Lamartine Road (AKA South Spring Gulch)

If you break for all the way points, this trail will take the whole time. I completed it in about an hour.

Fun trail close to Denver. Most of the trail is in the trees. Not much scenic views. Lots of rocks so we aired down. Most of the rocks aren't huge. Lifted Forester Wilderness with good off-road tires does good on this trail.

Ran up this in about 45 minutes to get to the views of Saxton Mountain without having to run that trail. Don’t understand why it’s marked as a 3 hour trail - the stock gladiator had no issues keeping up.

Seemed

Trail was not too bad, a couple of steeper sections with some rock but nothing 4 lo and patience could get a stock Wrangler or truck through. Airing down is a must or you will be beat to death. Great views above the mine overlooking the I70 valley. Very limited camping except for two spots, the rest is private or steep and small. Still a great trail to take a drive on. Will come back and run the in the snow since it is nice and wide providing a challenge but not extreme slide off potential.

Seemed way easier than a 4 rating. Unfortunately there was quite a bit of camping trash along the trail. Lots of private driveways some of which are not marked so follow GOS closely.

Most of the trail is in the trees, not many places to view the peaks at. I had some issues with getting stuck and an issue with my rear end sliding off the trail. Overall made it all the way thru with the help of friends in a stock JL Rubicon.

Even in early May, you still have to deal with a decent amount of snow. In fact, it was the reason we turned around at Waypoint 13 (see photo). Before that, the snow can either be mostly avoided with one or both sides of the car, or is at least predictably deep. Other than the snow, you'll have to deal with loose rocks that require adequate ground clearance; since some of them are quite sharp, so I'd highly recommend airing down. However, that part of the trail begins only after Waypoint 6, before that, Lamartine Road is just an easy residential dirt road. Interestingly, there is an upside down telehandler that presumably crashed down the side of the mountain and flipped at Waypoint 10. It seems to be properly secured and you can easily go around it.

Deep snow. Could not break trail with 37”s and chains

We only made it about a mile into the trail. It is impossible right now, even with chains on.

Entered from Ute Creek Road and completed waypoint 19-1 on 12/3/2022. Nothing of note, moderate snow.

Completed from waypoint 1 through 10 on 12/1/222. Connector trail at waypoint 10 is extremely dangerous, avoid in the snow. Large drifts, narrow trail and steep drops made it very dangerous for almost any rig. Rest of the trail was normal, several inches of snow and ice in places but not too bad on 32’s.

Super fun trail. Ran it at night from Cascade Creek. Toughest part is on that end. Did it in a stock JL

Steep and rocky! Take your time and you’ll be rewarded… I would recommend airing down.

Not hard but very rocky. Lots of cool off shoots along this trail, completed it after Cascade Creek. Very fun

Ran this in a Tacoma with 2.5 inch lift on 33s. Didn't need 4low until about a quarter the way in. Airdown is highly recommended. Otherwise, great trail that ended up a junction full of aspens! One, maybe 2 walls that a spot was needed for, otherwise, just a rocky, bumpy trail.

If this is a 2-3, then I have vastly over-estimated the capabilities of a Subaru Outback, and vastly underestimated what these ratings mean. I really thought an "easy" trail would be okay, but this would absolutely have eaten my car for lunch had I not turned back. Maybe some day I'll buy a vehicle as capable as whatever you all drive, but in the mean time, I guess off-roading isn't for me after all. Damn. Rated 5 stars because if you're into remembering why you raised your suspension and bought bash plates (I have done neither) then this trail will deliver!

Fun trail close to Denver. Forester Wilderness does good on this trail.

Rode this today. A decent amount of erosion means I wouldn't recommend this for anything less than say a Subaru Forester. While easy for a Jeep a moderate rating is likely more apt due to the conditions now. Great trail if you know what you are getting yourself into.

Trail was interesting but seemed much harder than what it was rated

Not much snow left out there!

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.

