Colorado Trails

Bald Mountain Loop

4.7/5 (20 reviews)

Johnson Village, Colorado (Chaffee County)

Last Updated: 01/01/2023

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Trail Information

Status

Open

Distance

3.48 mi

Nearest Town

Johnson Village

Management Agency

San Isabel National Forest

District

Salida Ranger District

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Highlights

Bald Mountain Loop (FS Roads 300B and 300B.1) is a spur 4WD road off of Bald Mountain Gulch (FS Road 300) in the Fourmile area of Colorado, southeast of Johnson Village. It provides expansive views of the Arkansas River Basin and Collegiate Peaks. There are many other 4WD roads in the vicinity, so Fourmile is ideal for a weekend excursion of trails, camping, hiking, and fishing. Be sure to include the panoramic Bald Mountain Loop.

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Tracy Barker

Official Crew

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Starting Point

Johnson Village

Direct route: From Johnson Village, travel one-quarter mile east. Take Chaffee County Road 301 heading south. Follow CR 301 and turn left on Chaffee County Road 300 just before intersecting with Highway 285. Follow CR 300 south to its end at the Ruby Mountain Campground, Brown's Canyon National Monument and the Bald Mountain Gulch trailhead. Drive north 2.9 miles on Bald Mountain Gulch to find the trailhead for Bald Mountain Loop. Overland route: Exit Highway 24 to Chaffee County Road 307 approximately 9 miles east of Johnson Village. Proceed one mile and turn onto FS Road 187, Bassam Park Road. Follow Bassam Park Road for another mile to the intersection of FS Road 300, Bald Mountain Gulch. Take Bald Mountain Gulch for approximately 5.5 miles to the Bald Mountain Loop trailhead.

Trail Reviews

4.7/5 (20 reviews)

Marcus Trusty

Official Crew

29500

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 01/01/2023

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

First run of 2023. Watched a snow storm roll in over the Collegiate Peaks.

Trail Review: Bald Mountain Loop - Marcus Trusty

Mark R

100

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 10/03/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Beautiful day, gorgeous views. Some of the switchbacks are pretty tight for a Gladiator, but it just takes a little patience. The rocks at waypoint 6 were a little tricky and appeared to be more exposed/taller than the photo reference photo. Well worth the trip!

Trail Review: Bald Mountain Loop - Mark R

Mike C

800

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 09/11/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Very rocky. Stock wrangler can do it.

Trail Review: Bald Mountain Loop - Mike C

Josh Spring

13200

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 04/30/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Fun trail as always. Definitely recommend counter clockwise as well. Oh, and lots of pin striping today.

Trail Review: Bald Mountain Loop - Josh Spring

Troy

300

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 04/30/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Clear and in good condition. Counterclockwise is definitely the direction to go.

Ian

2300

Status: Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 06/27/2021

Fun loop that’s slightly more difficult than most of the other trails in the area. This trail is pretty tight with the possibility of pinstriping from branches. 3+ point turns needed for larger vehicles on the switchbacks. There were a few bighorn sheep at the top which complimented the views of the mountain range.

Carlo Donzelli

2200

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/05/2021

Fun trail with a couple of easy rocky obstacles. Beware of the road edges that can get very soft especially after the rain. At waypoint 5 I went too wide and sinked my rear driver tire while turning right to go up the switchback. Great views at the top!

Trail Review: Bald Mountain Loop - Carlo Donzelli

Nik Verbeck

Official Crew

1850

Status: Open

Visited: 06/02/2021

Getting to be a little more of a challenge as the years go on with this trail. Over winter there appears to have developed some more deeper washouts and more rocks are getting exposed. Keep an eye out for the outside edges as they are spongy and not stable.

Reba timothy

300

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 05/01/2021

Beautiful trail. Ran it counter clockwise. Definitely not a lot of places to pass but we luckily didn't run into anyone. Spectacular views, all through the trail...i'd run this again. Didn't get many pics of the trail just some video but I'll add a photo from the top with my dogs for reference + one headed back down.

Trail Review: Bald Mountain Loop - Reba timothy

Josh Spring

13200

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 04/25/2021

Trail is open and dry. Had it to myself which was nice because there are very few places to pull over on this trail. The whole trail is a narrow shelf road and passing spots are usually 100 yards spread apart.

Josh Spring

13200

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 10/17/2020

Fun trail with nice views over Buena Vista. All the obstacles are on the east half of the loop. Trail doesnt have many passing spots.

James Snow

2000

Status: Open

Visited: 10/10/2020

I went up this trail just after daylight and by the time I got to the top the sun had just come out. What a gorgeous view. Highly recommend going up if you are in the area. Very fun trail.

Trail Review: Bald Mountain Loop - James Snow

Darryl Johnson

800

Status: Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 06/25/2020

Fun trail with some great views. Running it counter clockwise makes it easier to handle the switchbacks for those who are unsure of their ability on shelf roads. The view from the top was amazing, just can get a little windy. Don't forget to play on flex rock at the top for some good photo ops.

Tracy Barker

Official Crew

28550

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 07/28/2019

One of the best trails in the area for valley and mountain views! I met a Jeep at the top, and while we were chatting a small group from Texas arrived. They were with the All-4-Fun event (Mile Hi Jeep Club) going on this week.

Trail Review: Bald Mountain Loop - Tracy Barker

BrianRD

2200

Status: Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 07/19/2019

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

Trail Review: Bald Mountain Loop - BrianRD

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Neal A. Tew

4900

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 06/29/2019

I led a small group here on both 6/28 and 6/29 as part of the Overland Bound Buena Vista June Jam. We ran counter-clockwise both days so we were uphill in the rocky sections. No real difficulties encountered and no traffic on these days! If you'd like to avoid the rocky switchbacks on the east side, just go up and back down on the west side. That would be a left at the fork on the way up. Excellent views! A great place for lunch on good weather days. After this consider going up nearby Little Cottonwood Creek trail. It makes for a fun ride.

Neal A. Tew

4900

Status: Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 06/04/2019

We did the loop in counter clockwise direction based on previous reviews. Road was dry and we encountered no difficulties. I was in a stock full-size Chevy along with a mild Tacoma and a built JKU. We.reached the top about noon along with some soft hail or graupel. Excellent views!

Ryan Boudreau

Official Crew

88050

Status: Impassable

Rated 4/5

Visited: 03/17/2019

Deep snow covers most of the trail. A few well built UTVs came down and told us they didn't make it very far. We decided not to try it after that.

David

350

Status: Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 08/11/2018

This was actually a good challenging trail. As mentioned it is narrow and has no passing on the east side of the loop. The switchback at Waypoint 6 has eroded and the rocks are quite a bit more exposed. It did require use of my rear locker. Awesome view at the top of the Collegiate Peaks!

Todd

Official Crew

104550

Status: Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 06/04/2017

This trail is a lollipop shape with one out and in that loops. We drove the loop counterclockwise to have the advantage of going uphill on the narrow switchbacks. The trail is mostly loose scree, narrow and no passing on the eastern side of the loop. The view at the top is totally worth the drive.

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Tracy Barker

Mapping Crew - Colorado

Tracy is an outdoor enthusiast originally from north Alabama. His family moved to central Utah when Tracy was a child, and subsequently to southern Utah, where he fell in love with the Rocky Mountains. His favorite activities are family trail rides and camping with small groups. He started many years ago in his dad's F-150 pickup truck, and subsequently his own 4x4 acquisition, a 1975 Ford Bronco (in 1991).

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Bald Mountain Loop

Trail Information

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Highlights

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Trail Reviews

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Tracy Barker

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