Corkscrew Pass

Official Crew

27300

Status: Impassable

Visited: 10/23/2022

A recent winter storm in the Ouray/ Silverton area has dropped a measurable amount of snow and high winds have been in the area. Some high country routes in the area may be passable but high country travel is not recommended.

Jesse Almanrode

6500

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/18/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Came down Corkscrew after a long day of running Engineer, California, and Hurricane pass. Beautiful trail that the forrest service has recently done some work on (obviously due to the major washouts that can be seen). Very nice and easy trail. Would recommend to anyone running stock or just wanting to get some nice views!

Rich Brunnworth

4200

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/18/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Vehicle: Xterra with mild lift. Fun run with the San Juan Mountains Trail Group. Road overall is easy, a few hoop-de-do's but nothing serious.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - Rich Brunnworth

Jeff Stewart

400

Status: Open

Visited: 09/12/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

This is why you come to the San Juan mountains. Great scenery and a trail that keeps your attention. I can’t see why Last Dollar is a 3 and Corkscrew is a 2. The switchbacks are more challenging than anything on Last Dollar. The last one going up is getting an interesting rock feature that had me backing up to take a run at it. The major switchback going down towards Hurricane got a rear wheel up in the air. But that’s why you come, right? All that AND two bathrooms!!

Simon

1300

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/10/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

Great little connector trail with some stunning views. One of the last switchbacks heading west is pretty beat up but other than that, trail is in great condition with plenty of places to pass if needed.

Gavin Swanson

1100

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/07/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Gavin Swanson

1100

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/07/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Andrew

6400

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 08/28/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

Fun, easy, incredibly scenic trail. Rain was falling on and off while I was on this trail but all of the moisture added no difficulty. There are plenty of places to pass if need be and the scenery is what the San Juans are all about.

Cooper Girard

400

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 08/20/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

The unusually amount of rain the area has seen recently has started to wash out portions of the trail. Other than that, it’s a fun trail.

Iceman 99

3200

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 08/19/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Ran Poughkeepsie gulch to hurricane pass then out to Silverton. At the pass we saw 2 Jeeps one jeep stopped us and said my F-150 might have problems with its size. It's amazing you can run into compete fools at 12,730 feet. That trail was so easy going down I could do it in my sleep even covered in hail. I love it when some complete squid from the flatlands tries to tell me shit like this. Shut up and mind your own white knuckle business. Have some respect for people who live in Colorado. One of these days I'm gonna throw down up on some trail.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - Iceman 99

David

800

Status: Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 07/28/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Pretty easy, very pretty. Great way to get to the Alpine loop as an alternative to the Silverton routes.

Chris Parr

1400

Status: Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 07/19/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

I took this route back to the highway after completing the Alpine Loop. Of the three trails, California, Hurricane & Corkscrew, Corkscrew was certainly the most challenging. I was dealing with pretty steady rain all the way down, which definitely elevated the difficulty. Portions of the trail seemed to have been washed out and reconstructed recently and spots were starting to wash out again. Another review mentioned an evident landslide in the recent past and I definitely agree with that. The switchbacks around waypoints 3 and 4 seemed really soft and were deeply rutted in places. I was thankful that I was going down...not sure I would have kept going in the other direction. I'm sure it's a much different story when dry, and if I'm back when it is I'll give this route another try.

Chuck & Melanie Boudreau

600

Status: Open

Rated 3/5

Visited: 07/04/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

We headed up this route in anticipation of partaking of the dispersed caping sites at waypoint 4. I have a stock 2006 Explorer (it has a truck frame) with 8.9" clearance and Falken WilkPeak AT3W tires. I mention this because even though this trails has a technical rating of 2, I was only a mile up the road before I was desperate to get off the mountain. The root cause was the standing rainwater in the dips of the roller-coaster-styled road. This created a slick and potentially dangerous situation that required me to execute a bail out which involved a creative 7-point U-turn to get the heck outa there!

Bottom line: If you are a stock SUV owner used to technical 2 ratings, be advised that slick, muddy and standing water conditions from recent rain showers on the lower portion of this roller coaster can make for a harrowing outing. Be forewarned!

