Arkansan Looking for CO trails

I'd like to plan a Colorado overland trip some time in the near future with my family. Anybody have any suggestions for trails to do/things not to miss out on? I'd like to plan on camping the whole time with RTT trailer in tow. Not looking at anything so technical that I couldn't take the trailer and where I would be safe going alone with appropriate recovery gear.

2017 Tacoma TRDOR MT
Current set up is BFG KO2s, 2nd gen Pro suspension, on board air - other than that, not much in the way of mods to help out on the trail. Not looking to spend on bumper/winch, but what recovery gear would be essential for travelling alone (one vehicle)?

Looking into something like the Continental Divide Trail.

 

What month are you planning on making the trip?

 

Haven't planned a time of year yet. Could make it work any time. I'm a warm weather guy, though.

 

Ok. Realistically probably late June - August for the higher mountain trails.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/trail-etiquette.435698/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/visiting-colorado-this-is-your-local-information-thread.646537/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/colorado-trip-reports.250254/page-240

 

Yeah, any areas in particular I shouldn't miss out on?

Thanks. This helps get me started.

 

Depending on what you mean by "technical", you could try Alpine Loop. Taking a trailer along will probably limit you unless you intend to drop it some place and hit the trails for the day.

 

This book is a good resource that can give you a general idea of level of difficulty of trails out here and provides you with information on points that may be more technical and can help you get a better general idea of what trails you want to ride while you're out here. It gives you enough info to kinda know what you're in for without totally blowing the surprises. Trails change year to year, month to month, day to day so don't take it as gospel. Southwestern Colorado seems to be the mecca for off road driving. Durango, Telluride, Silverton, Ouray area. I've never been but everybody raves about Telluride, so although you said you would like to camp the whole time I'd at least take a day to check that out. People in Colorado tend to be kinda tight lipped regarding there favorite spots to Camp, Four Wheel, Ski, ect. cause we're kinda getting over run over by people at the moment but hopefully people on here will give you some good insight. You can also look check out Traildamage.com and Alltrails.com I'd say mid July-Sept even early October is the best time for off road driving in our state. Sept-Oct are less busy. Good luck planning your trip!

https://funtreks.com/products/

 

Keep these people in mind if you get into trouble: https://co4x4rnr.clubexpress.com/

 

Another page https://traildamage.com/

 

Thanks for all the help, guys. This gives me a great starting point. I think my main concern at this point is just safety/feasibility for my rig to be capable with my family on board without another rig.

Never been to CO, so looking for the “ultimate” experience since this will probably be my only chance to experience it for a while.

I really like all you suggestions about the tread lightly principle. Closure is not management, but that decision is not in our hands.

 

More resources: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/ https://www.alltrails.com/ https://trails.colorado.gov/

The best recovery gear to have is a good pair of footwear (to walk ahead when things look questionable), and an honest understanding of your equipment's capability and the comfort level of the humans who are along... so that you can best determine when it is time to turn around or go with an alternate plan. Beyond that, there are piles of lists out there of what to carry... just search the 'net. The most common problem I've witnessed on the trails is cooling-related. Having some type of sealing material (both a tape [which reminds me I need to get some for myself; only had duct with me the last time someone needed a repair, but it worked] and a liquid [like silicone sealant]) and fluid (in a pinch, just carry a ton of drinking water [which is a must at altitude; drink plenty!] or a large container of water [for dousing a campfire when you're done; we've seen too many wildfires here in the past few years], and use that water to top off a system to get you off the mountain, since the system should be flushed as part of a repair anyways.

Continental Divide Trail is mostly a hiking trail. According to COTREX, only a little over 80 miles of the 740 overall miles allows highway vehicles, and a portion of that is subject to seasonal closures. I didn't see you mention wanting to hike, so I wanted to highlight that only some of it is drive-able.

I think the Great Sand Dunes falls into the "do not miss" category. While you're here, take the time to do a mine tour (plenty of them out there to choose from: https://www.colorado.com/colorado-mine-tours All the ones I thought of are listed there) and visit a hot springs (they vary in style from mom-n-pop places to full-on resorts, so pick your poison). The wildflower season peak is June to August, which makes things even prettier. We're getting a decent amount of snow this season, so the higher passes may not be open till late June at the earliest (which was mentioned)... and there were a couple that never open last year, but it was a crazy amount of snow.

If you want to conquer a 14er in a vehicle, there's only a couple to choose from (I think): Pike's Peak and Mount Evans, and both are popular and (mostly) paved. If hiking, then you have plenty to choose from.

Altitude sickness is a thing, so keep an eye on the fam.

 

I've run many trails in my area mostly stock and often times solo (Slider's, 255 85 16's). As mentioned above just make sure to have a few days of food and water on hand. Good shoes/hiking boots and a hiking backpack just in case you have some sort of problem and have to hike out to get help. Most of the moderate trails in Colorado are fairly well trafficked so chances are if you get stuck or break something somebody will come by to help out but obviously don't count on that.

 

When I first moved out here, I really enjoyed the red feather area. Lots of easier trails mixed with unpaved roads. Stock tacomas do fine and you can pick your way around pretty easy. Funtreks and trailsoffroad are both great resources. I do like having a hard book for when GPS/Cell service craps out in the mountains.

 

If you're thinking about the CDT, early August would be the best time for everything to be snow free & dry. CO is currently at 122% of annual snowfall. We're having the 12th snowiest Feb since records started in the 1860s. With March & April being our snowiest months, I doubt everything will open up on schedule July 1st.

 

What time does the snow start falling again in the fall/winter? Would October be worth it to try out? Or any time around there?

 

I know you said you don't want to get a bumper and winch however, would you consider a front hitch and then doing a detachable winch? You could carry the winch in the trailer when you know absolutely you would not use it and then put it on for the trails as a safety precaution. A small investment goes a long way especially if your are going to be solo. I've put myself in some hairy places but only had to use my winch once (knock on wood) when I got stuck on a rather flat road that was very muddy and I slid in to the ditch.
Have fun! Go hawgs aaaaaand WPS!

 

I live in Salida, 25 minutes from the Continental Divide, Monarch Pass. I have seen snow/graupel/hail/snow, etc fall above treeline in May, June, July, August, September.

 

I’m not opposed to a front bumper/winch set up. Just not really planned for right now. I’ll look into it, though.
Hell yeah, WPS! High hopes for football this year. Happy about our coach and what he’s done to salvage recruiting. At least we’re dominant in baseball.

 

Generally speaking, in the high country 9000'+, summer is only from mid-July to mid-Sept. The CDT will be even shorter possibly late July to early Sept.

I saw on the Denver news tonight that my info about this month is only correct down here on the 5000'-6000' front range corridor from the WY border to the Palmer divide between Denver & Co.Sprgs. Breckenridge in Summit County at 9600' is having the snowiest February ever. So far this month they have had 120" of snow & 318" for the season to date. Here is how North Central CO looked like the 1st day of summer last year. A good portion of back country 4x4 & some Class 6 jeep trails opened up a month late & closed early in 2019. It's starting to look like this year may be the same.