Colorado Cross Country Trip

[OverlandOzzy1]

My girlfriend and I are planning a trip for next fall/winter to drive cross country from NC to Colorado. WE are looking to spend a small amount of time in Telluride in Colorado but the majority of the trip will be hopefully spent offroad. I want to definitely hit the following trails:
-Black Bear Pass
-Imogene Pass
-Ophir Pass

I am looking for input on otehr trails we should hit as well. I'm attempting to try and form a loop of some sort if possible and be able to hit as many trails as possible.

By this time next year I will have full suspension, 34,s full armor, RTT, for sure. Hoping to have the truck regeared by then but it may not get done in time.

If anyone has any advice at all with making this trip happen please let me know. I may create a Rally Point for this trip once we get exact dates. The total time for the trip is going to be 15 days, leaving us 11 days to explore CO and possibly surrounding states.

Thank you to all in advance!

 

[USStrongman]

There are so many there, it all depends on what type of scenery, if youa re camping the whole time or part time, what difficulty you want to tackle...

IMO, Ophir Pass is a perfect balance of everything. Climb through the forest to alpine tundra and snow line. An excellent shelf and a few switchbacks along with a few water crossings. It has everything to offer for a offroad trip. Start south of Ouray, over Ophir Pass and head to Telluride to Brown Dog Pizza. Trust me, its a must do.

Alpine Loop would be an all day trip with dozens of options. Id run Alpine Loop from Ouray to Lake City, eat, fuel and then either go back through Cinnamon Pass or head down to Silverton via Animas.

Head north of Ouray and go see Moab. Take the Rim Rocker trail 160 miles from Montrose to Moab. Alpine to great vistas to high desert. Nice road, tons of dispersed camping and it puts you into Moab to go discover more there.

 

[Neal A. Tew]

What's your time window? Those trails are usually closed by November.

A great loop IMO would be these trails in order:
Stony Pass
Animas Forks Ghost Town
California Gulch
Hurricane Pass
Corkscrew Pass
Black Bear Pass
Imogene Pass
Mineral Creek / Engineer Pass

 

[OverlandOzzy1]

What's your time window? Those trails are usually closed by November.

A great loop IMO would be these trails in order:
Stony Pass
Animas Forks Ghost Town
California Gulch
Hurricane Pass
Corkscrew Pass
Black Bear Pass
Imogene Pass
Mineral Creek / Engineer Pass

Looking to go sometime in September when the weather starts to cool off. Dont want to be camping in single digits but dont want it to be 85 either. May go 2nd or 3rd week in september. You think we can tackle all those trails in 10-11 days?

 

[OverlandOzzy1]

What's your time window? Those trails are usually closed by November.

A great loop IMO would be these trails in order:
Stony Pass
Animas Forks Ghost Town
California Gulch
Hurricane Pass
Corkscrew Pass
Black Bear Pass
Imogene Pass
Mineral Creek / Engineer Pass

Would there be plenty of spots to camp off all of these trails as we are looking to camp off the trail

 

[Neal A. Tew]

Looking to go sometime in September when the weather starts to cool off. Dont want to be camping in single digits but dont want it to be 85 either. May go 2nd or 3rd week in september. You think we can tackle all those trails in 10-11 days?

Yes. Probably 4 - 5 nights. I've camped on Stony, the end of Corkscrew, and Engineer. I'm sure we could come up with some others.

 

[Graeman]

A couple of things to consider - don't blow through as many trails as possible just to say that you did them. Take your time and enjoy them. The other thing expect to see snow especially at the higher elevations. So be prepared for the worst.