Maine to CO Road Trip Planning - September

Myself and a buddy @ME OFF Rd will be driving out to CO from Maine in early September. Plan to make it a 2+ week trip. We are still in the planning phase right now, figuring out our exact route across the country, stops, all of that.

At this point we are targeting crossing into the state late afternoon / evening on Monday the 4th. Any good campgrounds / RV parks out that way along I70 that you would recommend crashing at Monday night? Our plan is to limit driving the following day to half a day or less. That will give us time to stock up on food, gas and anything else we need before heading west and getting into some trails for the week.

On that note, I think our rough plan at this point is to start up near Boulder, then work our way into the mountains heading southwest. Keeping to backroads and dirt roads / trails as much as we can. Dispersed camping along the way in our RTTs most of the time. Probably a few campgrounds or KOAs along the way for the sake of laundry and showers.

Open to any and all recommendations you guys can throw at us! Places we should go (or avoid..), things we should see (brewery tours?), trails we should do, BLM lands or parks / forests with good trail networks, all that. We are considering Black Bear pass as well as a few others for a little more technical driving. If time allows I'd like to make it all the way down to the Four Corners as well, never been there.

Targeting to hit the road heading back East on Saturday the 16th.

 

Everything on I70 is pretty populated. Tiger Run in breck is a nicer rv spot with cabins.

you can probably disperse camp at the grasslands on the northeast side of the state.

horsetooth near for colins takes camp ground, might be tent only, no rv/pull through.

 

You should stop and soak in Cottonwood Hot Springs.

 

Million dollar highway into silverton. There is a small campground in silverton that is nice to stay at. Then right up the road start opher pass.

 

That sounds like a must!

 

That looks awesome! Imogene Pass was one of the big passes we had talked about doing. Telluride seems like it would be a fun tourist trap place to walk around for a few hours too.

On that note, what is the typical "tourist season" like out there? We chose the dates we did hoping to avoid the worst of it, though Im sure September is still a popular time.

 

All those passes are amazing. I have done them all multiple times. Telluride is cool to walk around. Even during the height of tourist season it isnt that packed. Just hard to find parking but once you do there are some good breweries and pizza spots etc to stop in. It is allot of fun just to wonder around and relax out of the truck for a bit.

Edit: We usually will take black bear pass in to Telluride then take Imogene out. If it ends up raining be careful on black bear as the rocks will get slick and make it easy to make a fatal mistake. Take your time and enjoy the drive sir.

And another edit: If you find yourself around the area of Northfork lake reservoir. go! It is a little wheeling road you need to do but there is a camp ground up there and dispersed camping aswell. The fishing is crazy good. Can definitely catch dinner for the night and really no one goes up there I have found so you have the lake to yourself with some cool hiking up to the old mine aswell.

 

Good to know! Looking around at maps of the area it seems like we could easily spend a few days exploring just that area alone

 

You can for sure spend a couple days in that area exploring. Have a good time!

 

I'm really interested in those good breweries! ;-)

 

"Tourist season" starts when schools, universities, and colleges get out for the summer and lasts through September.

 

Not sure what your level of experience is wheeling, but last year a number of us where out on Black Bear and it had some decently rutted out sections. A number of us had a high center of gravity (#wedgelife) and were tittering in some places, even with 12's and 14's shocks. Had to slow roll and spot down a few spots, the previous year it wasn't that bad at all. I still think the trail isn't as hard as people make it out to be. Use common sense, use a good spotter and you should have like 3-4ft to the edge of the cliff when you get there.

I'd recommend dropping off I70 and taking some other routes out to the Ouray area. Even taking US HWY 285 would be more scenic than I70. I never did finish this thread, but still has some good info, https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/visiting-colorado-this-is-your-local-information-thread.646537/

 

Beware of the weather, crazy shit can start even towards the end of September.

 

After Labor Day is calms down quite a bit.

 

There’s still people here in Sept but it calms down quite a bit. The weather is usually just about perfect for wheeling/camping or doing anything for that matter. Warm but not hot during the day and cool at night. Telluride is one of the nicest ski resorts towns in the state but tends to be less crowded because of its more remote location.

 

Yeah we both have a decent amount of experience. Though certainly nothing on the East coast compares

Yup. We're hoping for decent weather most of the time like @HighCountryTacoma said but I have seen some crazy storms roll through in Sept when I used to work in Boulder.

 

Might be a little early for fall colors.

Alpine loop (Lake City- Silverton/ Ouray) just has a ton of old abandoned mine/ towns (Animas forks is being restored).
The Ultimate Guide to Driving The Alpine Loop | Lake City - A Peak Experience

Also, another vote for Imogen Pass (either direction). One of my favorite trails. Several side sites worth visiting as well.

If your around for fall colors then north of Ouray you have Owl Creek Pass/ Cimarrons (ie John Wayne Movie site), Silver Jack Reservoir, Dallas Divide. NONE of these are really about Wheeling but views

 

Yeah views are kinda of what we are after. Some wheeling too, but we are from the East Coast. We dont get any mountains or views out here

We will be out there the first ~2 weeks of Sept. I imagine we'll be a bit early for foliage

 

Aspen ridge was a beautiful drive as well. Tons of camping over there but also infested with side by sides

 

Good to know. Are side by side owners as bad out there as they here in New England? I swear its the new mid life crisis-mobile