P.S. We found a nice dispersed camping site in Gray Copper Gulch in the woods just to the left of waypoint 2 of Corkscrew Pass. You can find this dispersed camping just before waypoint 2 of the adjoining Brown Mountain trail just before the creek.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - Chuck & Melanie Boudreau

Todd

Official Crew

104550

Status: Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 06/22/2022

I have always wanted to run this road and finally got my chance. I ran it in the opposite direction of the guide and saw two other vehicles on the way. The switchback portion, Waypoints 7-8, were narrow but flat and with good visibility of any oncoming traffic. In a JKU, two or three of the switchbacks were two-point turns. Around Waypoint 3-4 was interesting geography formed by the tailing piles and what looked like must have been a wicked landslide a few years ago. While easy, you have to be comfortable with narrow and switchbacks

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Shane DeMars

1900

Status: Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 06/12/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Decent connector route. Found it to be more interesting than expected. While only easy to moderate it stays interesting for most of it's length.

Greg Stokes

Official Crew

27300

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 05/20/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Announced as fully open per Ouray County Road and Bridge.

Ryan Boudreau

Official Crew

88050

Status: Partially Open

Visited: 05/13/2022

San Juan County has plowed open their end of the pass (The east side). And reports that Ouray County (west side) is currently plowing their end. Probably won't be long before the trail is fully open end to end.

Greg Stokes

Official Crew

27300

Status: Impassable

Visited: 10/12/2021

Weather Forecasts for the San Juan Mountains call for a significant amount of snow in the coming days. Although some routes may be open, travel over these high mountain passes in winter conditions are not advised.

Ben Jimbo

3100

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 10/03/2021

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Wow! First time getting into the San Juans and boy are they incredible. This trail is pretty easy, no obstacles or anything technical. The biggest thing of note was how steep the trail gets, and the exposure. 4L all the way up and back down. The trail was muddy but no concerns. There's also pull offs at about every turn on the switchbacks so that makes encounters easy. A very cool trail, just ran it to the summit and back down.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - Ben Jimbo

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brad newton

900

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/09/2021

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Great trail to finish a long day of wheeling. Ran this after going up to Engineer, then to Poughkeepsie, up to Hurricane. Had to see that scenic toilet FWIW :) Great panoramic scenery and the contrasting colors of the red mountains really is spectacular! One thing to keep in mind, the trail signage (as of 9/9/21) is missing at the junction of Hurricane and County Rd 11, if coming down from Hurricane you need to take the trail going up the hill to the right. Also the sign at the summit is missing (damn thieves!) so when you see some posts and a green square county road 20A you just go straight past that sign as their is a trail going up to the left that's not the Corkscrew trail.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - brad newton

Jake weikert

3300

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 08/09/2021

Our first experience with shelf road switchbacks! Not a tough trail but demanding your attention! The scenery is beautiful, the red rock blending with the alpines and being above the tree line made for an unforgettable experience. A good primer for doing Black Bear after this.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - Jake weikert

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Brad D.

17350

Status: Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 07/23/2021

don't. Trail to get up to the alpine loop and avoid lower engineer. Lots of traffic on it but nothing too challenging for most stock 4x4s. Has some great views as you climb up to the pass.

Greg Stokes

Official Crew

27300

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/21/2021

Announced as fully OPEN per the US Forest Service. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sanjuan/maps-pubs/?cid=fsbdev3_002300

Ryan Boudreau

Official Crew

88050

Status: Partially Open

Visited: 05/12/2021

The east side of the pass (waypoint 8-10) is open to the top as it has been plowed by San Juan County.

JD Marshall

Official Crew

110300

Status: Seasonal Closure

Visited: 10/26/2020

The county has closed the trails for the season due to snowfall.

Peyton Lange

1500

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 10/09/2020

Hit this connector as we knocked out the Jeep badge of honor trails. We camped on the west end after the pass. A fun trail with moderate traffic.

Josh Spring

13200

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/15/2020

Trail is still open and in good shape. Fair amount of snow on the surrounding mountains but luckily road has stayed clear.

Joe

1600

Status: Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 09/13/2020

Sixth visit to the area and finally got to check this one out, couldn't believe what we've been missing all these years. Might have gotten some help from the snow above 12,500 but the scenery was as good as anything else in the area.

Craig Rauwolf

3100

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/04/2020

Easy trail that has lots of traffic! We camped somewhere near the end of it and had the best views.

