very casual this will do it. Wide dirt road, big enough for 1-2 vehicles easy enough. Dry (ran it in July 2018). Had a good time with my little boy.

trail is dry. drove it twice in my stock ‘16 crosstrek no problems. some potholes here and there, though.

Calvary 4-Wheelers attempted to traverse Gamble Gulch on Saturday, March 24, 2018. Along on the trip were myself (Bill) in my lifted Cherokee and Karen in her stock JK. The lower portion of the road where there is county maintenance was clear, although slightly wet from the recent snow. Once we passed the end of county maintenance, the road had been plowed previously but not after the latest storm and there was about 1-2 inches of fresh snow (although it was melting rapidly). This made it very slick and 4WD was necessary from this point. When we got to Perigo, the plowing had stopped. The route was well tracked, though, so we thought we could proceed. We only made it about a quarter mile before the slick, slushy conditions made it extremely difficult to stay on the tracks and Karen slid off into the deep snow. I could not get enough traction to pull her uphill so I tried to squeeze past her to the down hill side and slipped off the other side into the deep snow. It took a couple hours of digging to get me out and I was still unable to strap Karen out. Too exhausted to dig another couple hours to extracted her, we left her Wrangler on the trail and came back the next day with a friend who had a winch to retrieve it.

Decided to hit up Gamble Gulch after not making it too far on Pickle Gulch. Gamble was pretty snow packed with a few pretty deep drifts that required the lead vehicle to winch through. We were running the trail in reverse of this writeup and made it just past waypoint 9 where the snow got extremely deep and we decided winching downhill was not something we wanted to do. This trail is definitely a good snow run trail as it's very wide, fairly flat, and has tons of trees to winch to. Many spur roads off of this one as well to explore.

From the North, Gamble Gulch Road is open up to waypoint 5 where the Abandoned town of Perigo begins. The road is blocked by a snowbank from a snowplow. From the south, Gamble Gulch/Missouri Gulch Road is open up to Uncle Charlie's Ranch, where 4WD, recovery gear, snow chains and a buddy would be recommended. Recent snowfall accumulating several inches occurred within 48 hours of trip.