Red Elephant Hill

Ran this trail for the first time this afternoon. Definitely was on the upper end of my vehicle’s capabilities (21 4Runner on 33’s) There were several obstacles where clearance was a concern and picking the correct line was crucial. Definitely need more armor than I currently have if you aren’t running at least 35’s I don’t recommend running this trail backwards due to how tight most of it is. There’s no room to pass in some spots where it is also very difficult to backup safely

I ran this the opposite direction than what is suggested. From top to bottom. Running a 22’ 4Runner with 3 inch lift on 33’’ tires. I would probably not do this trail again with this vehicle. Very tippy at times, large boulders and drops that are unavoidable. I have rock sliders and full skid plates underneath, and they definitely took a beating. I’m new to off-roading this year, so maybe with more experience I would be more comfortable, but I still believe this trail is a little much for my setup. Still, had a great day and enjoyed the experience.

Fun trail. Ran it up from I70 on a TJ on 32’s. It was a little wet which made it a bit more challenging.

Ran this trail with a group. Need the proper rig with the right tires, gearing and clearance. Nice long challenge with MANY rocks and boulders. No views until you get to the top. The trail broke one of our rigs and a second one had some maintenance issues. Come prepared to work on the rigs.

Ran it both ways on a Tacoma with 2.5in lift and 32s aired down to 18psi. Needed to use MTS or locker to get over some steep climbs. Didn't hit the front skids much at all, but the sliders got a good workout. Had one spot where i couldn't clear the rear diff without stacking a few rocks on the way up. It rained on us on the way down, which made controlled decent on some obstacles impossible. Glad I had sliders and full armor. The sliders took a beating. Rear diff clearance wasn't a issue on the way down. Wouldn't care to do this trail again without bigger tires.

Gnarly rock garden, full of washed out ruts, boulders and stumps. If you're not lifted on at least 35s then you'll definitely have some underbelly grindage. I was lifted on 37s and that is probably the ideal setup for half of the trail. But others I was with were on 35s and they struggled. One guy on 33s and no lift turned around halfway up because he was grinding so much, even with spotters. I would say that this not a 6 anymore. More accurate rating would be a 7. I didn't get any pics except the one below, but obviously this is the smooth part.

Hardest trail I’ve completed yet. New Bronco with 35” tires, Sasquatch, full bash plates, front and rear lockers and some additional armor. I abused every square inch under my vehicle. It was rough and rutted - the recent monsoons rains must’ve washed out a lot more. One of our group managed to slide sideways and tear up both passenger doors. Should be listed as more difficult than a six.

This was a great trail with some definite challenging obstacles! Adrenaline and pucker factor a couple times and even received a little assist from some kind people from Bullhide 4X4 in Ft. Collins when I got completely hung up on a rock obstacle. Under 37" tires and you're going to need some finesse and skill. Ran this with 35's and it took both. Yes the 40" tires are great but not everyone runs them! Fun time and great experience of the Empire Loop!

A very nice challenging trail. Great views, primarily running through woods. Our party ran it on a dry day. Manual TJ with LSD rear open front on 33s had the most difficulty, getting stuck and tippy in one spot and needing to winch to get going again. Manual TJ with selectable lockers on 35s found it challenging but drove the whole way. Auto LJ with autolockers front and rear on 35s would not have needed a winch if he'd been smarter handling a downed tree on the trail, power takes about a dozen times on uphill climbs over boulders. LJ exposed a build deficiency on one obstacle, flexed and lost a driver front coil spring, reinstalled later on the trail when it flattened out. Will go again!

Vehicle: Stock 2021 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon We had done several 5/5 trails over the last year and everything has been pretty easy for us since the Gladiator Rubicon has pretty good ground clearance from the factory. Not this one. There were a lot of obstacles where we needed to get down and pick specific lines (totally expected for a 6/10 trail), but with the stock Jeep Gladiator Rubicon there were 3+ instances where the Gladiator would just get high centered on the underbody skid plates and the only way up was stacking rocks. There was one instance where to get over a ledge we had to use our winch. In other words, a stock rubicon (w/o a lift) and with the factory aggressive tires, it's a no go. (We did have the bed fully loaded up for camping, 3 adults, 2 kids and a dog) We sill had a lot of fun, even when it started to snow/soft hail. The non-fun part of the trip was when we were high centered, had been stacking rocks for a while and 4 jeeps came down the hill. As soon as I saw them coming down, for up I motioned for them to stop. They did not stop and came down to within 1.5 car lengths of my front bumper. The lady got out and basically point blank said, before saying anything else, we are going to have you back down to an area where we can pass.... They would not acknowledge that an uphill vehicle has the right of way and basically said it was 4 against 1. They are the only unfriendly people we have come across in 25+ weekends we have been out on the trails in the last year since moving to CO.

