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.
Trail Difficulty and Assessment
Exclusive for our All-Access Members
Easily identify whether the trail is stock friendly
or not.
View 14 specific concerns along the trail such as
height and width restrictions.
Upgrade from free to our All-Access Membership and get
every detail, waypoint, photo, and more on every single
trail guide.
When you are an All-Access member, our trail guides
come with a short video of the author running the trail
to give you a visual understanding of what to expect.
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.
Had to use 4lo around one of those switchbacks. Punctured a tire on the way out. Awesome views, a little spicier than anticipated for me. Still fun though! View up top is wild.
The road is in generally good condition, with some exposed larger rocks and erosion evident at WP 6 (this remains the most difficult spot on the road). Still a favorite in the BV area for the great views.
Beautiful run up the loop with a cool spring downpour happening between us and the Collegiates. As always, one of the best views the Four Mile area has to offer. The dirt on the downhill side of the rocks at waypoint 6 (in the guide photo) seems to be dug out more than I remember from last year so had to take a little run at them to get the front wheels up and over. Not too bad, but definitely the most challenging part of the loop.
Rainy day. A bit challenging (possibly due to wet tires and rocks) on one switchback, stacked rocks and was good to go. Great views, even with a bit of drizzle!
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!
Fun trail that we ran counterclockwise in 2021 Gladiator Rubicon. The views at the top are worth it! Would have been a great place to camp but it was very windy!
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.
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!
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.
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 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.
Very fun little spur off Bald Mountain Gulch with only one "obstacle" that really provided no challenge (short ledge/drop-off at Waypoint 4). I camped at the top and had beautiful views of the Collegiate Peaks at sunset.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
From the Community
Exclusive for our All-Access Members
Ask the author of a trail guide any questions you may have and
get a direct answer from the author and the community! One of
the many perks that come with an All-Access Membership.
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).
By clicking "ACCEPT", you agree to be the terms and conditions of each
policy linked to above. You also agree to the storing of cookies on
your device to facilitate the operation and functionality of our site,
enhance and customize your user experience, and to analyze how our
site is used.