Pearl Pass

Beautiful area on the Aspen side. Tried to get to Crested Butte but the trail sign at WP6 had a red ribbon with Closed written on it. Didn't call to verify but there is a lot of snow up top. It was late so we turned around and took independence pass back to Buena Vista. We came down Taylor pass which was amazing

Beautiful, long trail and one of the nicest in Colorado. We ran this from the Aspen to Crested Butte. Not that hard of a trail, with only three significant obstacles. But the one wet obstacle and some significant off-camber sections on the shelf road on the Aspen side, probably make this a fair rating. When you think the trail is almost over, it is not, as there are at least six miles after you get off the mountain to Crested Butte.

Ran this trail on my way to climb Castle and Conundrum Peaks from the CB side. ‘18 4Runner with 2.5in lift and 32s. A full 3in would’ve been nice but pick your lines correctly and you’ll be ok. Ran 50% 2H, 40% 4H, 10% 4L. After summiting the 14er, we went back towards CB. Had to “bump” the staircase to wetness a little but ended up doing just fine. I zigged when I shoulda zagged and bottomed out in the mud bog. Rear locker on, people rocking vic side to side and a quad with a winch pulled me back out haha. Thanks for all the help! Otherwise, it’s a straight forward trail all the way up to the base of Castle/ Conundrum.

Probably my favorite pass in Colorado. Great day in the mountains, perfect weather BV and no rain. Barely any traffic after the Montezuma Basin intersection. Only saw 4 SxS machines way down on the CB side.

Open. Small snow patch still on north side right after the pass, but easily traversed with careful tire placement.

Snow still blocking the trail on the Aspen side.

Only drove up slightly past the trail junction with Montezuma Basin trail. Went as far as the the huts just to check them out. After that, the grade and snow made further travel not possible in my stock 2008 Rubicon.

Awesome trail!

Great off camber with amazing views as you dip into CB or Aspen depending on the way your coming from.

Epic trail with diverse scenery and adventures. I highly recommend, and it should be counted among Colorado’s best trails. See also my comments on YouTube (TheGXChronicles). Our video provides fairly comprehensive coverage of scenic zones and obstacles, including one particularly challenging obstacle I haven’t seen in other videos. Stock vehicles will want to note this obstacle.

Just ran Pearl Pass from Aspen to CB. Not that technical and never felt "in danger". Actually ran 90% of the trail in 2 wheel drive. 2014 Rubicon with 2 1/2 inch lift and 35s. Agree only challenging part is a stair step climb between Waypoint 6 and 7. It is usually wet and slippery from the stream. Would obviously be easier to come down this obstacle from CB side. Can be done with 4 low, easier with some lockers (but not required). Slopes to the right into a large rock so take the left uphill line and let the natural right slope and wet rock slide you right as you climb. Obviously would not be an issue going the other way. Other than that basically a smooth ride with occasional 4 high over some slippery spots or larger rock fields. Lots of spots for views, lunch, groups. The "mud bog" on CB side was very wet from recent rains. There are 2 lines - the left line (right line if coming from CB) was very deep and not passible. Actually had to wench out a modified 4 runner who chose poorly (the 4 runner did the whole trail no problem otherwise). The "shallow line" was easily passible. As you get down below tree line on the CB side, the "traffic" gets busier as CB people day trip up the road for sight seeing (on a Friday) - since no longer technical. Lots of pulling over to let people pass. I have been Jeeping Colorado for 10 years and this is now one of my top 3 trails. Almost afraid to write the review because people will now know about the trail and that it not that difficult - I give it a 4/6 with the one obstacle and a 3/6 for the rest of the trip. Probably a 3/6 for the whole trail if going from CB to Aspen. Took 5.5 hours to complete with lots of stops and pictures.

There are some great sections of shelf roads and a tricky section near the switchbacks on the way to the pass from the Aspen side (low def video below). I made it through the deep mud just barely, but I made it. 35 inch mud tires and lockers helped. I wouldn't try it with less.

This trail was awesome. Ran it from CB to Aspen. Not particularly challenging but it was a lot of fun with stellar views. Ran Taylor pass to get back to CB and did not have nearly as much fun.

