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Mineral Basin
Buena Vista,
Colorado
(Chaffee County)
Last Updated:
07/10/2023
Trail Information
Highlights
The Mineral Basin Trail allows users to explore the South Cottonwood Drainage above Cottonwood Lake. The trail snakes its way up the valley as it heads toward Mineral Basin and Emma Burr Mountain (13,538'). Along the trail, you will travel close to Cottonwood Creek and pass through open meadows and aspen groves. Along the upper sections of the trail are marshy areas frequented by moose and elk. The trail ends at a large parking area high in the basin with views of Jones Mountain and the South Cottonwood Valley below.
Trail Difficulty and Assessment
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Trail Reviews
Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 09/06/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
Easy trail that’s pretty wide the majority of the way but narrow in some spots immediately after Cottonwood Lake so watch out in the blind corners. There’s a good amount of dispersed camping all along this trail and it seems to be a popular hunting base-camp area, too. It was surprisingly steep in places with a little bit of loose rock so I actually used 4LO a little bit just to go easy on my engine.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 08/18/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
Easy in the stock Tacoma. Great for views and camping.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 07/24/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
Nice easy trail with great views from the top. Tons of nice dispersed camping sites as well.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 07/23/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
The trail was perfect. Jeep rubicon (stock) handled it with ease. Was an awesome drive and we ended up camping at ~11.5k feet.
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 07/10/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
Fully open to the top!
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