Reports coming in from this past weekend that users have broken trail all the way through. The trail is passable, but expect some snow for a week or so.

It gets more ate up each year, it appears. Soft dirt through much of the challenging spots. Unless you're on big tires with a flexy suspension, a rear locker or awesome traction control is a must... unless you stack a ton of rocks.

Had a great time on Red Elephant Hill after the previous evening's rain storm. I agree with Mario's report below, rock sliders and skid plates are a must. We used rear lockers to aid in the uphill climb in the mud over some obstacles.

I made it up the trail up the waypoint 16 I believe. After that there is a fair bit of snow but still passable. Lockers aren’t needed but definitely help! Rock sliders and skid plates are a must.

Only passable up to just beyond waypoint 16. Deep snow drifts there for several hundred yards.

This trail is a hidden gem! Put this on your bucket list if you have not been here. There is a little snow near the top. Won't be passable until spring, after the next big storm.

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 extreme fire danger, the National 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

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

Fun trail, the leaves were yellow during this time so that made it well worth it. I'd recommend rock sliders and/or skid plates if on stock up to a 33" tire on a 3rd gen Tacoma or 5th gen 4Runner.

I took my Cherokee on 31s and a 4.5 inch lift up this trail today. It was a real challenge. I would recommend upvoting the 6 to a 7 or even an 8. Lots of rocks to hook diffs onto and the soil is very soft. Any wheel spin at all and you’ll find yourself in a hole. I rarely have to use my winch but this trail made me pull rope a few times.

What a trail! did it in my 20 tacoma lift, tires,sliders and skids and they were used! doable in my truck but definitely pushes it to its limits(for my comfort). will probably run this again in the future just bring your friend with you. got a little to cocky and tried doing a section without a spotter and just barely went off to the side to far and got stuck and kissed a tree with the right rear side of the body (thank god for sliders or it would have been much worse)

Wow...what a trail! A whole different beast of a trail that I am personally used to. I have done quite a few 6 rated trails in my previous vehicle (Tacoma with open diffs), but I can safely say that I personally would not run this trail without ABSOLUTE MINIMUM 33's, armor (sliders minimum), and at least 1 locker. My JLU Rubicon (not pictured) was fully locked F/R for a good bit of trail between WP 10-18, definitely making good use of skids and sliders. Out of our group, we had a JLU Rubicon, a lifted (and pretty much fully armored besides bumpers) TRD Offroad Tacoma on 33's, and a fully armored/lifted 4th gen 4R on 33s but with open diffs. The 4R needed to use the winch quite a bit and eventually blew up some of the drivetrain trying to bump it (had to turn around shortly after WP 12). This trail is no joke. I would not go alone unless fully built and experienced, and I would personally not take an open diff vehicle up this unless you have a crazy amount of flex and/or a winch.

Fun technical trail right from the start. We missed the 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 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 Mill Creek Loop, exiting onto Bill Moore. Only one spot with impassable snow(on Mill creek loop part), but a bypass is adjacent to it.

Made it to where the Arapaho National Forest line is. The boulders and ruts just to big for my unmodified TJ on 29" baby tires! I filmed going back down hill.

Ran this trail from I-70 side. Trail is good and clear till about a mile past the first camp site at 10,500ish feet. We came across a big snow drift and 3 downed trees. One could be driven over the other two would most likely need cut.

Ran this trail over Labor Day weekend. It was fun, lots of really big rocks to crawl over, can skirt around a lot of them in a Jeep, or go around them like the ATV’s do. Steep and narrow at the top, 20-30° tilts in spots. You can seek out and go over some pretty large rocks on the trail edges for a challenge. My rig isn’t really street legal, so finding a way back to the entrance, where my trailer was parked, was interesting. Came back down the frontage road maxed out at 37 MPH from Empire alright. Challenging for stock or slightly modified, not much for rigs with 100:1 gearing and such.