Unfortunately as of today we were around waypoint 4ish and the trail was pure ice. We were warned coming from Cascade trail not to continue. We went to look and there’s no passing that part unfortunately. The rest was fine. We crossed Molly brown mine area to get to cascade creek trail.

Condition of the trail has probably changed since it was last rated a 2. More like a hard 3 west of Lamartine. I came up Saxon Mountain from Georgetown and was expecting an easy roll down to Idaho Springs. Not the case. Still a nice trail, just know that conditions on these trails can change due to use/abuse and weather. I am driving a stock 2007 xterra off road.

Xterra 3” lift with 33” tires. This was my connection trail back to Idaho springs after riding on cascade creek trail. Traveling east to west. It was more difficult that I thought a 2/3 rating would be. Lots of loose rock near wp1. Great views of mountains at the top. First paved section is likely misleading…

Ran this trail for the first time all the way through. The ratings largely hold on this trail though. Traffic was super-light for a Saturday and I had a good time until the weather started to turn south. I did like the scenery in a lot of places along this trail and I'll come back here in the fall for some leaf-peeping.

Open and clear.

Fun little connect for getting around the various trails in the spring creak area,

We took this trail going towards Idaho springs after completing Saxon Mt. Trail. It started raining at beginning this trail so it was nice and gloomy. There are some rocky part to get true. Afther getting a quarter of the way true the trail the sun came out and got to see some very awsome views of surrounding mountains. This was another trail I really enjoyed.

Ran in uphill, reverse from this guide and almost made it to waypoint 9. There is still a lot of snow and ice at that point making it impossible for my stock pickup. There are a lot of tracks coming down hill, but one drift looks like it has caused a lot of problems for people as there are trees and such and fresh digging. Please stay on the trail and do not drive off trail to avoid snow, as seen here at this spot.

I can't comment on the entire trail since I only ran a small section of it. We entered this trail at wp7 after coming from Cascade Creek. There are tracks all over the trails out here. From conditions I saw on the other trails, you can likely get all the way to the junction of South Spring Gulch and Saxon Mountain, but I can't confirm that. We ran the trail to the mine play area between wp9 and wp10, and then took Ute Creek down to 103. A lot of bare dirt patches along the section we drove. Trail is very tracked out and has been heavily used lately.

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.

Nice, scenic and historic, just not real challenging. All the same , great way to spend a few hours on a BEAUTIFUL Monday morning

Nice views but not super challenging. Works great to get you back to Idaho springs after running Cascade or Saxon Mt.

Easy trail with few rock obstacles here and there. We stopped at the mine halfway through, plenty of space and great views.

No real tough spots but a few cool rocky climbs. No snow just some runoff on the trail.

Came down from Cascade. Easy compared to that. Was quite dry and had some fun sliding downhill, but uphill may have some traction problems without a good set of tires. No traffic on my way down. Stock high-clearance vehicles should have no problem.

Trail is completely dry other than some very mild snow melt running down in a few spots

We started Spring Gulch from the end of Cascade Creek and traveled outwards. The trail was as expected all the way through and we even found a nice spot to eat lunch and view the mountains. The incoming storm pushed us off the mountains and back into the Idaho Springs around 4pm.

Just exploring these trails up north. Run off makes it feel more like a solid 3 when teh trail gets rough. We made it just past the Trail Creek Road entrance before we hit 2-3 ft drifts of snow. It was wet and it was slick underneath. Snow capable rigs may be able to go farther.

This road turned to deep snow very quickly. Chains were required in order for us to get to the top of the first main hill. The second hill was worse, with only 1 of the 3 of us (Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland and 2 GX470's, one modified with custom suspension) able to make it initially (as conditions changed, 1 more made it). Throughout the day, all 3 vehicles were stuck at different points and needed assistance getting out. We learned later that this road in the winter is basically a snow cat road, and is not very accessible otherwise. If you're taking this road, be prepared with at least a 2nd vehicle, snow chains and a winch.