Mill Creek

Much of this trail is a continuous level 4 as you weave your way around trees and over rock challenges. There are only a couple of easy short patches. It can feel relentless. This is not a trail for a full-size vehicle. Even with my JLUR there were some very tight spots. By the end of this trail you will have had lots of practice learning where all 4 corners of your Jeep are.

Wide open all the way through. Great scenic, bumpy trail and defiantly takes some time in a 4x4 and some tight spots in the trees.

I think this trail is a minimum of 5 rating all the way around, plus it doesn't stop. You are constantly getting hammer for the entire loop. We tried to do it with an off-road trailer, big mistake and ended up turning around. Plus this is not a trail to take a full-size vehicle on, even with my JLU there were some very tight spots. I've learn just to stay off this trail, I've gotten body damage every time I've been up here.

Ran this trail last Wednesday (6/8/22) via Bill Moore Lake. Trail is in good shape. Did not encounter snow until around waypoints 11-12.Without winching through the snow drifts, the trail would have been impassable. With the warm temps over the last week the snow should not be a factor anymore. The stream Crossings were not deep-less than a foot at most with a firm bottom.. Anything just past a stock Rig should make it through.

Definitely tight and slippery in spots with probably 6-8 inches of snow on the ground. Still runnable but definitely take it slow and take a recovery buddy just in case.

Some tight spots but fun trail. Good camping spots too.

The loop has gotten a lot rockier than last year. I was aired down to 14psi and it was still a long, tight, bumpy ride. Kinda fun though because it was technical in some spots.

Fun trail. Tight and Rocky. Skids came in handy a time or two..

Ran this with a large group on Sunday (we ran the majority of the Empire Loop). Only one snow drift at the Mine Tailings but we busted through it. The river crossings weren't too bad. The 'rough sections' were rougher than I remember. I ran it in a 3" lifted 4runner on 33's and scraped a few times, but nothing terrible.

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.

Due to dangerous fire conditions, Arapahoe National Forest has closed the forest to all visitors. This decision will be re-evaluated daily as conditions change. See the order here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/arp/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD831612

This is a really fun trail!!! I would 100% agree with the no full size rigs assessment. It is very tight in sections and it also has pretty low hanging branches. I have a lot of gear on the roof rack and I hit a LOT of branches! I felt you need a much more capable rig for this section then the Bill Moore Lake section. I used my rear locker a couple times. I'm certain I could have made it through without but did not want to dig up the trail any more than it already was. Good camping spots, the cabins are a nice stop. There was no snow and the water crossings were not deep. Will absolutely come back and do that tail again.

We arrived at Mill Creek loop via Red Elephant Hill. We missed the first right turn to take Mill Creek Loop so we attacked it from the other direction, which turned out to be great. If you like rocky technical trails then this is a great one. At the end you can branch off and connect to Bill Moore Lake, which was still unpassable at the end due to a major snow drift. We camped at a great spot on Mill Creek then took the Bill Moore Lake path back down the mountain. I do not recommend taking Red Elephant Hill down.

Did Red Elephant Hill and Miller Creek Loop, exiting onto Bill Moore. Only one spot with impassable snow, but a bypass is adjacent to it.

This trail remains about the same in terms of difficulty as it has for years. Perhaps a hair more difficult after the long winter with rocks being displaced and different locations. Overall, it is still a great trail with a great "Colorado" experience to it. Note about the old cabin: The door has a wooden pin that you must slide out to open the door - do not try to force the door open. Please leave everything in better shape than you found it :)

Trail has no snow. The complete loop passable. The two creek crossings were safe. The trail is basically the same as it has been over the past 4 years

Completed the Mill Creek loop today as an offshoot while exploring the Bill Moore Lake Trail. Running our stock 2015 Jeep Unlimited Altitude, we did the trail clockwise starting at point 16. The creek crossings at both spots were picturesque and fun, though here at the beginning of September, they were both only 5” or 6” compared to the guide route photos. The old Empire Cabin was a nice stopping point and quite cool to imagine living the true mountain life. I will say that for us, running clockwise, the beginning (points 14-11) and the end of the loop (points 4-2) move beyond an easy (4) rating and into at least of moderate (5). Even with careful lines and placement, the rocky sections were a moderate challenge in a stock vehicle. Glad the Altitude had the skid plates, as they were needed multiple times. Don’t get me wrong, it’s totally doable and a blast at that, but I would have loved 2” to 3” more on lift and beefier shoes. I echo Tracy below... narrow between trees! Take your time. All in all it’s a must trail!!

Ran counterclockwise in conjunction with Red Elephant Hill. This was my first time on it. Met Johnny (I hope I remembered his name correctly) at the intact cabin (aka Empire Hilton Cabin), who shared some of the history of that spot, and the name of his friend (whose name I can't recall) who is buried in that grave mentioned in the trail description. There are decades of signatures in the books, as well as personal accounts from the folks who regularly stayed there; Johnny shared a story with us from one of them. Dry conditions, which is typical this time of year, and the creek wasn't deep at the crossings. Some spots definitely need your attention of you're not lifted or protected (skids, sliders, etc.).

This trail really gives you a little glimpse of everything that Colorado has to offer; Old cabins, some minor rock crawling, beautiful wildflowers, crystal clear rivers and pine trees. What's not to like?

Snow has fallen making this trail impassable.

Drove Mill Creek as part of the Red Elephant Hill, Mill Creek, Bill Moore Lake loop in the Empire, Colorado area with the trailsoffroad.com Meetup group out of Denver. We had a great trip, and the water crossings on Mill Creek were a highlight. This is some of the most gorgeous mountain scenery--Pure Colorado! Mill Creek is not a difficult road, but it requires your full attention; there are several off-camber segments, shelves, and narrow spots between the trees. Let me reiterate--narrow spots between the trees!

Beautiful day! We took our RZR up to check the snow. We used the Bill Moore Cut Off to get to the west end of Red Elephant Hill. From there, we tried to take Mill Creek clockwise, but just past the intersection with Red Elephant (waypiont 16), the trail was blocked with major snow drifts (1st pic). Then, we went east on Red Elephant to reach the other trailhead and see how far we could get counter-clockwise. We ran into manageable snow drifts just before waypoint 2 (2nd pic). While there, I blocked a bypass someone had made downhill to the right (3rd pic). We made it down through the rough stuff, breaking drifts to waypoint 3. We decided to turn back, knowing that it would take a lot of effort and winching to get back up hill through the drifts. We were right! It took nearly an hour to make it back to the trailhead.