Trail Creek Road

Trail was dry and in good shape through waypoint 13. Turned around at that point but no snow and just a little water in one spot.

Nice trail, only a few places on the trail are moderate. No snow on the trail as of 5/28/23.

Open, no snow at the time. Stock Gladiator no problems.

Trail is clear until waypoint 16. Then there are some snow drifts that are a couple feet deep.

I didn't rate the trail because once I got to section 8 there was a bunch of snow piled on the trail as if somebody meant to close it. There was no sign posted that it was closed but it's a pretty tall snow bank, which is impassable. Not worth really going up there at this point because it's just dirt road until section 8. The Phoenix gold mine tour was open though.

Fun trail lots to see. Obstacle at waypoint 13/14 after the structures was impassable for me but it looks like someone’s passed it at some point so it depends on the rig. Lots of snow and heavily rutted. Turned around here.

Fun, 4 level trail. I visited and there was snow covering exposed medium-sized rocks. Easy when in 4L. (14’ JKUR on 35” with 2.5”)

I went out today to check on this trail after the previous reports and sure enough this trail is going to get bumped to a 4/5 and will be updated on the site in the next few days.

Fun, easy and lots to see. Lots of awesome old mining structures. One small, moderately technical section past the larger mining structures but nothing difficult. Rocky enough to be fun but not hard, very interesting and lots to get out and see.

As others have said, the trail turns into a 4ish around waypoint 7. Even the turn at waypoint 6 was pretty washed out. I'm in a land cruiser so it's full time 4WD. Dropped it to 4L just to make it easy and crawl up the last few hills. Fun regardless! I love the old mine ruins and could spend all day looking around them.

Fun trail to complete but it was harder than I would have expected. I did use 4H on this trial in several spots.

Ran this trail in the rain, and it was way harder than a 2. after waypoint 7 I would say it's at least a 4 maybe 5. We did Chinns lake the day before, and this was definitely harder than that. The Mine is really cool to explore and the trail has some great views!

First 4x4 trail ever for me! It was more intense than I initially expected, but it was also my first time and I didn't have any issues.

As Randall said in his review, by waypoint 7 the trail is really washed out. Being a beginner with a stock '16 Z71 Colorado and making it to the top I was really proud and very lucky. Great views when you get to the mine.

Went on this trail with a stock 2002 wj. As other reviewers have said it gets harder at around waypoint 7. Definitely harder than a 2 rating maybe a solid 3 past waypoint 7. Very fun though, just be cautious.

had to go back, was clear and had a great time again!

Great trail! Definitely harder than a 2 when you get to waypoint 7.

Road is not plowed and has deep snow due to this weekends storm past way point 4

Fun dirt road to drive around on. The top of this road has seen some damage and has increased in difficulty compared to the lower parts of the trial. The road surpasses its rating around waypoint 8 where heavy rutting occurs(In the video approximately 2:30) After that spot, its a rocky road to the finish.

Trail was a great time from bottom to top.

The trail might be impassable to most people, but it is no longer closed due to any fire activity.

Fire in the area has closed these trails. https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/limited-evacuations-are-underway-due-to-a-fire-burning-near-idaho-springs

Snow has been sticking, and users report impassable icy conditions in multiple places. This trail should be considered impassable until Spring. If you choose to wheel in the snow, please do so with the right equipment and do not go alone.

Agree that there are a couple sections with watermelon size rocks covering the whole trail, less off road/high ground Clearance vehicles could get damaged. The trail was blocked by a tree. Took the opportunity to use my winch for the 1st time and cleared the road. Minimal snow

Still open, with snow starting about halfway up…mostly on the sides of the trail but occasionally covering it. I agree with others that portions of the trail seemed a bit more difficult than a 2, but that also might be me not taking as much care as I could have to find the clearest way.

The old structures at the Lamartine Tunnel are super cool! Some of the more interesting old mining structures I've come across in the Front Range. The road is easy until these old buildings, at waypoint 6. Past this, I thought the road was more difficult than the 2 range; there were some bigger washed out rocks between waypoints 7 and 8 that I thought were pushing the road into the 3 range. In a 4th gen 4Runner with a 3" lift, I still actually dinged the front skid plate in one place, although this was mostly a result of hubris. (For comparison, Weston Pass is rated a 2, and the upper part of this route is certainly harder than the west side of the Weston Pass road.)

Open and clear.

Ran it in reverse along with parts (WP 10-12) of south spring creek. It is open and clear all the way.