The trail just opened on 7/13 for this year, so it was thankfully not very busy. I led a group of 7 from North to South. Having never run this trail before, but also having read this review thoroughly, I was caught off guard by the two rocky off camber assents between Waypoints 6 & 7. With the runoff coming down them they were very slick, and quite honestly, dangerous. Choosing your line well with a good spotter, and knowing how and when to use the skinny pedal was critical. Losing traction and sliding off to the low side would have been disastrous. Stock w/o lockers would be even more difficult. Coming down these sections (running South to North) would probably not have been as difficult, but the vast majority of traffic that we did see ran the trail the way we did, so you'd be running against predominant travel. One other thing to note: This guide says room for up to 6 rigs at the pass itself. I would disagree and say 3 at most to retain the ability for others to pass. However, there is an excellent area within sight of the pass just down to the west. It was a great place for us to stop for lunch, and you could have fit a dozen or more rigs there. Beyond those two things I wish I would have known, the trail itself was every bit of amazing. We already can't wait to do it again next year. With little traffic, good weather, and only a few unscheduled stops and slowdowns, it took our group of 7 4.5 hours to complete.

Fun and technical trail. Came up from CB side to Aspen. Took us 7 hours. We took our sweet time with lots of pullovers for sight seeing and spent and hour up top. We saw nobody on the trail with us that day. 3" lift with sliders definitely helped. Stock 4runner would be very hard but doable challenge with the perfect lines.

Beautiful day!

This trails ranks in my top 5 for all of Colorado. Everything about it was amazing, to include the drive to Aspen as the leaves were changing color, all the way up the trail to the peak and down the other side. The complete journey had so many different diverse sections to it, all with unique monumental views. The beginning had scenic switchbacks, then as we reached the peak it opened up to a huge basin that looked like a picture of another planet. Once you hit the summit and work your way down, you're surrounded by a beautiful valley. We camped at the 10,000' point heading into Crested Butte. Definitely a lot more camping as you head into Crested Butte along the river.

Ran the trail from CB to Aspen on Friday. All the snow on the trail is gone and the fall colors are in full swing. I had the place to myself. Definitely one of my favorites of the year. I don't think my stock 4Runner could have done this, but I was fine with a 3" lift.

Drove the Pearl Pass Road on Sunday, September 6, 2020. Had not driven this road since 2016, so it was a treat to get back on 'Ol Pearl with a friend visiting from out of state. Found the road conditions more difficult than years ago (erosion on the CB side has exposed more rock obstacles). We camped on the CB side in the pines and aspens. Great trip!!!

Ran this trail from Crested Butte side towards Aspen. Great camping spots the first couple miles outside crested butte. We drove in a bit and got away from a majority of the crowds. Pass was pretty moderate, only hard section was really between waypoints 6 and 7 where we kissed our trailer hitch with a couple other areas where loose rocks made the incline tricky. Absolutely great views. Was able to snag another spot to camp on the Aspen side the second night but may have been more difficult if you are looking later in the day. I’m in a 2008 Tacoma with 3 inch lift on 35x12.5r17 front and rear locked on 4.88s (didn’t use the lockers at all and 4lo for a tiny section). My buddy had a 2018 Tacoma with 3 inch lift and a rear locker on 34s. Off camber was really the only issue. The mud bog was relatively dry, there is a deeper section that was some fun but is optional.

Great views! awesome trail. Crested butte side has narrower trail due trees and branches so i got a couple of stretches that i cannot escape, but other than that it is beautiful!

Completed Saturday with a Rubicon, No Lift (but slightly bigger tires (285/75/17 so 33"s)- pulling a small expedition trailer. Guide should include pinstriping and mild off camber. There are 2 spots one on each side of the pass that put you off camber. The one on the CB side, is inbetween waypoints 10 and 11. A built rig might take a different line and avoid it, I was avoiding rock issues. The one on the Aspen side is unavoidable as it is along a single track section near treeline about the second switchback above waypoint 6. In stock rig you WILL drag some rocks on both side of the pass, mostly on Aspen side. CB side only had a few spots where I scraped. My Trailer is an ex military jeep trailer with 3 axis hitch. It is LIGHT. I almost did NOT make it up the loose rock section before the shoulder on the CB side. Lost momentum and then was digging in. Aired down further(under 20psi) and turn on lockers and made it up. It was questionable for a bit if I would make it. In other words, yes I made it stock, but weather(wet) or other things might prevent it. If you dont want rock scrapes you better be lifted. I was extremely lucky with where I ran into people going the other way. The shelf road on the CB side you can see most of the way from the shoulder, it was clear when I started, but ran into someone about 1/2 to 2/3 the way up. Luckily I was going uphill and had "right of way" that combined with trailer and I convinced him to back up to the pass. Coming down the aspen side each time I ran into someone we luckily had a spot available. There were placed there was no way I could back up with a trailer. Scenery is excellent. Challenge is rig dependent of course.

