Moon Gulch

Beautiful trail made it up to waypoint 12 and then turned around due too some big snow drifts and took Perigo out.

It’s a nice drive into the mtns. I’m sure it’s beautiful when the aspens have leaves and change color. As of 5/12/23, we could only get to marker 6 before the snow and snow way. 😂 give it a month.

After marker 3 you will hit a ton of snow, I did not want to risk getting stuck so I did not try it. If you want to test the waters I would highly recommend chains and recovery gear.

With two rigs (locked 37s, locked 35s with chains) we got to nearly waypoint 4, where the snow gets to at least 3 feet deep and quite dense, but too steep to stay on top of. Quite a fun snow bash, with more winching it would be possible to break through to the next low spot.

Super fun! Definitely nice and mellow if you know what you are doing, the only thing to be careful of is how narrow certain spots are. Only saw 4 people the whole entire length of the trail.

Drove the trail from South to North. Overall, a fun, easy train. Some good views on the trail, and some nice driving through the forest. Definite some skinny spots, so not for full sized vehicles. Had some fun teaching my son some off-road basics with a manual transmission. It's a work in progress. :)

Very fun trail that is easy and fun at the bottom and bumpy and slow at the top. Beautiful scenery the whole time!

One of my favorite little trails in the area, also my favorite way to access Kinston Peak via Elk Park Road. Overall a pretty easy trail but deserves the moderate rating because of the mud pit towards the first half, and the switchbacks with ravines at the end. Nothing too difficult just pay attention. Has some nice views at spots and some beautiful Aspen groves.

Probably not surprising, but all dry now except for just a tiny bit of mud at waypoint 6.

Great trail. Still a little muddy with snow on the high side of the shelf roads. Snow made transition over to pickle or gambler gulch trails impossible. Shelf road erosion starting to make several of the narrow sections a little sketchy with extra tippiness and slippery lines.

Definitely narrow in a number of places. There is surface snow on the trail in a number of spots. Not an issue now, but will only take some more snow and/or a couple freeze-thaw cycles before it becomes pretty icy, and due to the narrowness, a small slide sideways likely means bumping a tree.

Some tight spots in the trees. The mud pit was mostly dry with some room on one side to bypass.

Pretty simple trail, it can be a bit hairy when wet and it started raining while we were on it. Its not really worth going to by itself, but when done along with Pickle Gulch, makes for a fun day.

There is a huge mud hole just west of Waypoint 7. It looked innocent enough at first but absolutely swallow my nefew's lifted XJ on 32s. We spent most of the day trying different combinations of winches, snatch blocks and angle before we finally we able to extract him. There is a very narrow space around the left side going up (right side coming down where a TJ/XJ width vehicle can squeeze by if you are extremely careful but full-width rigs are probable going to have problems. You can still get up to Jumbo Mountain and the nice campsite at Waypoint 5 and you can access the upper part of the trail from the Apex side or from one of the connecting trails from Dakota HIll.

Based on reports from nearby trails, the trail 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

fun afternoon exploring and getting lost

Traveling north on Pickle Gulch from the trailhead. Then west along Stewart Gulch. Then south to the top of Michigan Hill. Then back up to Dakota Hill to Moon Gulch to Hwy. 119. I came into Moon Gulch at the Dakota Hill spur. Awesome place to wheel!

This is one of our favorite places to go for a quick overnight camping trip! At waypoint 7 there is a large part of the trail that is dugout due to water erosion and people trying to drive through regardless. Please don't make the problem worse! One of the camping spurs at waypoint 7 is also completely impassable by vehicles now as the spur has been completely destroyed due to people trying to drive through thick mud, you will sink down to your frame if you try and cross! Also, if you decide to camp up at waypoint 7 beware of a maybe too friendly fox that wanders around at night. Us and friends have seen him on multiple trips; he isn't aggressive and I know he's cute but don't feed him!

Cool trail through the woods, but really really tight!! Ran this as an exit. Our Tundra (crewmax 2.5” lift on 34” tires with topper / roof rack) barely fit through. We made it with lots of light pinstriping and sap on the crossbars, but if your rig is as big or bigger than mine and you don’t like “mirrors in” tight with lots of pucker moments then pick another route. Having said that, it is doable and no damage was done. The marks and missing bark on the trees on this trail prove that lots of vehicles make contact.

Open, it's narrow and off camber. I would caution anyone with a tall and or long wheelbase vehicle. Due to the off camber and the narrow trail you will probably scrape the top of your vehicle on the trees. I have a JLUR that barley squeezed through. This one would be beautiful in the fall, lots of aspen trees.

I did not actually run the trail but, based on reports from nearby trails I believe it is open, although you may still encounter some lingering snow drifts.

I did not actually run the trail but, based on report from nearby trails I believe it is safe to assume the trail is very snowy and difficult right now.

