CO: Yankee Hill-Central City to St. Mary's

I've been part of the way up the west side of this road once before, but I decided it was time to tackle the whole thing. I've heard a couple different stories and bits of advice about this road, but I will definitely say that was some of the most technical wheeling I've done in a very long time. Definitely puckered me a couple times..


The road started out simple enough, definitely not a good indication of what lie ahead.



Things definitely picked up quick though...




The scenery was everything you'd expect for the high Rockies.





Stumbled across this giant quartz outcropping near the top. There was evidence of gold mining here, I wonder if they got it all..?



Finally made it to my side of the mountain!





Overall this was a fantastic trip that definitely tested my comfort limits while proving that my Taco is a capable off-roading beast! I did get my first battle scars though.


Gotta love those Colorado pinstripes! Oh well, I bought the truck to use and enjoy so I fully expect it to get some dings.

 

this looks like an awesome little adventure. My truck is finally ready for adventuring, so i can be lazy and not look any of this up, where did you go to get on this trail? How long was the overall journey? Was their spots to camp along the way? I am denver, so i am just drumming up trail ideas.

 

The east side is accessed from Central City. I took the CC Parkway to the Nevadaville turn off, then turned on Bald Mountain Rd. You can also start from the St. Mary's side via Mine Rd off Fall River Rd. There are several dispersed campsites along the trail, but Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties are both in Stage 2 fire restrictions so no fires. In fact, I'm not even sure you're allowed to off-road during stage 2 so you may want to look into that.