Ran this trail uphill today. Definitely the way to go. The main steep climb is way more fun this way and I linked up with Bill Moore Lake trail and took that back down. Makes for a nice flow. The dirt was a little wet and very loose. A lot of scattered rocks that made it fun to create different lines. This trail is a basher if you send it. By the way, if you are running 35x13.50s and like to smash rocks at a good speed, and you break off your steering stabilizer...you WILL bend your stock tie rod if you continue to wheel it :)

Ran this trail last weekend with the TrailsOffRoad and RevKit guys. A legit standard for a 6 rated trail. Great views and technical driving. The pictures don't do the trail justice, it is a LOT steeper than it looks, making the obstacles scarier than they really are. Pretty tight in some places for rigs with all the things. A decent build and good hands will get you up. I made it up in my 4th Gen 4Runner w/ 3" lift and 33s no problem. Made real good use of my sliders and skids. Run it with another vehicle and a winch (we didn't have to pull line) and you'll be good. Take the recommendation and please go up this trail, not down. Very few safe places to pass.

Totally dry and in good shape. We had 2 Jeeps on 40's and run it uphill from Lawson. Great time. We connected to Bill Moore Lake and made it all the way to the lake.

This is rated at a 6, but I think it needs to be changed to a 7. I ran it with a fellow TJ that had run it a couple years ago and he said it's much tougher now. There's a couple of rocks that have had the bottom side really dug out. I've ran other 6's this summer, but this one exercised everything I had, lift, lockers, 35's and winch. Careful spotting can get you over, but I got a bit sideways and said the heck with it and grabbed the winch line. Also did Mill Creek and Bill Moore. Great day, great challenges. (Note, this is Red Elephant that I'm rating at a 7, the other two are OK, in my mind.)

Challenging trail with some fun obstacles. As noted by Jimmy the challenging portions which do not have bypasses are very dug out and are very difficult with open diffs. I would recommend 33" tires, sliders, and a rear locker at the minimum

This trail is as demanding as ever. I'd say it has gotten rougher just in the last year. The lower, challenging portions (#10-15) are more dug out, demanding a flexy suspension, lockers and/or really good factory traction control, and excellent driving skills. The pucker factor definitely has gone up. Fun as could be, but be ready to be challenged if you're a smaller rig.

We came down this after doing the Bill Moore and Empire Loop trails. I've got a 17 Taco with 33's and some lift and it was manageable. We definitely flexed out and hit some tippy spots, even came close to flopping onto the side. The rock sliders got a workout too. No damage though, so it was a good time. Definitely was happy to see some pavement again afterwards, but this would be a blast in a more built rig.

I drive a '17 Taco on a 2" lift with 33s and this was a bit challenging. My group included two other lifted 4Runners and we had our fair share of fun, and problems. I got suck pretty bad at obstacle #11/12 but had no issues with obstacle #15 or #18. There was a group of serious Jeep guys that said this is the worst they have seen the trail in a few seasons. There are multiple spots that are very rutted out and make this quite tippy. There was more than once I found myself teetering on two wheels. Regardless, it was a good challenge and a lot of fun!

Just did this run over the weekend and can say it's a pretty tough 6. The steep rocky incline is relentless particularly on a dry day when everything is dusty and ready to give way. The trail edge is a lot of loose rock so there's plenty of pitch in certain parts of the trail so mind your speed. I ran my 2nd gen Taco w/ a BP-51 setup. Anything bigger than this would have had trouble - I've got plenty of pinstripes and a nice big dent (from sliding into a tree) to prove it. Sliders and bash guards are kind of a must if you care about your ride. Bring a spotter and support rig if you have that option.

Agree with the other reviews... the difficulty on this trail should be increased. We had a great time on Red Elephant Hill. However, we spent as much time winching / towing our less capable vehicles over the rocks as we did wheeling. There are a few spots on the rocks where lockers and better-than-stock clearance are almost a must. The trail stays near I-70 most of the way up. You'll even have cell service until you get up closer to Bill Moore Lake. Be prepared to use all your gear on this one. Folks spinning their tires have really dug out the areas around the rocks. We saw a few spots up top that have been used for camping.

