Sprawling across the plains northeast of Greeley Colorado, the Pawnee Grasslands are criss-crossed by a network of gravel county roads and two-track dirt Forest Service Roads. These easy roads offer an alternative to the usual mountain ‘wheeling of the Colorado Rockies, especially from late fall to early spring when many of the mountain trails are snowed in. You can imagine how important water would be on the arid plains of the grasslands. This offroad route takes you past three small reservoirs constructed to conserve this vital resource. The trail also crosses Crow Valley Hill, the highest point in this area of the grasslands, past the Crow Valley Hill Communications Tower.
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Go to the town of Ault either by going west on CO 14 from Fort Collins or by going north on US 85 from Greeley. From Ault go east on CO 14 about 7 miles. CO 14 will make a big curve to go northeast for about 5.8 miles. Just as it curves back to go due east again, turn left onto CR 57. There is a small informational Kiosk on the right as you turn onto CR 57. This could be interesting if you are not familiar with the Grasslands. Take CR 57 north for seven miles, then turn right on CR 104. Go east on CR 104 for a half of a mile. The road jig-jogs to the right and then back to the left as it crosses a cattle guard. The trailhead is on the right just past the cattle guard.
Super easy trail - very nice to see the grasslands created to suppress the Dust Bowl.
It's a great place for a first-time driver to get some time behind the wheel.
We were stopped by some guy who was complaining about cows, a motorcyclist, and some guys shooting. Here's the deal - if you go out there, you will experience three things: (a) cows, (b) motorcycles, and (c) guns. It's been this way for as long as I can remember. If you expect a drive where you will not be in contact with anybody - this is not it - you need to learn to share and get on with your life.
Trail is open and dry. Nothing hard to overcome but had some areas that needed a lot of clearance if staying in the tracks. Interesting wheeling and different scenery then the mountain shelf roads that you normally get in colorado.
Went out to the grasslands for a change of pace. This was a fun trail although not technical at all. A lot of the road on the southern end is pretty rutted and a few washouts, but nothing you can’t get through. Reno reservoir is completely dry 🤷♂️. I can see in wet conditions there could be some problem areas. I did use the new Trails Off-road app for navigation and it was awesome. Loved having the waypoints accessible as you drive!
Went out to Pawnee Grasslands to get pics and data for a refresh of the trail guide. My friend, Ken, came along as support and back up. We had a gorgeous day with sunshine and just enough clouds to make for a beautiful sky. The temperatures were warm but not overly hot. The trail was mostly dry with a few slightly muddy spots here and there. It was crowded by Grasslands standards as we met 3 or 4 other rigs, passed another 3 or 4 groups enjoying some target shooting and a rancher putting out salk licks for the cattle but we still found plenty of solitude. We saw lots of birds; the lark Bunting and Northern Harriers were especially plentiful. Overall it was another enjoyable, relaxing day on the prairie.
I ran the Reservoir Loop as part of a day enjoying solitude and reflection on the Pawnee Grasslands. There had been rain earlier in the week so I expected the trail to be wet and muddy but, for the most part, it was dry with only a few wet patches here and there. There was fog and then sunshine earlier in the day but it was cloudy by the time I got to the Reservoir Loop and was threatening to rain again.
I ran the route backwards of how it is described and skipped the hike out to Sand Reservoir #1 due to time constraints. There were a couple of target shooters near Reno Reservoir and some folks loading their horses back into trailers at the trail end (where I started). Other than that I had the trail to myself except for a few cows and some pronghorns.
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Bill is an off-road enthusiast with nearly 30 years of 'wheeling experience. At one time he had a streak of about 20 years of 4-wheeling at least once a month. He likes anything from easy, dirt roads to difficult trails but stops short of extreme. Over the years he has traveled over 700 different trails, mostly in Colorado and Utah. He loves finding and exploring new areas and sharing his knowledge with others. He has been the coordinator of Calvary 4-Wheelers for many years.
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