Apex Valley Road

Ran from 3 to 7, trail is as described.

Used this as an exit after Pickle Gulch and Dakota Hill. Super chill road that’s practically paved on sections. Great connector to the network of trails but not very interesting itself.

Easy road to give you access to others. Watch your speed leaving town as there are residences throughout. It was in pretty good shape overall with random small potholes.

We used Apex as an exit from the vicinity after driving several other more difficult trails. Easy and mostly smooth.

Snowd totally gone. Completely passable.

Mid-May update on Waypoint 10: Still snowy, but finally passable.

Went to Apex Valley Road to check if it's passable again after Waypoint 10. We encountered a stuck Defender that took a long time to get out – a lot of winching, pulling, and digging. The snow depth and consistency can be treacherous, so bring some recovery equipment if you want to attempt it. Personally, I'm gonna wait a few more weeks.

Most of the trail was great and easy up to waypoint 10. After that it was pretty much impassible. Decided to try and go past it, and ended up sliding into the ditch next to the trail. Had to get winched out and saw several other vehicles struggle at the same location.

Best described as residential two-lane gravel road. It was well plowed up to waypoint 10, afterwards it's basically impassable (see photos). Even though Apex Valley Road itself isn't interesting, it gives you acess to various other (more exciting and challenging) trails.

Cool little road, nothing too special!

Joined the trail coming from Elk Park Road, made a left towards the end of the trail and went up and down Dakota Hill, great views and a few nice campsites. It gets much rockier after waypoint 9, however waypoints 1-8 is a smooth, 2-wide dirt road. Aired back up somewhere around waypoint 2 before rejoining the main road. I'll rate the trail spot-on since I do believe after waypoint 9 is a 2-2 difficulty, however the first part is definitely a 1-1.

Wide, relatively smooth, easy drive

Used Apex Valley Rd as the start of a casual solo backroads run starting midday on a Sunday. Hadn't been on this road in a few years and it's about the same: a maintained rocky dirt road. Encountered a handful of vehicles (residents and recreational.) Any average passenger vehicle could navigate here with the biggest concern being the occasional jutting rock or minor drainage rut that may develop between fall and early summer. Personally, I think the 2 rating is fair since it's not just a simple dirt road but calling it a 1.5 (if that were possible) would probably be more accurate. There's a few spots wide enough for a handful of vehicles to air down up to about the pull off for Mosquito Creek Rd, and you'll *definitely* want to air down for that trail and Elk Park Road, which are both very rocky.

It is wide, it is bumpy. No issues with clearance on stock 4x4. Some nicer views on the north side.

Other than the beautiful scenery and the access to other trails, this road is no big deal. It is definitely a little rougher above the town of Apex with more rocks and a few small washouts, especially in the hairpin turns. We took it down from the top after coming out Utah Hill and found no issues.

Nice easy summer drive. Road is in good shape and easy to travel right now.

Open all the way to the end. Nice little drive to get up to Elk Fork and Dakota Hill area. This is generally a maintained road with no obstacles. I'd rate it a 1 out of 10.

Wide open to Apex, but conditions degrade shortly after that. Near Waypoint 10 is where the plowed road ends. There are tire tracks in the snow, but it looks deep.

This is a nice road to take with a few options to get into the NF land. The road is maintained up to Waypoint 10 in the winter so travel with caution if you want to proceed past. This is an easy run in a stock rig.

Based on reports from other trails in the area, the upper portion of the trail past the town of Apex is probably very difficult or impassible due to snow.

Per the National Forest Service: FORT COLLINS, Colo (Nov. 9, 2020) – More forest closures are being lifted across the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests as all Stage 3 restrictions are rescinded beginning at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10. Closures will remain in place around areas that experienced wildfire in Grand, Boulder and Larimer counties. These fire areas present a public safety threat as burned trees can fall unexpectedly, hot spots are still burning, and new hazards can be hidden under snow.

Due to extreme fire danger the Ntional Forest Service has temporarily closed all National Forest land in Clear Creek, Jefferson, Gilpin, Boulder, and Larimer counties. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/arp/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD831612

take this trail all the time. Close to town with a ton of spurs and fun stuff.

Went up there today some man who lives in a RV told us that s man was missing they found his car. Family worried he fell down a cliff. So sad praying for his family.

I’m giving this four stars because it provides easy access to better nearby trails and the road itself is in good shape.

Drove it 4th of July weekend in a stock 2000 Tacoma. Basically a well maintained dirt road until the fork at Utah Hill. The rut was pretty washed out and I had to get into 4 low to get across it slowly. The views up top are beautiful. Seen some deer. We did not go past the turn around at the gate. Will do that after I get better suspension. It looked rocky going into Dakota Hill. I’m a novice at going on trails here.

Went from Central City to the town site of Apex. Ive seen many ghost towns but this one is the least interesting. Its not bad - but its surrounded by a lot of homes and private property and there isnt much there. Took it through to Dakota Hill then to Gamble Gulch then to 119. Its a bumpy and rocky road but 4wd not needed. The Aspens and few creeks along the make it a pretty drive.

Pretty uneventful. The trail is still currently passable with not a lot of snow yet. It's slick towards the top but there was quite a bit of traffic and no one was appearing to have much trouble.

Not much opportunity to explore the "Ghost Town" but it's a connector and casual.

The old ghost town, that people live in, at the end is really cool. This is an excellent road to access some of the better roads in the area. 2 star as a stand-alone type road, but a 5 for quick shortcuts to more adventure!

The lower portion of this trail is not really even a trail. It's a graded gravel road, although it is quite pretty. The town of Apex was very cool. Some of the buildings have been restored (a few look lived-in) and others are in various states of disrepair and decay. It was easy to imagine a bustling little mining town back in the day. Above Apex the road got rougher and bumpier the higher I went. As I got near the top, the views back across the valley were spectacular. I did not continue on Dakota Hill on this day, though I have in the past. The weather was beautiful and the drive was quite pleasant.