Coming to visit Colorado

[Slo4x4]

Hello All,

Hoping to get some information from y’all. My family and I are going to Colorado for a family vacation end of May. Coming from South Texas, so it’s a lot of driving. My game plan is to rent a trailer when we get to Colorado Springs area and basically jump from camp site to camp site and just exploring the area. We will have our dog so we want to spend a lot of the time seeing beautiful Colorado and going on some trails.
Here is the kicker. I drive a Gen 1 raptor. So, I wanted to pull from your knowledge for scenic routes that are wide vehicle friendly. If there are any out there lol. We’ll be in Colorado for about 7-8 days, so like I said, pull a camper to a spot, explore the area move on a couple days later to another spot.

Can y’all help a member out?

 

[LoneStar]

Sounds fun! I’m sure there will be more detailed replies but I’ll try to help.
First, what kind of trailer are you renting? If it’s a small, over landing trailer, then that won’t be much of a problem. If it’s a long camper trailer, then you will need to look for dedicated campsites that will accommodate that.
Start at the US forest service website, click on the interactive map and select OHV greater than 50 inch wheelbase. These are the roads and trails suitable for jeeps and trucks. Many of them may be closed for the winter, so pay attention to the yellow highlights and be ready to call the forest service to confirm. 
Zoom into the area that you want to explore and look for the camping symbols. Those will be larger sites that you may have to reserve.  Again, call the forest service to confirm. 
Explore the open trails that branch off from your campground and have fun! 

 

[Slo4x4]

Sounds fun! I’m sure there will be more detailed replies but I’ll try to help.
First, what kind of trailer are you renting? If it’s a small, over landing trailer, then that won’t be much of a problem. If it’s a long camper trailer, then you will need to look for dedicated campsites that will accommodate that.
Start at the US forest service website, click on the interactive map and select OHV greater than 50 inch wheelbase. These are the roads and trails suitable for jeeps and trucks. Many of them may be closed for the winter, so pay attention to the yellow highlights and be ready to call the forest service to confirm. 
Zoom into the area that you want to explore and look for the camping symbols. Those will be larger sites that you may have to reserve.  Again, call the forest service to confirm. 
Explore the open trails that branch off from your campground and have fun! 

Yea the trailer will be like a 20’+, just something comfortable to go back too. This is more or less an exposure trip for the wife to try to sway her to the great outdoors lol. So base camp at a KOA kind of thing and adventures during the day. I’ll check out the forest service website thanks. And yea end of may is a bit early but I think we can still make it fun

 

[zgfiredude]

You'll want to stick to some on the "lower" elevations at that time, as most or all of the "higher" elevations will still be snowed in until mid to late June. So far this winter we have a good snowpack, so if that continues, the upper passes will take a while to clear out. You may also want to watch different regions out here as the different sections of the state can have vastly different amounts of snow. Now is a good time to research, and then just watch how things melt out as time goes by.

 

[ZombieCat]

I visited Colorado for several weeks last June. I highly recommend staying at state park campgrounds on the western side of the state. You can get sites with electric hookups and most have free hot showers (they removed the coin op units last summer). Note that you’ll be required to pay the daily entry fee for each park; calculate the cost of entries - if it’s more than $80, just buy the annual pass. Ridgway SP is a decent location to explore Telluride, Ouray and Silverton. On a side note, if you can grab a site in the Matterhorn Campground just outside of Telluride (Uncompaghre National Forest), it’s awesome! There are numerous roads up in the mountains in that area.
Crawford SP was good for exploring both Curecanto and Black Canyon of the Gunnison. James M. Robb SP (Island Estates) was a nice, scenic stopover for a night. Colorado National Monument a beautiful day ½ day excursion.
Another very fun place was Grand Mesa NF. Off the main highway through the forest, take FS-100 out to Land’s End. From there, you can continue downhill on the switchbacks. Definitely check the status of the road before you go, as it’s unpaved.
It goes without saying that if Trail Ridge Road is open and you’re able to drive through Rocky Mountain NP - DO IT!
Safe travels!

 

[Slo4x4]

I visited Colorado for several weeks last June. I highly recommend staying at state park campgrounds on the western side of the state. You can get sites with electric hookups and most have free hot showers (they removed the coin op units last summer). Note that you’ll be required to pay the daily entry fee for each park; calculate the cost of entries - if it’s more than $80, just buy the annual pass. Ridgway SP is a decent location to explore Telluride, Ouray and Silverton. On a side note, if you can grab a site in the Matterhorn Campground just outside of Telluride (Uncompaghre National Forest), it’s awesome! There are numerous roads up in the mountains in that area.
Crawford SP was good for exploring both Curecanto and Black Canyon of the Gunnison. James M. Robb SP (Island Estates) was a nice, scenic stopover for a night. Colorado National Monument a beautiful day ½ day excursion.
Another very fun place was Grand Mesa NF. Off the main highway through the forest, take FS-100 out to Land’s End. From there, you can continue downhill on the switchbacks. Definitely check the status of the road before you go, as it’s unpaved.
It goes without saying that if Trail Ridge Road is open and you’re able to drive through Rocky Mountain NP - DO IT!
Safe travels!