This trail has the views. It has everything right now. The flowers are amazing. The rock gardens add a variety of challenges in lines to pick. The streams are phenomenal. The mud is not too bad but adds a little fun. This trail gets very narrow on the Crested Butte side with brush and shrubs. The boulder fields will bounce you around fairly bad but it adds a certain level of fun. I would say a 5-6 is accurate in my opinion.

We ran the entire trail from CB to Aspen, views from the top was amazing, would definitely recommend. The snow drift blocking the trail (see review below) has been shoveled and allows a small path to fit through. There was a Jeep (gen 1 Grand Cherokee?) on street tires halfway gone off the trail near the bottom on the cb side and was a really tight squeeze in my Tacoma and I had to drive a good way into the brush to make it past so full sized trucks beware. Pic doesn’t really do it justice it was definitely tight.

Just did the trail up from the Crested Butte side, turned around at the top and back down the same way. The trail is awesome and on this Tuesday, we didn't see a single other person or vehicle past the Pearl Pass sign down in the Aspens just past Brush Creek.

We made it a quarter mile from the forest boundary line on the Crested Butte side when we were stopped by a small snow drift. I would guess in a week or two it should be passable. Amazing views on this trail, a beautiful alpine lake, numerous hiking and camping spots. It’s worth noting there was a major Miller moth migration happening at the time.

We ran most of Pearl Pass this Saturday from the Crested Butte side in our Toyota Tundra. We stopped about a mile from the pass summit between waypoint 8 and 9 on the way up to take a break and eat lunch. The mudbog was nearly dry on the easy route and the harder mud section still looked to be deep. There are very steep rocky climbs along the shelf road between waypoints 8 and 9 and that's part of the reason we did not continue further. about a mile from the summit there was one particularly steep / very rocky section with a sharp turn (up near the alpine runoff lake under the shale field). I probably would have hit the diff and rear bumper on both the way up and way down in my Tundra, so we chose not to continue further. I had quite a few brush/tree branch scraped on my paint since my vehicle is much wider than most offroad rigs. Lucky for us a group of ATVs we ran into a few times on the trail were on their way down and said the trail was blocked with snow a little further up. Although, I forgot to ask them if they meant the summit was blocked or if it was a part of the Aspen side that was blocked. Nonetheless you still cannot complete the full trail yet. We found a great camp spot on the Crested Butte side off of Brush Creek just before between waypoints 12 and 13. This was a fantastic remote camp spot with amazing views all around. The scenery on so many parts of this trail is simply stunning. Definitely worth your time if you're in the area even if you don't reach the top.

Trail is open on the Crested Butte side to the summit but blocked by snow dropping back down on the Aspen Sied

Avalanche destruction

Pearl Pass will likely not open this year due to significant avalanche debris on the Aspen side. Pitkin county is not likely to help open the road with dozers because of other priorities so the massive amount of debris will take a long time to clear by hand and saw.

Ran the pass from Aspen to CB on 9/6/18. The log+wet shale obstacle between waypoint 6/7 was challenging in my XJ on 33’s. Lockers would be helpful but experienced drivers on the right line can get by with open diffs. Gorgeous view from top, passable mud on CB side was enjoyable after all the rocks up top. It took us 7 hours from Aspen to CB, stopped a few times to let the dogs run and take in views.

