Scenic/Cool mountain "jeep" trail/roads near Pueblo, CO

[Dirt Roamer]

Anyone know of any easy Scenic/Cool mountain "jeep" trails/roads near Pueblo, CO. Plan on visiting soon and would like to take my kids, who have never seen the mountains before, on a fairly easy jeep trail in the mountains.

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[Etoimos]

Near Pueblo, not a whole lot I'm afraid. Defiantly not anything that you could call mountainous. How far are you willing to travel to get to a trail? Medano Pass is about 1.5 hours from downtown Pueblo and is a neat trail. No epic mountain views, but it does have the unique benefit of dropping out on the backside of the Great Sand Dunes N.P. The kids can play in the dunes and the creek right there. then you can either take the trail back out or take the longer way around on pavement. That would make for a really great day trip.

If you want true mountain views, you are going to have to travel further to get to them.

 

[Fortis Overland]

@Dirt Roamer Check out the FunTreks website below. I use them for my trail research in the area. If you're okay with driving a little further, take a look at Medano Pass, which will lead you to the Great Sand Dunes

https://funtreks.com/?s&post_type=trail&location=colorado&rating=&vehicle_type=

 

[Fortis Overland]

Near Pueblo, not a whole lot I'm afraid. Defiantly not anything that you could call mountainous. How far are you willing to travel to get to a trail? Medano Pass is about 1.5 hours from downtown Pueblo and is a neat trail. No epic mountain views, but it does have the unique benefit of dropping out on the backside of the Great Sand Dunes N.P. The kids can play in the dunes and the creek right there. then you can either take the trail back out or take the longer way around on pavement. That would make for a really great day trip.

If you want true mountain views, you are going to have to travel further to get to them.

@Etoimos Great minds think alike!

 

[Etoimos]

If you can stretch the drive to the tail head to around 2-2.5 hours, there are quite a few options for mountain view trails in the Salida area. I've not ran these personally, but two that I think would really fit your needs would be:

Billings Lake

At approximately six miles from the turn-off from highway 50, look for a gorge just off the trail to the left. There's just room for three or four vehicles to pull off to the left or otherwise park beside the trail. Walk over to the edge of the gorge to view a waterfall and the bottom of the gorge about 70 feet below you. This is an excellent spot for lunch or just to rest and view the scenery.

Aspen Ridge

This amazing trail has a bit of everything, but if you're lucky you'll see it in the fall when the aspen leaves turn from green to yellow. It's called Aspen Ridge for a reason, and the many, many aspen groves feature miles of healthy aspen trees. In addition, you'll see big mountain views, an old ghost town, remnants of mining operations, a big quarry, and a few rocky sections on the trail. It's a great way to connect Johnson Village with Salida while skipping the pavement.

 

[Dirt Roamer]

Thank you @Etoimos and @Fortis Overland.
I did plan on going up to Colorado Springs and Great Sand Dunes.

 

[Boort]

@Dirt Roamer

@Dirt Roamer Check out the FunTreks website below. I use them for my trail research in the area. If you're okay with driving a little further, take a look at Medano Pass, which will lead you to the Great Sand Dunes
https://funtreks.com/?s&post_type=trail&location=colorado&rating=&vehicle_type=

I'll second the Funtreks guys. The Colorado Back Roads book they publish is where I looked up the proper name of the Shelf Road and Phantom Canyon ride I mentioned yesterday on your other thread.

@Fortis Overland
I'd forgotten all about Medano Pass. Was planning a trip down there couple of years ago but plans changed and never made it. What is the best time of year to run it? Any good colors in Late Fall?

Boort

 

[Etoimos]

@Fortis Overland
I'd forgotten all about Medano Pass. Was planning a trip down there couple of years ago but plans changed and never made it. What is the best time of year to run it? Any good colors in Late Fall?

Boort

It is okay for fall colors, but there are a lot better trails for that. If you are in that area, Hermit Rd is pretty good for fall colors and is full size friendly. I air down just for comfort, but you don't need to for traction. There are some pretty nice small mountain lakes just off that road as well.

 

[Fortis Overland]

@Dirt Roamer


I'll second the Funtreks guys. The Colorado Back Roads book they publish is where I looked up the proper name of the Shelf Road and Phantom Canyon ride I mentioned yesterday on your other thread.

@Fortis Overland
I'd forgotten all about Medano Pass. Was planning a trip down there couple of years ago but plans changed and never made it. What is the best time of year to run it? Any good colors in Late Fall?

Boort

I actually have yet to do it, but it's been something that we talk about every year. I'm in the process of lifting my truck currently, but I think after that's complete we'll try to make a trip out of it. Maybe worthy of another OB meetup?

 

[Boort]

@Etoimos

It is okay for fall colors, but there are a lot better trails for that. If you are in that area, Hermit Rd is pretty good for fall colors and is full size friendly. I air down just for comfort, but you don't need to for traction. There are some pretty nice small mountain lakes just off that road as well.

Cool, Never taken that road out of Westcliffe. I'll keep it in mind next time I'm in that part of the state! Thanks.

Boort

 

[Fortis Overland]

Thank you @Etoimos and @Fortis Overland.
I did plan on going up to Colorado Springs and Great Sand Dunes.

If you're in the COS area, our go-to trail is Mt. Baldy. It'll show up as a green trail on the FunTreks site. That'll take you through some switchbacks and eventually lead you to a stop point where you can hike to the peak. I've yet to hike it, but it's a popular trail. There's also plenty of trails in the Woodland Park area.

Also, if you're looking for a scenic and longer drive, go on Rampart Range (easy), starting in Garden of the Gods. That will give you awesome views of Garden of the Gods and COS, while giving you direct views at Pikes Peak. If you follow the trail the entire way, you'll empty out in Sedalia, CO, which also allows for even more views, or you can head east and get back onto the interstate. We usually will drive 1/4 to 1/2 of the way, cook up some lunch, then finish. Rampart Reservoir, along the way, is a good stop for the kids and a picnic.

 

[Boort]

I actually have yet to do it, but it's been something that we talk about every year. I'm in the process of lifting my truck currently, but I think after that's complete we'll try to make a trip out of it. Maybe worthy of another OB meetup?

@Fortis Overland
Funny you say that your currently in the process of lifting your truck. I drove down from Grand Lake to drop my 4Runner off at Slee for a new suspension yesterday. Should be done for this weekend's trip to Utah. I'm down for a get together if I can fit it into my work schedule.

Boort

 

[Dirt Roamer]

@Etoimos


Cool, Never taken that road out of Westcliffe. I'll keep it in mind next time I'm in that part of the state! Thanks.

Boort

How rough is Medano Pass?

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[Etoimos]

How rough is Medano Pass?

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Not rough at all. There is one rocky-ish section towards the start, but it is larger slick rock style... no real boulders or anything like that. There are a few "creek" crossings that might amount to puddles this year.

 

[Dirt Roamer]

We did Medano pass trail today. I thought it was pretty awesome! Google had me going through the gate of a private ranch called Wolf Springs or something like that. We turned around and followed the sign to Medano just down the road. One of the water crossings was actually pretty deep. It was the first one we came to. The sandy part towards the dunes was fun, deep at spots. Signs read to air down to 10-15psi. I read gas pedal down. Managed pretty well with some Goodyear AT's!

Looks like some neat places to camp.

Thanks for the suggestions!

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[JDGreens]

There is a pretty cool thing to see near Pueblo. Not a trail but very unique. Its Bishops castle I don't know how old yout kids are and you need to be very careful exploring the castle as you could fall but it's pretty cool. If you're interested google it. It's near Rye Colorado