Beginner Off-Road Trails
Near Glenwood Springs, Colorado

This is part of the Transfer Trail, which is a rocky dirt road that will connect you to white Owl and Coffee Pot Trails. A high-clearance vehicle is needed due to the size of rocks and ruts. You will see open meadows, aspens, and wildflowers. The route was easily driven with a stock Jeep Rubicon; j...
Learn more about Transfer Trail Connect

Road starts out traveling up the valley of Elk Creek as paved road for 6.5 miles, at that point it turns into Forest Road 603/aka Cinetop Road and is gravel road. At this point road winds up thru Oak Brush, Aspen groves, and Pine Forest up a lot of switch back turns and ends up on the top of the fla...
Learn more about Main Elk Creek

Enjoy this beautiful road high up in the Colorado mountains. Hunters enjoy this area for its vast views and open areas to be able to spot prey. I enjoy it for the amazing scenery, and awesome camp spots. You'll find lakes, and rock formations on this road. There are sections that can get very muddy ...
Learn more about White Owl

This route connects Clinetop Road with Burnt Mountain Road, providing an easier alternative for reaching the latter trail. Along the way, travelers are treated to beautiful views of sweeping mountain meadows as the road weaves in and out of the treeline. While there are no significant obstacles or t...
Learn more about Cattle Guard Road

Clinetop Road is part of the Colorado Flat Tops and is a 7-mile dirt and rock Forest Service road that runs from Main Elk Creek Road to Burnt Mountain Road. The trail offers remarkable views of the Flat Tops, and several outstanding campsites can be found along the trail. The trail surface is mostly...
Learn more about Clinetop Road

This route winds through beautiful wildflower-filled meadows, passes a small pond rich with wildlife activity, and ends at a secluded campsite tucked away from the more heavily used areas. Animal tracks and other signs are common throughout the route, adding to the sense of remoteness and natural be...
Learn more about No Name Spur

Outie is a short single-track trail in the Crown Motorized Trail System that goes through sagebrush and small trees in a low alpine/high desert terrain. It goes through a mix of small trees and grassy meadows. It's mostly smooth and flat, with one easy section of rocks, a couple of dips in and out o...
Learn more about Outie

This route branches off the main Clinetop Road and leads to a secluded campsite tucked among the trees, offering a quieter alternative to the area's more popular camping spots. Along the way, the trail passes through beautiful meadows filled with seasonal wildflowers, adding to the scenic appeal of ...
Learn more about Buttermilk Road

Buckhorn is a fun and easy single track that goes through a mix of sagebrush and scrub oak and small trees near Carbondale, Colorado. It traverses across the sides of a bunch of rolling hills, with lots of big snaking curves that go down the hillsides. It has lots of big wide switchbacks that are gr...
Learn more about Buckhorn

This trail is very rocky and you will find soft red dirt on this trail that will become mud in wet conditions. There are multiple water puddles; some can be deep with no bypass. It is a fun trail with rewarding views at the end. After mile 10, you will find the trail gets a bit more difficult with a...
Learn more about Red Table Road

Buckhorn Traverse starts at the east end of Buckhorn and is a similar trail with many wide switchbacks and fun curves on a series of rolling low alpine hills. There are more switchbacks than on the Buckhorn trail, which makes it slightly more difficult, but they are wide. A couple of them have loose...
Learn more about Buckhorn Traverse

This short single track is mostly a fun, fast, flowy connector from North Fork Cattle Creek Trail to Red Table Mountain Road. This trail is much easier than Lone Pine and North Fork Cattle Creek. It's pretty smooth with only a few roots and not many rocks. There are a couple of really small stream c...
Learn more about Milepost One Trail

Coffee Pot Road is an easy, well-graded gravel route that generally offers smooth travel until the last stretch. As you near the top, the surface becomes rougher with occasional washboard sections. The road includes several blind corners and switchbacks—driving with caution and awareness of oncoming...
Learn more about Coffee Pot Road

This is a 2.7-mile-long easy single track that is a fun and curvy trail through sagebrush and scrub oak. It's mostly flat, with only a couple of sections of small hills with loose rocks. It curves through trees and bushes and goes through a couple of sections where the trees are really tight like a ...
Learn more about North Porcupine Trail

