Planning a two week trip in a stock 06 runner with 4wd. Looking for some light offroad trails with nice views and secluded camping locations within the Silverthorne/Leadville area. Will only camp 2-3 nights for fun or to get up early and hike.

First location will be Leadville, CO for a few days to hike Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive
Was looking at the Mt. Elbert campground near the trail head for this but wouldn't mind something more secluded and free.

Any good spots between Leadville and Aspen?

Final location I have in mind is halfway up the Chihuahua Gulch Trail near Keystone.

I would love to drive up Mt. Bross but i'm reading a few things online that say this is private and should be avoided.

Will spend two nights in Denver on the way out. Any must hit spots in this area?

Get Trails Offroad & it will guide u to anything u want.
Outta Leadville u could head South take Tincup Pass to Crested Butte & then outta CB take Pearl Pass to Aspen. Eat at Pine Creek Cook house in Ashcroft, 1/4 mile off the dirt after Pearl, u won't be disappointed.

Thanks for the recommendations!

Most of my CO knoweldge of stuff is farther south; but in the Leadville area I like Boreas Pass Rd, fun gravel drive and lots of neat RR history.

If you go to Denver you damn well better go to the Denver Biscuit Company and get a Franklin Sandwich.

A little side trip you could take on the way to Tincup Pass would be Mt. Antero. Highest 4-wheel trail system in the US. It's off the road heading from Hwy. 285 to St. Elmo, which is where Tincup Pass starts from. Great recommendation on eating at the Pine Creek Cookhouse. Fabulous place to eat. Our 4-wheel drive group here in Crested Butte will be going over Pearl as soon as the leaves change color and we'll definitely be eating there.

Jimmy I was just up in CB 2wks ago visiting friends

Tincup is pretty rough but doable. Not bad but I think you would be much happier by driving the road up Mt. Antero (I think it is called Baldwin Gulch or something like that). Fairly easy up to 13,000 ft. (quite a few switchbacks, some probably requiring a backup). Pretty steep but still doable up to 13,700 ft.

I haven't done it, but I think I have read Pearl Pass is pretty technical, may not want to take a stock Runner on that road.

There is a 4x4 road out of Leadville over the Mosquito Range. Mosquito Pass. Doable but VERY rough. Not sure it is worth it.

Silverton, tons of options. My favorite would be Engineer Pass (Silverton to Lake City then return over Cinnamon Pass) followed by Imogene Pass from Telluride to Ouray. Engineer pass is easier from Silverton than from Ouray. Other options would be Ophir Pass and Hurricane Pass.

Yankee Boy Basin is awesome (follows the Imogene Pass Rd. from Ouray the first part), it just dead ends at the Mt. Sneffels trailhead. Easy climb up to the summit if you want to. Here is a pic of my stock 17 4Runner at 12,100 ft. Couldn't make it up to the additional 1/4 mile to the Mt. Sneffels trailhead because of snow. I laughed at a Jeep that through he could outdo me and go up further. He failed.

I wish I could tell you more about camping. I'm usually in a motel unless I am climbing a mountain that requires an approach. There are some great lakes below Engineer and Cinnamon Passes that you could pull off the trail and pitch a tent without any problems.

PM me if you need any more information. Colorado is my second home.

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Next time you're up here track me down. We have a Monday 4-wheel group that goes out each week during the summer/fall months. We hit most of the trails in close proximity to Crested Butte.

Will do! We'll be back next summer again for sure.

If you're hiking Massive/Elbert then you are near some fantastic camp sites on Half Moon Creek Rd. Just keep driving past the Massive/Elbert trailheads and there are spots along the creek and then if you bear right on that trail at the fork and cross the creek, there are some secluded spots that are awesome!

this^^^ was just up there 3 weeks ago. literally camped 100 feet from the mt massive trail head. ok spot. but keep going past it and there is some great spots. check out champion mill and mine further up the trail.


on the other side of leadville is hagerman pass. some really good secluded spots once the road gets a bit rougher

Go to Phantom Canyon. Start in Victor. Drive to Durango Silverton, Ouray. Do any of the trails there. Perhaps take Opher Pass over to Tellurde.
Love SW CO.

Ohhhh can see some of the rides at: Home

Awesome! Thanks everyone. This will make planning a lot easier. I watched some videos on the Pearl Pass area, I will stay away from that. It looks beautiful but too challenging for my skill level.

A couple of notes regarding some of the ideas mentioned above:

- Boreas Pass Road goes out of Breckenridge (on the south end of town), not Leadville. The road to Mosquito Pass out of Leadville is a narrow shelf road. If you look closely, you can see the remains of a rolled black Ford Explorer a few hundred feet down from the upper part.

- The road to Tincup Pass starts on the west end of St. Elmo. The road to St. Elmo goes off of Highway 285, several miles south of Buena Vista (probably 40 miles or so south of Leadville). St. Elmo is a total tourist trap. The road to it is smooth.

- Tincup Pass is 6 miles of 4x4 driving from St. Elmo. Not particularly difficult, but tedious. The roughest part is near the top. Attached is a picture of my old Grand Cherokee on it. Sorry, I don't have a picture with my 4Runner there.

If you go down county road 390 there are some killer spots. But you'll see two signs that tell you the trail head coming up and also say "4 wheel drive"

When you hit the second sign you can go left, up a ton of switchbacks and to some amazing views. DO NOT DRIVE ONTO THE SHELF ROAD IT'S NOT FUN.

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