Bald Mountain Gulch

The two "more difficult" spots are between WP 14-15 and WP 16-17. Both have exposed rocks/ruts exceeding any other obstacles on this road. A new difficulty rating of "4" is accurate, based on my measurements.

Pretty views of Collegiate Peaks. Excellent trail. Tricky section towards the SW end of the trail as written by others. I noticed broken pieces from vehicles.

I’ve ran this trail either 3 or 4 times and I have to say that I think it deserves a difficulty rating of 4 only because of the area around waypoint 17 (end of the trail guide, or beginning if you start on that side). There is a section or two with pretty exposed rocks that don’t compare to other trails that are rated a 3. Like currently Aspen Ridge is rated a 3 as well and bares nothing in comparison to this one. The other 90% of the trail could be a 2.

Excellent trail, essentially dry. Great views, just be sure to watch for the side-by-sides ripping the place up. Lots of variety on the trail to keep things interesting. As mentioned by another review, there are a few spots towards the end that are significantly more difficult than the rest of the trail. Just look for the skid-plate scratches and pick a different line! I did the trail in a 2020 Ranger. Diff lockers were helpful, but you probably don't need them if you can pick better lines than I did.

Finally found somewhere not buried in snow! A couple icy patches in shady spots, but all in easy-to-manage low lying areas. Surprisingly little mud. A couple bumpy rock crawls at the beginning and some whoops through the forest, but the climb down is *definitely* harder than previous reports. Dirtbikes, razors, and a boatload of snowmelt have left very little dirt at what appeared to be easy obstacles in the past. One large rock showed multiple fresh scrapes (caught my skidplate for a second too!), and I absolutely needed my spotterwife to get down the final steps. Proper tire placement could have avoided the skidplate scratch, but I got a nice adventure-scar on one of my rims 😖 No body damage, I honestly considered myself lucky, but it was *gorgeous* and fun as he||!

Fun little sandy trail with some whoop-de-woos. As other reviewers have mentioned and posted pictures of, after waypoint 14 there are 2 or 3 rock obstacles. It seems like the all the recent rain has washed out more of the dirt, and exposing more of the rock. I did not take any pictures because I was trying to beat the rain in the forecast. Not too difficult if you pick the right lines, but ground clearance and smart choices are definitely needed. No problem in a Stock Tacoma TRD Off-Road. I'd say 98% of the trail, the rating is accurate, but as of today, those couple of obstacles are more like a 4 in difficulty.

This is a great trail, with a lot of sandy ups and downs. Wasn't terribly busy, just a few ATVs the day we were out. The view from the upper campsites was top notch, we opted for the last campsite, right near the end of the trail. Only 2 tricky ledge sections, might be a little tricky for a stock SUV, not bad if you've got a Jeep or anything upgraded a little. Would definitely recommend this one!

Took this trail to waypoint 10 and then turned on little cottonwood creek. Fun and easy to that point.

This trail is in need of updating. There’s a tight rocky section on the west end that needs a waypoint.

Busy day out there with dirt bikes flying around each corner that could easily turn into them being your new hood ornament. Just after the rock wall (pictured below) is a spot that appears more dug out compared to last year. There is now a tight spot with one line through it and you have rocks on each side that want to eat your side wall so watch out.

Went SW to NE, opposite of the video. Agree with review just below that there were some small rock challenges at the start coming out of the campground area that might prohibit non-4WD vehicles. Then coming into the area in about the 3:30 mark in TrailsOffroad video from the other direction, I thought we had gone off trail for a second and it was ending before realizing the trail continued by squeezing by the rock wall there and over a couple or rocks. Beautiful Fall drive and we used it to cut off 285 for a bit on our trek back up North to home.

Wanted a quick trail to see some fall colors. Really pretty views from the top. Smooth trail as others have noted however there are 2 spots that require well placed tires and include large rocks. You are not making it in a Subaru. Did the trail in Ford Raptor which was tight in some spots.

Nothing too difficult with this trail and a few good camping spots throughout.

Pretty trail with awesome spur trails + camping sites. Nothing unnerving about this trail. Did it in a xterra with 32s and a 2"lift. Found a cool swing along the drive.

I’ve previously driven the east side to Bald Mountain. Today I drove the whole trail for the first time and was surprised by the rocks around waypoints 16 and 17. They are definitely a “gatekeeper” on that end of the trail, and are a stark contrast to the rest of the trail which is mostly smooth dirt. There is one rock ledge you have to go over that’s at an angle and also on a tight turn because of a much larger boulder on the side. Although I didn’t measure, the rock ledge is probably 1.5’ tall.

Super easy trail that you don't even need to air down for (I did anyway). The views along this trail can be incredible and there are quite a few awesome camp sites that I'll definitely be returning to.