Overall...WOW WHAT A TRAIL. I was in a Tacoma with 33's and open diffs. My buddy got his silverado with 33's and open diffs over it just fine. It took us 7 hours, but we spent a good amount of time taking it all in. There is a fairly challenging feature mentioned in another trail review, that IMO, should be a waypoint also. I had my GF take one pic, but it doesn't do it justice. It may have been the hardest obstacle of the whole trail. It is in between waypoints 6-7(last picture of review). You need to hop over a log (12-15" tall), and then gas it up some wet shale. I tried once and slipped, had to reverse, and just goosed it until I got up. No damage taken. This trail has a lot of narrow shelf road segments and passing can be EXTREMELY DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS. Please, go out there with communications and relay information to your crew. Take the opportunity to pull over to let ongoing traffic pass you if you can, regardless of letting uphill have the right of way. We encountered a Rubicon going up as we were coming down, who reversed about 1/4 mile into some gnarly rocks to let us by on the Crested Butte side. I cant thank him enough. The trail is not necessarily difficult, but it is mentally exhausting. It is very much moderately difficult the entire distance. Plan on taking a bit more than 4 hours to soak it all in.

Definitely my favorite trail so far this season. The views are incredible and the varying terrains and difficulties make for a really fun ride. The pass definitely challenged my stock 5th gen 4Runner TRD Pro. Clearance was an issue for me but we made it from Aspen to CB with no issues. There were two places where I needed to make second attempts. Other than that, beat up my factory skids and sliders a bit. There is a notorious obstacle on the pass that I'm surprised isn't a way point on the guide. Everyone on the trail was talking about it. Coming up from the Aspen side, there is an off-camber shelf section of wet shale steps. There was running snow melt down the steps that made them very slick. I do not have any pictures or a mileage marker but it is between way points 6 and 7 of the above guide. We met the Mayor of Pearl Pass during our run and chatted with him for about 30 minutes. Carl is an awesome guy that does a ton of trail maintenance and makes a huge effort to get the Aspen side of the trail open as soon as possible after the winter season. Check out his story at the link below. https://www.aspendailynews.com/pearl-pass-caretaker-fulfills-personal-mission-on-iconic-roadway/article_b6ad7736-40e1-5321-ac45-aa5aecc89fb5.html

We just completed the trail this past weekend and it is completely open. It was an incredible drive and the views and scenery was amazing. There are some large rocks to navigate, but it wasn't too bad. I did it in a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, and it was perfect for the trail. There was a guy that came up in an older Montero , and it made it up just fine. The large rocks gave him some trouble at one time but he made it no problem.

Pearl Pass is open fully. Repairs have been made by the Blue Masa 4wheelers. Today's trip had a fresh dusting of snow. This made the trip enjoyable with a few spots that challenged my '17 JKUR Recon on 37's. This was completely acceptable as nothing was more than could be handled. The colors are amazing this time of year. And quite enjoyable. The water crossing were low and clear. Made them with ease. The CB side was clear of snow by the time I cleared the saddle of the pass. Highly recommend this trip!

A buddy from Pennsylvania (Keystone Cruisers) and his wife visited Crested Butte in mid-August. They hiked the Maroon Bells Trail from Crested Butte to Aspen, where I picked them up for the ride over Pearl Pass. We got a late start, which was compounded by the wet weather, but made the glacial moraine and pass before nightfall. The weather was wet and cold, especially at elevation, but moderated on the south side of the pass as we approached Crested Butte. The trail conditions were as expected--lots of rock, but none too difficult. I did slip off "my line" two times, which wedged a tire or the differential between rocks and required some recovery effort. On one instance, we stacked a few rocks and used the winch to clear the front diff (my truck is open-no lockers). As gloomy as the weather was, there's still no complaining; the pass is beautiful and the road is fun to drive. I hope more buddies from back east come out to visit me in Colorado!

Two weekends in a row we were lucky enough to run this trail, thanks to the Unlimited LJ Adventure. There were 12 Jeeps on this event and Pearl Pass was the first trip of the final day. For it being a weekend, we saw little traffic on the trail and were making very quick time till we reached the mud bog. The bog was a little shallower than it was the weekend before and gave our group no issues. We stopped here for lunch and the remainder of the day took several more hours as we had 3 rigs break after lunch. None of the breaks were a direct cause of this trail. They were all caused by fatigue of mutiple days on the trail beating up our rigs.

According to the locals, the pass was just cleared all the way through the weekend prior. We didn't run into any snow on the trail, but off the trail there was plenty of snow to see. It rained all morning, but by the time we started the trail, the skies had started to clear and it didn't rain on us at all luckily. Water was flowing down the trail in a few areas due to the rain the night before, and the mud bog was pretty watery, but overall the trail was in good shape and we had no issues.