Hey everyone! My wife and I had planned to go to Europe in June but that has gone down the drain. Instead we are looking to do a big loop and are trying to decide if we are trying to do to much(possible), or if what we are thinking is possible. We will have 17 days and our idea is to leave Nashville and head straight to Mount Rushmore. We should be able to get there in 2 days. Our plan is to spend 2 days there and then head down to Estes Park, CO and do the enchanted Rockies trail southbound. This would put us on the trail around 6/10. We would continue down the trail until we either finish or get to a point where we need to head home. Drive home will be 2 days I think based on our ability to do long drives in the past. I know it’s a huge loop but I’m not really sure what’s doable given that the whip idea of the trip is overlanding and driving. Normally I would think it’s way too much driving but I don’t know. Thoughts? Feel free to tell me I’m crazy lol
Mount Rushmore/ enchanted Rockies loop
- Thread starter K&A19taco
- Start date
Following, we are headed to Rushmore and area next year. Looking for ideas to explore.
tell me about this enchanted Rockies trail?
tell me about this enchanted Rockies trail?
It’s a route created by lifestyle overland. It stretches from Estes park CO to queen, NM. You can google it and they also have YouTube videos on it.
Enthusiast III
I would highly suggest checking out Custer State Park and the surrounding area. Beautiful area just south of Rushmore. As far as the timeframe question, I think its doable depending on how much time you want to spend in each area; they will all have their points of interest to check out.
Well our plans are kinda up in the air with all the covid crap. At this point not 100% sure what we will do. I also don’t have a winch so not sure how I feel bout doing the enchanted Rockies by myself as I don’t know anyone who has done it and don’t want to get stuck out by myself.
I wouldn’t let not having a winch hold you up from going. You know your rig and level of comfort, just don’t attempt anything you aren’t sure you can get through (or back out of). Worst case is you end up doing a few out and backs during your road trip. Additionally, having @Lifestyle Overland videos of the route can help you because you know they posted the hardest, most dramatic parts.
Very true. I have been trying to research what is open and when. Gotta say this covid crap is annoying lol
I don't think any part of that trail would need anything more than a dependable rig with 4-low and a little off road experience. The parts I have done are definitely worth your time. Although I am partial to the San Juan area. We are hoping it's possible to do 4 night exploring that region. During the same time frame. I know that the higher elevation trails won't be open, but I want to see the area during the spring run-off. And explore trails I have never done before. If you end up liking Colorado's back country, I would plan a trip around mid July-September and explore some of the high mountain passes. The scenery is incredible. I hope things get opened up soon, My rig needs some exercise. And I need to get away.
So we wouldn’t be able to do the whole trail in June due to the snow still being there? That’s a bummer.. due to how our work schedules align we really only have about two weeks in June every year where we can both escape.
No you should be able to do most of it. I think the trails on the enchanted rockies trail are going to be open when you come out. Just the best trails Colorado has to offer don't open up till the first week of July. The ones I mentioned are mostly easy and offer scenery and history that are very special. Those trails are not part of the enchanted Rockies trail, just would be great if you came out a couple weeks later you could hit some of them also.
Other than my truck and the normal camping stuff any gear we NEED to have to do the trail?
What year is your truck? And is it a TRD pro. Do you have recovery points for the front of your truck? If your rig is reliable (which I'm sure it is) I'm not sure you will need anything else. Some people swear by the little buddy heater but, I bought one years ago and it was worthless above 7,000 feet in elevation. (Kept shuting off). Do you have a tablet for mapping? Or a newer phone? When we did the Saun Juan area. I used old Nook tablet with Back Country navigator loaded on it. I also down loaded FunTreks maps from their Southern Colorado trail book. Down loaded the tiles for the area we were exploring and it worked very well while we were offline. The newer phones with lots of memory can do everthing too. My wife bought me a new Samsung tablet with more memory but I haven't put navigation on it yet. I have a lot to learn about using resources available to me. I'm not very tech savvy.
I bet you have the time of your life if things get back to normal.
You know I watch thier videos several years ago. (Enchanted Rockies trail) Looking at thier route I'm pretty sure most of it will be passable, but don't hold me to that. The southern part of the route are lower elevation (Phantom canyon, mnt Herman Deckers) we run them practically year round. The northern section do seem to be at higher elevation but I think they should be opening up by then too. They opened up a few trails up just south of Estes park. We ran a trail just outside Boulder Co. Hardy any snow on the Switzerland trail.
I bet you have the time of your life if things get back to normal.
You know I watch thier videos several years ago. (Enchanted Rockies trail) Looking at thier route I'm pretty sure most of it will be passable, but don't hold me to that. The southern part of the route are lower elevation (Phantom canyon, mnt Herman Deckers) we run them practically year round. The northern section do seem to be at higher elevation but I think they should be opening up by then too. They opened up a few trails up just south of Estes park. We ran a trail just outside Boulder Co. Hardy any snow on the Switzerland trail.
My truck is a 19 off road with a 3” fox lift and 33” tires. I have full skids and sliders as well as an iPhone I use Gaia on. I don’t have a good front recovery point yet beyond the factory hook. I’d most likely be extremely cautious
Thanks man. Do you think I need to worry about grabbing some maxtraxx or anything like that? I’m also researching good spots along the way to grab food and ice as we will be using a cooler not a fridge. Maybe I’ll run into you out there.
You know I never wanted any recovery board's until just before this whole pandemic thing started. We put together a met-up/trail run. The trail we did has about 15-20 inches of snow throughout the trail. There were several rigs that had recovery board's. I had to winch up a icy slab in one spot. (No lockers yet). Man those boards are worth having. I'm not going to spend the $$$ right now but am considering some by next winter.
Ya, I’ve seen some guys get saved by them. Just don’t know how necessary they’d be. I thought about grabbing some maxtraxx, a shovel and an axe to throw in the truck for the trip. Just to be safe.
I'm planning on spending time down in the Ouray-Telluride-Silverton-Lake city area from the 11th-15th of June. I hope they open things up by then.
But if things change for us. When things get closer maybe we can met some where along your route???
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Advocate I
If you hit Badlands NP, the Sage Creek campground there is kinda neat with bison roaming free - had one rocking the camper as he scratched an itch. We also camped at Horsethief Lake CG (the one in Black Hills Nat Forest ) and also some dispersed sites in the NF - plenty of spots to choose from. The Little Bighorn Battlefield is a sobering stop if you get near there.
I was actually looking at horsethief campground. Sage creek looks like a good option too.