Ran all of Red Elephant Hill this afternoon. I can confidently say it is OPEN for the season. There were two very small patches of snow at the very top. I was able to pick a line around them. The trail is in an overall good condition. I had to move 3 dead fall trees off the trail. Which held me up a little bit. Other than that I was able to get through the trail with my Tacoma(33's and locked diffs) by myself pretty easily.

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

I ran Red Elephant Hill to Mill Creek, to Bill Moore Lake with the trailsoffroad.com Meetup group out of Denver. This is a rocky, steep, and narrow road in many segments, so bring your low-range and sliders! Line selection through the tougher spots will save your body panels. I made a mistake in one instance and got some rock rash. Overall, Red Elephant Hill merits the "6" difficulty rating, but the views and access to other trails in the Empire area make it so worthwhile!

I try to run a trail every 4th of July. This year the choice was to run Red Elephant to Bill Moore Lake, then Mill Creek and exit via Bill Moore. We arrived on the trail at about 11:15 PM the sun was shining and the trail was dusty. Red Elephant proved to be a little challenging. I had to use my rear locker multiple times, and had a few very close calls. We made our way up to the lake where there were about 5 other rigs up there. Talked to a few people, ate lunch with our feet in the lake and then headed down to run Mill Creek. This trail was fun, not as challenging as Red Elephant, but overall it seemed to be more narrow than the other trails. Came out the lower end and wrapped back to Bill Moore Lake trail and went down the chutes. Ended the day after airing up at just after 3:30 PM. Made it home in time to catch a concert followed by fireworks.

Ran from south to north as recommended; my first time on it. Ignore the "Dead End" sign at the beginning. Definitely not a trail for beginners or stock rigs. There are a few obstacles which require experience, careful navigation, and a capable vehicle. Very dry conditions, so be ready for the dust. Some mosquitoes, so bring repellant or cover up, if this concerns you. Nice views near the top/end of the trail. Definitely will do again with more time to run Mill Creek. From end-to-end, it took me 1.75 hours which included a couple of stops to look around.

Ran part of this trail on 5-15-17 on my way to Moab, UT. Was dry at the bottom but snowy about halfway up. Completely snowed in right about waypoint 17-18. Turned around and came back. Definitely a more difficult trail for modified vehicles.

It was day 3 of the Mile-Hi Jeep Club's 50th All-4-Fun event and a few of us decided to head out on a night run. Not wanted to roam too far from the camp located in Empire, Red Elephant was the trail of choice for the night. Running trails at night usually makes them more difficult and tends to change your driving style a bit as you tend to run the trail slower than if it was day time. I can honestly say, it doesn't matter if it was light or not out, this trail is a slow go. It's extremely rocky and the climbs are pretty steep. There are also so many narrow passages between trees that you never really get a chance to pick up the speed til you are 80% through. Overall, I felt that the trail on this day was a bit more dug out and/or washed out than the main guide written here. Granted, this could easily change again after the next big rain storm, but this was just on observation I had after running it. The obstacle at waypoint 15 is certainly no joke. The boulders on the left side are very big as you approach them, and they are only made bigger on the other side with the giant holes that have been created from previous users turtling on them and digging their front tires into the dirt. This obstacle will easily pitch you towards the downhill side if it catches any low hanging part of your undercarriage. Use extreme caution as it gets quite tippy here. The rest of the trail was smooth sailing besides the overwhelming amount of blood sucking mosquitoes and other insects. My DEET was all but worthless this night. We followed the trail all the way to waypoint 22 per this guide, and then headed down Bill Moore Lake back to our camp. It took us just under 3 hours to complete our trip. I certainly wouldn't recommend this trail to any stock vehicles or beginning wheelers. I also wouldn't recommend this trail be ran in the snow either because of the many steep climbs and off camber slopes.

Ran this trail on Fathers day and had a blast! Very long steep climb to the top of the trail with tons of different routes over obstacles. Jeep got a little hot but no major issues. Overall a fun trail to run especially with all the different mine sites you can explore. Would recomend this trail to only modified vehicles and mildly experienced drivers. P.S. thats my xj in the way point pics.