A large parking area at the trailhead can accommodate up to 30 vehicles or trailers. The trail begins with 8–10-inch ruts and is heavily washed out just feet from the entrance. At 0.1 miles, there is a campsite for up to three vehicles with level ground, a fire ring, and valley views. Additional cam...
Learn more about West Elk Ridge South

This route is a gravel road that will lead you into the Flat Top area. It is open seasonally from June to November. It is a fun drive, and you will have the opportunity to see plenty of aspen trees, wildlife, and flowers. Vehicles must be tagged to travel this trail. Drive slow and enjoy the views i...
Learn more about New Castle Road

This is a 1.3-mile-long easy single track that goes along the rim of a mountain the whole way. It's really smooth, with rocks pushed to the side of the trail. There isn't much exposure because it's on a wide shelf but sometimes gets close to the edge. It goes through a low alpine terrain of rolling ...
Learn more about South Porcupine Trail

BLM Road #8324 provides a lengthy adventure around the crown and can act as an extension loop to BLM Road 8230. From this trail, you will see great views of Mt. Sopris, the Elk Range, Carbondale, and Basalt. This road is lightly used, and is overgrown at some points - so watch out for pin striping. ...
Learn more about Over the Crown: BLM Road #8324

The Crown offers sweeping views of the Elk Range, Basalt, and Carbondale. See incredible views of Mount Sopris and Capitol Peak. This trail is generally one car length wide, and can get steep at times, but doesn't get very technical. Be on the lookout for mountain bikers, grazing cattle, horses, and...
Learn more about The Crown: BLM Road #8320

Although this is a relatively short out-and-back route, it offers an outstanding off-road experience and is well worth the drive. The main trail is not overly difficult, though several side routes branch off along the way and feature steeper climbs that may present a greater challenge. The route tra...
Learn more about BLM 8466

Enjoy this beautiful road high up in the Colorado mountains. Hunters enjoy this area for its vast views and open areas to be able to spot prey. I enjoy it for the amazing scenery, and awesome camp spots. You'll find lakes, and rock formations on this road. There are sections that can get very muddy ...
Learn more about White Owl

This route connects Clinetop Road with Burnt Mountain Road, providing an easier alternative for reaching the latter trail. Along the way, travelers are treated to beautiful views of sweeping mountain meadows as the road weaves in and out of the treeline. While there are no significant obstacles or t...
Learn more about Cattle Guard Road

This route winds through beautiful wildflower-filled meadows, passes a small pond rich with wildlife activity, and ends at a secluded campsite tucked away from the more heavily used areas. Animal tracks and other signs are common throughout the route, adding to the sense of remoteness and natural be...
Learn more about No Name Spur

This route branches off the main Clinetop Road and leads to a secluded campsite tucked among the trees, offering a quieter alternative to the area's more popular camping spots. Along the way, the trail passes through beautiful meadows filled with seasonal wildflowers, adding to the scenic appeal of ...
Learn more about Buttermilk Road

This is part of the Transfer Trail, which is a rocky dirt road that will connect you to white Owl and Coffee Pot Trails. A high-clearance vehicle is needed due to the size of rocks and ruts. You will see open meadows, aspens, and wildflowers. The route was easily driven with a stock Jeep Rubicon; j...
Learn more about Transfer Trail Connect

Enjoy this beautiful road high up in the Colorado mountains. Hunters enjoy this area for its vast views and open areas to be able to spot prey. I enjoy it for the amazing scenery, and awesome camp spots. You'll find lakes, and rock formations on this road. There are sections that can get very muddy ...
Learn more about White Owl

This route connects Clinetop Road with Burnt Mountain Road, providing an easier alternative for reaching the latter trail. Along the way, travelers are treated to beautiful views of sweeping mountain meadows as the road weaves in and out of the treeline. While there are no significant obstacles or t...
Learn more about Cattle Guard Road

This route winds through beautiful wildflower-filled meadows, passes a small pond rich with wildlife activity, and ends at a secluded campsite tucked away from the more heavily used areas. Animal tracks and other signs are common throughout the route, adding to the sense of remoteness and natural be...
Learn more about No Name Spur