Schofield Pass

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5/5 (51 reviews)
Marble, Colorado (Gunnison County)
Last Updated: 11/22/2023

Trail Information

Highlights

Altitude Category Icon Altitude
Camping Category Icon Camping
Forest Category Icon Forest
Iconic Category Icon Iconic
Overland Category Icon Overland
Rock Category Icon Rock
Scenic Category Icon Scenic
Water Category Icon Water
Schofield Pass is one of Colorado's most notable four-wheel drive roads. Situated between Crested Butte and Marble, Schofield Pass Road features granite mountain peaks, expansive meadows, dense forests, wildlife, wildflowers, and the ice-cold Crystal River. It connects numerous other popular roads and trails (Paradise Divide, Lead King Basin, and the Crystal City Trail), not to mention the historic mountain towns and their unique attractions. Make a point to include Schofield Pass among your must-see summer four-wheeling destinations.

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Schofield Pass is an iconic 4WD road featuring rock, water crossings, and the infamous shelf road segment through Crystal Canyon known as the Devil's Punchbowl. From the southeastern trailhead (intersection of Gothic Road and Slate River Road), the road travels through an enormous meadow (Schofield Park) which transitions to pine forest as it descends toward Crystal Canyon. Where the road enters the canyon (aka Devil's Punchbowl) the terrain becomes very rocky with much fewer trees. The road is perched atop a narrow shelf that parallels the Crystal River. Sometimes the road is merely 10 feet above the river, elsewhere it is 300 feet, but always a perilous steep grade. Beyond the Devil's Punchbowl, the road and river diverge. The road re-enters the forest canopy and soon merges with the Crystal City Trail at the eastern trailhead to Lead King Basin, roughly one-half mile east of Crystal. Notes on SEASONAL CLOSURE: Schofield Pass (FS Road 317 in the Gunnison National Forest) closes seasonally February 28th to July 1st each year. The seasonal designated closure is from the village of Gothic north to the boundary with White River National Forest. See the latest published MVUM (2016) online here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd514897.pdf Schofield Pass (FS Road 314 in the White River National Forest) closes November 22nd to May 21st each year from Mile Post 8.1 (at the intersection of FS Road 315, Lead King Basin) south/southeast to Mile Post 17.3 (boundary with Gunnison National Forest). See the latest published MVUM (2017) here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd506000.pdf

Trail Reviews

5/5 (51)
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Official Crew
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34200
Seasonal Closure
Visited: 11/22/2023

Seasonal Closure effective 22 NOV through 21 MAY.
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Official Crew
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34200
Impassable
Visited: 10/30/2023

Recent snow on this trail has produced conditions that make it impassible.
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150
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 10/07/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

Just completed this trail yesterday (10/7/23) from CB to Crystal and I was quite surprised that this is rated as moderate. I would bump up the score to difficult due to the rock obstacle at the punchbowl. I'm assuming there was a rockslide that wasn't cleared (from reading past reviews and looking at photos) because that was quite technical! Pretty large loose and jagged rocks, very steep, and off camber in some parts that really makes your butt clench. I'm running a Jeep JKU with a 3.5" lift and 35" tires and still knocked the underside on rocks while carefully choosing lines. I don't mind narrow, steep shelf roads but this was no joke! I did have to pass another jeep on one section and I don't think I have ever done anything that sketchy. It sure was a lot of fun and spiked the adrenaline! Oh, and my god the scenery is gorgeous!
Trail Review: Schofield Pass - Chris
Trail Review: Schofield Pass - Chris
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Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 10/05/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

Well that'll make your hair stand up. We've run 90% of the 5-and-below trails in the state, this was by far the sketchiest ride yet. '14 Pro4Xterra on 33s, 73" wide, 179" long, 9.5" stock ground clearance plus the tire upgrade. I definitely wouldn't want to run this on anything lower or longer, I needed every little bit of that turning radius. Bumped the rails (lightly) on a rock or three and got two new little tiny scratches on the front bumper, but I already know my angles aren't great with the stock bumpers on the X. Obviously a little Colorado pinstriping, you're going to get that on anything here but a dirtbike, it is *skinny*. Ran this downhill from Crested Butte to Crystal, and with the current washouts coming into the punchbowl, I'm very glad I did. *Extremely* off-camber, definitely tested the rollover limits, it tries really hard to tip you into the bowl a couple times, just had to clench up and throttle through it. There is a well-known rock "obstacle" coming in through the CB divide that nearly got me as it was hub-deep mud and difficult to get traction around it, plan accordingly. Ran into an old jacked up CJ coming up the hill from the mill, *sqeeeeezed* past each other at a "wide" spot in the woods, and caught them at Slow Groovin' BBQ afterwards. They said they ran into gravel they couldn't get up and over, and never made it to the bowl. Wife and daughter hate me now lol, I blame the trail ratings, this thing should probably be bumped up a notch before somebody gets their Subie stuck. The trail video also makes this look relatively tame, maybe time to run it again and throw in some more off the rougher stuff!
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 09/20/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

My favorite way to run this is from Marble to CB (uphill). Beautiful day; beautiful scenery; and a fun drive over the pass. I used a drone to check for traffic (there's no room to pass), and that made it a stress free drive...no worries about meeting someone coming down. If you've driven shelf roads before, and aren't too stressed over sheer drop-offs, this is actually a pretty easy drive.

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