Justin Gentile

3600

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 07/17/2020

Absolutely stunning.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - Justin Gentile

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John Shelton

100

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 07/10/2020

First trails using this app. Started from Silverton up CR2 over California Pass then Hurricane Pass to Corkscrew and down to 550. Driving stock Tacoma TRD Off Road. Beautiful views, old mines and a lot of traffic. Most drivers very friendly for passing but some not so. We took 6 hours for the trip with numerous photo stops and lunch. Mostly done in 2W or 4w H but a couple of steep switchbacks required 4w L. Lots of fun.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - John Shelton

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Brent McGee

1650

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 07/07/2020

An amazing trail. The red mountains are legit! One switchback was quite steep and off camber. Any stock rig can do this trail.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - Brent McGee

Neal A. Tew

4900

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/13/2020

Great run today starting on Corkscrew, then Hurricane and finishing through California. Beautiful. Completed in stock full sized Chevy.

Ryan Boudreau

Official Crew

88050

Status: Open

Visited: 05/28/2020

The trail is open and plowed all the way through and all county visitation restrictions have been lifted.

Greg Stokes

Official Crew

27300

Status: Impassable

Rated 5/5

Visited: 05/13/2020

High Country Roads Opening Priority May 12, 2020 Update Crews will begin work May 18, 2020 with the goal to have all High Country Roads open by the July 4th weekend. Please note: some services may be unavailable or slow to respond due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please be respectful of local Public Health Orders and restrictions. Visit https://ouraycountyco.gov/396/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Updates-and-Resourc to check current orders and for more information. (Note – Crew 1 and Crew 2 work concurrently) Crew 1: Yankee Boy (Depending on snowfall, anticipated time to reach the Outhouses is 4 days.) Crew 2: Red Mountain Town – Open the Main Loop Crew 1: Corkscrew Crew 2: Engineer Crew 1: Imogene Crew 2: Crews will move to help open Imogene after the completion of Engineer Updates will be posted periodically on the Ouray County Website (www.ouraycountyco.gov) and on the Road and Bridge Facebook page. ***Subject to change due to weather and emergencies***

Greg Stokes

Official Crew

27300

Status: Impassable

Rated 5/5

Visited: 10/28/2019

Currently, San Juan County has issued CLOSURES on all their backcountry passes. San Miguel, Hinsdale, and Ouray County issued a travel at your own risk advisory. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sanjuan/maps-pubs/?cid=fsbdev3_002300

Greg Stokes

Official Crew

27300

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/28/2019

Good weather and gorgeous fall colors for our trip this weekend. Trail is in good shape and made for a smooth drive.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - Greg Stokes

Andrew Earle

6300

Status: Open

Visited: 09/08/2019

Fairly easy going up until the switch backs. The switch backs aren’t difficult, they just add some exposure. We drove to Animas Fork in a few hours total with lots of stops. A few hundred sheep were being herded between Corkscrew and Hurricane which was cool to see.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - Andrew Earle

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Jaime Shuler

500

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/01/2019

Ran this trail from both directions today; great ride. The switchbacks are fun in a UTV and easy enough to navigate.

Ryan Boudreau

Official Crew

88050

Status: Open

Rated 3/5

Visited: 08/24/2019

Started on the west side at the parking lot. Like another user said, that lot is a zoo! This was the first time I have ever driven Corkscrew from this direction and man is it steep and hard on the vehicle. If you have a big motor or any kind of heat issues, I would avoid doing the trail in this direction. The avalanche that they cleared still had plenty of snow and debris. It was quite a feat from the road crews. I remember the swithcbacks being way tighter back in the day, and they are not bad at all anymore so that is a bit disappointing, but I can see why they have widened everything considering how much traffic it sees now. Fun day.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - Ryan Boudreau

Bruce Barnhouse

100

Status: Open

Visited: 08/19/2019

Started the trail off of 550. Aired down the tires in the parking lot, put it in four-wheel- low, and had a great time. We had one sobering moment when we stopped along the trail and could see the wreckage of an ATV at the bottom of the valley. We don’t know what the status of the operator was but it was a good object lesson to pay attention.

Josh Spring

13200

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 08/17/2019

This pass combined with Hurricane and California are among my favorites now. Great views and a fun road to drive. Showed up around 8:30AM on a Saturday on the west side and found the parking lot to be a zoo. Completely packed. But everyone spread out nicely on the trail and I really enjoyed the drive! Also drove the spur at the summit which was a lot of fun and notably tougher than the rest of the pass.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - Josh Spring

Neal A. Tew

4900

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 08/08/2019

The Corkscrew / Hurricane / California route is one of my favorites. Scenery is amazing and this road is faster because it's less technical than something like Imogene. We experienced rain, hail, clouds and moderate traffic.

