McAllister Gulch

4.3/5 (23 reviews)
Red Cliff, Colorado (Eagle County)
Last Updated: 02/10/2023

Trail Information

Highlights

Climbing 2,700 vertical feet in 5 miles, McCallister Gulch is a mildly steep trail that climbs the west side of Resolution Mountain, just north of the historic Camp Hale. Camp Hale was a WW-II facility that trained U.S. Army soldiers in mountain warfare. Those soldiers went on to form the famed 10th Mountain Division.

This trail offers outstanding views of the Gore Range to the south and the Sawatch Range to the north, including clear views of the Mount of the Holy Cross.


Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

4.3/5 (24)
This trail guide's difficulty was changed on 12/25/2022
1000
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 09/29/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

As a novice 4x4 trail user this was spot on. The trail was in good shape and I only needed 4x4 for the rock garden at waypoint 7.
Open
Rated 2/5
Visited: 08/30/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

I used this trail to get back to Shrine Pass Rd, after Wearyman Creek (Ptarmigan Pass). Except for Resolution Point, it is (to me) a rather boring drive...unless you like driving through the woods. The views from Resolution Point are awesome...a great place for lunch if the timing is right. There is one real obstacle near the top, but also an easy bypass to the right. Starting at Camp Hale, the trail ends at the intersection with Ptarmigan Pass (at Wearyman Creek). To get out to Shrine Pass Rd, you have to drive the half mile through the shrubs (see my comments on Ptarmigan Pass). This is narrow with very few places to pass if you meet oncoming traffic. Lots of protruding branches have been cut, but pinstriping is still a risk. Take some clippers with you and help out the next drivers.
Official Crew
40150
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 07/30/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

We were camping at Camp Hale for the weekend so we took time to run McAllister Gulch. I hadn't been there in a while but it doesn't seem to have changed much. There are many gorgeous viewpoints and tons of wildflowers. The trail was just hard enough to be a challenge in my stock Grand Cherokee. The biggest challenge was the short side spur to the top of Resolution Mountain. We had intended to exit at Shrine Pass Road (I misunderstood where the closure on Wearyman Creek was) but, as others have mentioned, that option remains closed. Instead we continued the loop up Wearyman Creek and over Ptarmigan Pass.
3700
Open
Visited: 07/23/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

We started Shriner Pass from the I-70 end which is open except for the drive through the creek which is closed. We exited next Red Cliff and drove down US24 to Camp Hale to continue our trek up McAllister Gulch and Ptarmigan Pass. It was a nice drive through the countryside. The start of the drive was an easy dirt road until you got into the forest area where the drive got a bit rougher and tighter. All in all with the creek portion closed I would rate this trail about a 3.

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