I typically run this trail backwards from the trail description above (Dakota Hill to Upper Moon Gulch Rd.), using it as an exit from the Dakota Hill network. The Aspen trees on Moon Gulch (and everywhere else!) are particularly breathtaking this time of year, with the changing colors. On this trip, I tried my hand at the Jenny Lind-Perigo trail at Waypoint 9. It starts with a steep, rocky climb, and becomes exceptionally narrow very quickly. I made it about 1/3 down the trail before turning around due to how narrow it became. It might be traversable with a shorter wheelbase vehicle (2-door Jeep maybe?), and I don't think an ATV or SxS would have any trouble, but my 100-series Land Cruiser was definitely too big.

Enjoyed running this today for my second time. Once again I hoped to see some animals in the grassy meadow section, but nothing again! This is definitely a fun trail for SxS's especially because the narrow sections don't get in the way, and there are a few whoop-de-doos that are fun to cruise over. Around waypoint 10 full size vehicles need to be ready for pinstriping. Lots of tree branches hanging over the road, and the trees themselves are so close they make the trail very tight. A few of those poor trees have gotten pretty beat up from people grinding on them. Sidenote, I tried to get to 413.1 Jenny Lind Perigo at waypoint 14 but was stopped by a snowdrift right away. (Pictured below). I didnt give it a shot because my SxS doesnt weigh much and would probably ride on top of the snow and proceed to tip over. Feel free to give it a shot yourself or wait a week.

Ran this trail in the opposite direction (Pickle Gulch to Dakota Hill to Moon Gulch). Interesting seeing the falling (and standing) snow the day after the Solstice, but still had a blast. Bill's review is spot on that there are some serious wash-outs on Upper Moon Gulch Road. It's gotten pretty bad in spots, so be super careful about accessing the trail from this point. I nearly had to use a MaxTrax to bridge over some of the washouts. Full size vehicles should probably avoid this trail. There are some super narrow spots through the trees that have been bashed in enough as it is - no need to make it any worse. I run a lifted 100-series Land Cruiser and struggled through some of the narrow spots (didn't touch a tree, though!). There are some beautiful spots along this trail, though - highly recommended!

Calvary 4-WheelersTook a trip up Moon Gulch an Saturday, June 15, 2019. We had seven people in five rigs along for the trip. We gathered at the porta-potty in Rollinsville just as a heavy rain started falling. Fortunately it only lasted about 10-15 minutes and we were able wait it out. When the rain had let up and everyone had a chance to use the facility, we headed out for the trail. Things were uneventful on the graded county road portion of the trail. We did have one local stop and ask what we were doing as we were stopped taking some pictures. He was pleasant and polite but made sure to point out that he had called the Sheriff on two different sets of tresspassers camping on private property in the past few weeks. He also did his best to convince us that we couldn't get through the trail without coming right out and saying we were not welcome. Once we crossed into the National Forest we did encounter a pretty significant washout about a tenth of a mile in. The runoff has created a very large rut along the right side of the road. It is about 2 feet wide and 3-3 and a half feet deep for about 100 feet. There is just enough room to squeeze past it on the left if you are very careful. Smaller ruts continued for a ways making the trail harder than usual but not impassible. The lower part of the trail was very beautiful with the aspens leafing out and everything lush and green. After stopping for lunch at the first camp area, we continued up the trail. The meadow, which can sometime be rather muddy was fairly firm and only a little wet from the rain. As we headed into the trees, another shower started. This one was not as heavy as the first and only lasted a few minutes. As we climbed up the side of the gulch we came to a lingering snow drift. After a few attempts we were able to bust through it. There were a few more small drifts here and there after that but none were big enough to slow us down. By this time the storms had moved on, the sun was out and the scenery was beautiful. We encountered on more big snow drift at the junction with Jenny Lind Gulch. This one took many attempts and a little shovel work but eventually we bust through. From there on it was smooth sailing on over to Apex.

Coming from the south side, the trail is impassable immediately at waypoint 10 where people use this spot as a parking area for backcountry skiing and snowmobile dropoff. The entrance to the trail is blocked by plowed snow. No idea what the north side looks like, but I assume deep snow.

We took Moon Gulch back out to Rollinsville after doing some exploring around Dakota Hill on Saturday, June 30, 2018. The trail is open and clear all the way. The weather was cloudy, overcast and foggy here and there. We had a couple of light sprinkles and on shower of very small hail for about 10 minutes. The trail was only slightly damp, not wet enough to cause any issues.

6” new snow. About one mile in sloping turn pushed us in to trees, turned around.

Snow has fallen and this trail is now impassable for the season.

Trail definitely gets a bit narrow for larger rigs. Managed to not scrape any trees, but you can tell it happens frequently. Came through with a modified 5th gen 4Runner and stock GX470 with no issues other than limited places to allow passing.

Don't overestimate your chances for a spring passage like I did in 2016: the mud pits found at Waypoint #6 will attempt to fully ingest your rig given the chance. I was foolishly unprepared for self-recovery and was only fortunate enough to have someone come upon me with a snatch strap after only a short time of being stuck and attempting to dig myself out with a small folding camp shovel. There were deep drifts in the trees ahead so I wouldn't likely have gotten much further anyhow.