J Ranello

2600

Status: Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 08/02/2019

Fun trail, we utilized the camping mentioned at the beginning - good fit for our group of 4 vehicles and trailer. The spot mentioned @WP4 would be epic and was still open on a Fri afternoon, but towing a camping trailer to that point would require some skill and good weather. Due to the runoff this year the road feels a little more 'shelfy' than we were expecting but nothing that cant be managed by taking it slowly and maybe a 3-pt turn here or there if driving a longer wheelbase vehicle. Views will not disappoint, so happy Trailsoffroad description talks about the large sign we saw across the horizon...everyone was wondering what that was! Lots of ATV/UTV traffic as mentioned.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - J Ranello

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Gary

900

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 07/21/2019

Ran this trail with no issues. There is a significant amount of avalanche debris and remaining snow along the route. The county has done an exceptional job of cleaning things up and making the entire route passable. Of note is the large number of OHV and ATV traffic using Corkscrew as a way to access the high country.

Greg Stokes

Official Crew

27300

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 07/09/2019

Per Ouray County Road and Bridge Corkscrew Pass is officially open.

Greg Stokes

Official Crew

27300

Status: Partially Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/16/2019

San Juan County has plowed their side of Corkscrew Pass. Corkscrew is plowed about 150-200 yards past the top but NO place to turnaround.

Greg Stokes

Official Crew

27300

Status: Impassable

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/02/2019

Heavy snow pack and late season snow falls have greatly affected the opening date to many of the trails in the San Juan Mountains. I will try to quickly update these trail guides to reflect when the hard working plow and dozer operators are able to dig these wonderful trails out for all of us to enjoy. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sanjuan/maps-pubs/?cid=fsbdev3_002300

JD Marshall

Official Crew

110300

Status: Impassable

Visited: 05/06/2019

Ouray County has announced that plowing operations have begun for these trails. From the county:

High Country Roads Opening Priority

May 6, 2019 Update

Crews will begin work May 6, 2019 with the goal to have all High Country Roads open by the July 4th weekend.

***Please be aware: Southwestern Colorado received an exceptional amount of snow during the 2018-2019 winter. Roads may be cleared later than usual, and dangers like avalanches may still exist into the summer months. Please use caution when venturing into these areas.***

(Note – Crew 1 and Crew 2 work concurrently)

Crew 1: Yankee Boy (Depending on snowfall, anticipated time to reach the Outhouses is 4 days.)

Crew 2: Red Mountain Town – Open the Main Loop

Crew 1: Corkscrew

Crew 2: Engineer

Crew 1: Imogene

Crew 2: Crews will move to help open Imogene after the completion of Engineer

John K

1100

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/09/2018

Took Corkscrew pass on our way to the alpine loop instead of the Mineral Creek trail. Depending on your route, you will either start or end in heavy forest. At the time we took it, the trail was in good condition.

Christine Hammack

500

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 08/21/2018

The views are amazing and trail is in good condition. Watch out for large herds of sheep and their guardian dogs.

Tom

1050

Status: Open

Visited: 08/15/2018

This is one of my absolute favorite trails in the San Juans. Very different land then most others. The colors in the mountains pop. Maybe home to the most beautiful view on earth from a vault toilet.

Greg Stokes

Official Crew

27300

Status: Open

Visited: 06/02/2018

Declared open all the way through per the San Juan national forest. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sanjuan/maps-pubs/?cid=fsbdev3_002300

Ryan Boudreau

Official Crew

88050

Status: Open

Visited: 05/17/2018

Cleared and fully open per local reports.

Greg Stokes

Official Crew

27300

Status: Partially Open

Visited: 11/03/2017

Snow has fallen making this trail impassable until next season, closed at the top by snow according to the U.S Forest Service. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sanjuan/maps-pubs/?cid=fsbdev3_002300

Michael Greene

800

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/17/2017

After some 8 hours on the trail, beginning in Ouray, doing Engineer, Animas Forks, California, part of Poughkeepsie, Hurricane, and now finishing with Corkscrew, I was worn out, and pushed though towards Ironton too quickly to soak in the beauty as much as I should have. The track is much different than others nearby. Much more red clay, less rocks. Much more undulation... A lot like my trails back home in TN. You'll get a lot of chances to flex over the rolling trail, but it has no issues. The last views of the Red Mountains are incredible, until you drop down into the timberline and then the views are heavy forest.

Trail Review: Corkscrew Pass - Michael Greene

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Corkscrew Pass

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