Awesome! ill look into everything. Thanks for the input!

 

[TheBison]

+1 on what zgfiredude said. We had an organized run in late June of last year and many of the higher passes were still blocked by snow (in this case, Mosquito Pass).

 

[freak4life]

The narrow gauge train from Durango to Silverton.

Cascade Canyon Express - Official Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train

Cascade Canyon Express is over for the 2024 season. Please check back for the 2025 schedule. Cascade Canyon Express Steam Excursions May 24-May 27 & June 3-August 12, 2024 (seven days a week) Cascade Canyon Express steam excursions depart from our Durango Depot (479 Main Avenue) at 9:45am...

www.durangotrain.com

Scenic Round Trip Silverton Train - Official Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train

Scenic Round Trip Silverton Train Book Now! This excursion is over for 2024. Check back soon for 2025 summer season information. Embark on an Incredible Journey Through the San Juan Mountains For a truly unforgettable step back in time, enjoy a leisurely trip to yesteryear riding 3 1/2 hours...

www.durangotrain.com

I like the round trip from Durango to Silverton better.

 

[Slo4x4]

The narrow gauge train from Durango to Silverton.

Cascade Canyon Express - Official Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train

Cascade Canyon Express is over for the 2024 season. Please check back for the 2025 schedule. Cascade Canyon Express Steam Excursions May 24-May 27 & June 3-August 12, 2024 (seven days a week) Cascade Canyon Express steam excursions depart from our Durango Depot (479 Main Avenue) at 9:45am...

www.durangotrain.com

Scenic Round Trip Silverton Train - Official Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train

Scenic Round Trip Silverton Train Book Now! This excursion is over for 2024. Check back soon for 2025 summer season information. Embark on an Incredible Journey Through the San Juan Mountains For a truly unforgettable step back in time, enjoy a leisurely trip to yesteryear riding 3 1/2 hours...

www.durangotrain.com

I like the round trip from Durango to Silverton better.

Thanks, I’ll look into it

 

[JCarter]

Hello All,

Hoping to get some information from y’all. My family and I are going to Colorado for a family vacation end of May. Coming from South Texas, so it’s a lot of driving. My game plan is to rent a trailer when we get to Colorado Springs area and basically jump from camp site to camp site and just exploring the area. We will have our dog so we want to spend a lot of the time seeing beautiful Colorado and going on some trails.
Here is the kicker. I drive a Gen 1 raptor. So, I wanted to pull from your knowledge for scenic routes that are wide vehicle friendly. If there are any out there lol. We’ll be in Colorado for about 7-8 days, so like I said, pull a camper to a spot, explore the area move on a couple days later to another spot.

Can y’all help a member out?

If you have the time on the way up, taking Phantom Canyon Rd up to Cripple Creek and then over to Upper Gold Camp Rd to Old Stage Rd will take you into the West Side of CO Springs. It is a lot more scenery than boring I-25.

Phantom Canyon Road · Phantom Canyon Rd, Penrose, CO 81240

★★★★★ · Scenic spot

www.google.com

Newmark Mine Overlook · Mollie Kathleen Rd, Cripple Creek, CO 80813

★★★★★ · Tourist attraction

goo.gl

38°44'31.2"N 105°04'23.5"W

goo.gl

38°46'35.8"N 104°52'27.3"W

goo.gl

 

[SoCoRuss]

I agree with the above comment on snow. May is a crap shoot time here. Depends on how our spring snows go. We get most of our snow starting now thru April. Most of the snowpack everywhere but The Arkansas River basin is above normal so far. If you want to add in rafting or ziplines along the Arkansas is fun that time of year. You couls stya in Canon City or Salida or Buena Vista. I could give you a long Mountain list like South Park, Creede, Lake city, Taylor park, Marshal pass and Bonanza but all would depend on snow. Me personally in May if I want to stay in CO, I usually go on the west side, say Montose or Grand Junction. From there you may be able to do the rimrocker trail, owl creek pass(should be open then), escalante canyon and other low level but still pretty trails or some of the trails near Ouray till you hit snow line. Rimrocker has a website with info and news. Montrose visitor center has maps you can order. There are plenty of trails around Uncompahgre Plateau that could be open. And if you stay in Grand Junction, you can shoot over to San Rafael Swell in Utah. You wouldn't have any problem there that time of year. May is really a play it by ear and have a backup plan time of year for us in CO. FYI, we can still get real good snowstorms up high then. If you have 7-8 days mix it up try a couple different areas from low to middle high. My grand kids love the Arkansas rafting and ziplines but get a little bored with just mountain scenery. But love the mountains when in our RZR SXS.