Bald Mountain Gulch

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4.7/5 (33 reviews)
Johnson Village, Colorado (Chaffee County)
Last Updated: 09/02/2023

Trail Information

Highlights

Altitude Category Icon Altitude
Camping Category Icon Camping
Forest Category Icon Forest
Overland Category Icon Overland
Sand Category Icon Sand
Wash Category Icon Wash
Bald Mountain Gulch (FS Road 300) is a 4WD road in the Fourmile area of Colorado, southeast of Johnson Village. Bald Mountain Gulch traverses scenic, high elevation terrain in a northeast to southwest track. It provides the 4x4 enthusiast spectacular rock formations and sandy terrain, plus occasional tawny rock-framed views of the Collegiate Peaks. There are numerous 4WD roads in the vicinity, making Fourmile an ideal destination for a weekend of 4x4 trails, camping, hiking, and fishing. Bald Mountain Gulch is recommended to drive in conjunction with Bald Mountain Loop.

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

The northeast segment is generally dirt road with patches of bedrock traversing open meadows and mixed forest. The mid-section transitions to a broad sandy wash and becomes narrower in the southwestern segment. Driving southwest, the final mile departs the wash and traverses caliche hills with a relatively steep descent into the parking lot at the Brown’s Canyon Wilderness Study Area. This road is suitable for stock, high clearance 4WD vehicles.

Trail Reviews

4.7/5 (33)
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Official Crew
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31700
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 08/25/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

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.
Trail Review: Bald Mountain Gulch - Tracy Barker
Trail Review: Bald Mountain Gulch - Tracy Barker
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Open
Rated 4/5
Visited: 07/06/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

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.
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Official Crew
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15450
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 07/01/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

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.
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1700
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 04/10/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

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.
Trail Review: Bald Mountain Gulch - Casey
Trail Review: Bald Mountain Gulch - Casey
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Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 03/19/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

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||!
Trail Review: Bald Mountain Gulch - Garrett Miller
Trail Review: Bald Mountain Gulch - Garrett Miller
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