For the most part, the road is clear and passable with a few feet of snow off the trail on the northern slopes. However, in the switchback between waypoints 7 and 8, there is a snow drift blocking the trail from being entirely open. With a well equipped rig can likely break the drift no problem. My stock pickup was not the rig for that. The road above the drift is clear though and has tracks on the top side. You can bypass this drift entirely by taking the left hand turn at waypoint 4 which will spit you out onto spring gulch at waypoint 11, but I expect that drift to be melted in a week or less. I do think the trail is rougher than the 2 rating mentioned. There are some decent sized rocks that stick vehicles really have to watch their lines and tire placement.

This trail is located at a higher alitude of Colorado and at this time of year should be considered impassable for any regular off-road user. Some people may be able to manage these trails with the correct gear, emergency equipment, and rig. Travel with caution.

Stage 3 fire restrictions have been lifted as of 6am, 11/10/20. The forest is no longer fully closed. Areas within fire perimeters remain closed. See closure maps here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/arp/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD844558 Expect winter conditions on trails. Some trails may be impassable due to snow.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (Oct. 20, 2020) – Due to unprecedented and historic fire conditions, the USDA Forest Service’s Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests is announcing a temporary closure of all National Forest land in Clear Creek, Jefferson, Gilpin, Boulder, and Larimer counties, effective at midnight tonight (closure begins at 00:01 Oct. 21). This decision will be re-evaluated daily as conditions change.

I had a great time taking my younger sons on this trail in our lifted 2x Tacoma with 31" tires, but things got rough around point 5 in the map guide - I felt confident going up and on the rocks, but we stopped at point 6 as the tight turn and gravel plus ruts in the middle photo made me consider I might be stuck there - definitely need 4x4 at this point in the trail. Ironically, we walked up and noticed it cleared out after that point... I probably would have risked it if I had a 4x4 with a tow hook with us but it was just us... Lots of cool old mining stuff and it was just a blast for two young sons. I'm definitely getting a 4x4 so I can take more advantage of all the great trails listed here on trailsoffroad.com!

Turned back at Way-marker 8 by snow.

Calvary 4-Wheelers had a fun time playing in the snow on Trail Creek Road on Saturday, December 12, 2019. I was in my wife's stock TJ as my Cherokee is still having steering problems. Richard was in his new-to-him stock Ford Ranger and Karen drove her stock JK. The weather was nice with skies sunny to partly cloudy and temperatures in the upper 30s to low 40s but it was a bit windy at times. The road was plowed to Waypoint 4 and we didn't need 4wd until then. Above that intersection there were old tracks that had drifted over with snow about 6 inches deep. We shifted into low 4 and headed up. Even though the snow was not very deep, it was quite slick and after about a quarter mile we decided to chain up. With chains on we made good progress to Waypoint 5. From there, the snow got deeper and breaking trail became much more difficult. We made progress a few inches at a time and finally arrived at Waypoint 6 around 12:30 where we stopped for lunch. After luch we debated whether is was worth trying to continue as the snow was continuing to get deeper. We decided to give it a try and worked our way over the first little hill and around the corner. The steeper hill around the corner proved to be too much, though. With a lot of effort and multiple attempts I made about half way up to where the is a curve to the left. At that point the snow was over my bumper and I wasn't making progress even with multiple attempts so I backed down (an adventure of its own) and we turned around and went back the way we came. Well-built rigs on 33s or bigger should be able to complete the trail.

My first real off road drive. I've got a 2016 Toyota Tacoma OR that I purchased two months ago so zero experience. The first part of the trail no issue just a dirt road then it got interesting. loose rocks to maneuver around or over and it just kept getting funner. Actually needed 4 wheel drive in a few spots and then ruts in the road. There were two spots (poor track planning on my part) where I lost enough traction the wheels were just slipping, minor adjustments and got by there. Also had two locations where at least one wheel was off the ground (by shifting around in the seat was able to get it to rock some). Made it as far as a large fallen building under some power lines at 2970 m elevation just at the first really sharp right hand switch back and took lunch there. The view was great and looking at the next section of trail (a 4Runner passed us and was stopped not far up the trail) we decided to call it good and head back down. Steaks for dinner and dreaming about the next outing....

Trail is open and in good shape. Cool spots to stop with good views and old mine entrances. There is still some snow on the last 1/4 of the trail, but nothing impassible. Great spot that is close to Denver.

Exploring trails up north and started with this one since we don't know where the snow is going to lead us. We made it just past Waypoint 7 before running into this snow. We weren' sure how far it went up with the snow and turned around there. Beautiful day on the trail.