Easy and smooth road. Had a good time on the SxS and enjoyed going over the bumps and whipping around corners. A much needed break from the rougher roads I've driven recently. There are also some 50" trails in the area, although in typical Forest Service fashion, some of the 50" gates are clearly 49" or less and people have started driving around them.

Beautiful and fun trail. I got there well before it got light and did some dark wheeling. Ran the whole trail from north to south. Not very many people out there, especially early in the morning. Camping spots everywhere. I would run this one again for sure. The colors are still bright on the trees since the elevation is a little lower.

Ran/camped at bald mtn gulch at the lookout spots that split to the left/right of the trail and had a great time. directions provided were spot on, clear, easy to follow, and the photos were an accurate depiction of the trail. Thanks!

Simple fun trail to just get out and enjoy wheeling . Altitude is less than 10’000 feet so it’s good and warm this time of year . Midway thru it’s sandy wash and fun rollers . The exit going from north to south is steep and rocky but no issues even with a stock build .

Ran from Hwy 24 south to Brown's Canyon Rec area. The tree hazard is gone so no worries there. There is one slightly sketchy (narrow) part, (but I'm overly cautious too) but it really isn't all that bad. Overall the road is in very good condition for this time of year. We had a fun run and only saw a couple of SxS's and 4 ATVs. Lots of spots for dispersed camping. The soft sand in places will tend to pull you all over so be aware of that.

One of my favorite trails in the Buena Vista area. Bald Mountain Gulch is in good shape. There were several groups of trucks, motorcycles, and ATV/Side-by-sides using the trail today. I saw three different groups camping.

Ran this from the south end with a couple Tacoma's and a group of Tundra's (one being a DC longbed). All were lifted and didn't have any issues. Trail was really easy after that first rocky pass.

I enjoyed this trail, great scenery, moderately challenging in spots

I led a small group from Overland Bound Buena Vista June Jam accessing Bald Mountain Loop from the north side on 6/28 and then a new group from the south end on 6/29. Much of the trail follows a sandy wash. The rock features near the south end I suspect serve a good gatekeeper function. We had one truck follow us in up to the first little rocky spot to discontinue after that. Most of the trail is doable in 2wd, but use 4wd to be safe on the rock features. The parking at the south end on a summer weekend was crowded. The parking area at the north end was pretty vacant.

Traveled this a few times the last couple days. No problem in stock full size. Mostly doable in 2WD, but I kept it in 4-lo just for gearing. Road was in good condition with a few cattle supporting us.

Snowy but passable for most rigs. Really nice and warm weather this weekend started melting a bunch of the snow and made sections down to dirt really muddy.

Updated links, added photos and camping suggestions at waypoints. Bald Mountain Gulch combined with the Loop is a favorite in this area southeast of Buena Vista.

We did a small portion of this trail after coming down 185D. We camped on the ridge and beautiful weather which was perfect for a night of camping.

Because of the weather, most of the off-road trails along the front range are closed. There are a number of trails in the Buena Vista area are currently open. When the trailsoffroad.com crew had a Meetup gathering in Buena Vista, I decided to take advantage of the trail availability in the area. Bald Mountain Gulch was in great shape. Because there has been very little snow in the immediate area, the trail was mostly dry.

On our way to Buena Vista we decided to get off pavement and onto some dirt. This is a super easy road that I have yet to drive on a clear day. Even on an overcast day the views of the Collegiate Peaks are amazing!

Drove the Bald Mountain Gulch Road (FS Road 300) late in June to update the original status from the prior summer. This is a really fun trail either direction, and the Bald Mountain Loop was extraordinary. There's lots of sites along this route for primitive camping--my favorites are near the northeastern trailhead and then the "camping ridge". Little traffic observed this weekend, mostly quads/ATVs and UTVs.

I wanted to do a trail not to far from Denver, and in an area that wasn’t effected by the Front Range’s bad weather system that was happening. Being a fairly gentle trail I felt comfortable doing this if it snowed or rained where I wouldn’t risk sliding into trouble. This trail allows you a little more off-road action if you are planning on doing Bald Mountain Loop or Chinaman Gulch. Bald Mountain Gulch connects you directly to Bald Mountain Loop, as well as Bassam Park Road, and 185D, which is a spur off the Black Dumps trail. By taking this trail you cut off a good ten miles of 285, the main paved road in the area. If you take this trail from East to West you arrive just south of Johnson Corners, where you can be at the Chinaman Gulch or Carnage Canyon trailhead within 5 minutes. I found the trail to be more stoic and aesthetically pleasing running it from East to West where I had great views of the Collegiate Peak. As you arrive at the high point of the trail at 9,400’ you get a great view looking down at farmland and the Collegiate Peaks. From there you wind down through woods of conifers, aspens and other hardwoods. Towards the end you get to go through some really interesting rock formations that the trail winds through. At the western end you travel down the steepest part where the views are even better and finally end up at the trailhead which is also shared parking for the popular Browns Canyon hike.