Colorado is an adventure wonderland with mountain passes packed full of nature, jaw-dropping panoramic views, interesting history combining to make it one of the best places to test your skills and take your vehicle four-wheeling.
To get your mind churning, we’ve picked a few of the tracks we appreciate most.
Slaughterhouse Gulch
You don’t have to be way out in the middle of nowhere to find off-roading. Take an adventure via the Slaughterhouse Gulch trail as a 2 – 3 hour loop from Denver. You can get to this track most of the year as it’s at a lower elevation but you will want a reasonably equipped vehicle. Once you’re off the 285 you’ll enter the Pike National Forest where you’ll find narrow roads and trees right on the roadside. This is one of the easier trails to access it is popular with those in Denver.
Shrine Pass
Shrine Pass is a popular pass that takes you up over 11,000 ft in elevation through Central Colorado. The Sawatch Range trail is narrow and unpaved but in suitable conditions, you can get a 2WD to navigate the pass. The trail is popular in summer and the fall (too much snow in the winter). The fall weather provides an epic color composition as you look out at the wildflower meadows and woodlands. Keep an eye out and try spot the Mount of the Holy Cross in the distant north.
Lizard Head Pass
Taking an adventure through the San Juan Mountains via the Lizard Head Pass will you be able to judge for yourself if the peak named Lizard Head looks like a lizard’s head or not. At 10,200 ft in elevation, this pass used to see the Rio Grande Southern Railroad run through it before it became too risky, but it’s not a difficult track for four wheeling. You may want to take your time and go hiking through the meadows and Aspen forests on the pass.
Switzerland Trail
The Switzerland Trail is close to Boulder and provides an easy four-wheeling route with decent graded roads and a maximum 5% slope. The narrow path is what makes this trail awesome with a spectacular view of the Front Range hills throughout the traverse. The trail is popular with hiking, OHV, motorbikes and mountain bikers, be wary of all the activity.
Wagon Wheel Trail System
With 250 miles of different tracks ranging from beginner to expert levels, the network of trails here will keep you coming back for more. Located near Colorado Springs, there are plenty of places you can stay here to make the most of the weekend and explore as much of the trails as possible.
Colorado is one of the best, if not the best, states for off-road adventures in the USA. Off-roading in your 4WD is, of course, more likely to happen in summer, but with a little bit of planning and weather reading, you can hit some of these tracks up all year round.