Beginner Off-Road Trails
Near Vail, Colorado

Muddy Pass & Piney Guard Station is an exceptional scenic drive for beginner offroaders, families, and seasoned explorers looking for an accessible route with stunning alpine vistas and abundant dispersed camping opportunities near Vail and Wolcott. Stretching approximately 30 miles across the spect...
Learn more about Muddy Pass & Piney Guard Station

This historic trail is a hard packed dirt trail, plentiful with small boulders, mud holes and washboard surfaces. The trail is wide enough for vehicles to pass and offers many camp sites along the route ending at Piney River Ranch. The route is typically open June 21 til November 22, check with Wh...
Learn more about South Fork Piney - FS 701

This is an out-and-back trail that is mainly used to access hiking trails. Fall Creek, Mount of Tthe Holy Cross, and Cross Creek Trailhead are all accessible via this dirt road. A good portion of the trail is lined with aspens. There are multiple dispersed camping spots throughout and a designated f...
Learn more about Tigiwon Road

This route follows a wide, well-maintained dirt and gravel road through dense high-elevation forest. The surface is predominantly hard-packed dirt with stretches of fine gravel and only occasional small embedded or loose rocks. The road remains wide enough for vehicles to comfortably pass through mo...
Learn more about Lime Creek Road

Shrine Pass is an easy, scenic 11.2-mile backcountry road connecting Vail Pass on I-70 to the historic town of Red Cliff. Climbing from 8,651 feet to 11,171 feet, this well-traveled, unpaved route offers stunning views of the Gore and Sawatch Ranges. The trail is suitable for most high-clearance 4WD...
Learn more about Shrine Pass

This trail climbs through the hills before connecting with Berry Creek Road. The route is mostly one vehicle wide with very limited, and in some areas no, room to pass another vehicle. The surface consists primarily of dry dirt with scattered loose and embedded rocks, shallow ruts, dips, whoops, and...
Learn more about Dead Buck Reservoir Road

This route travels through a mix of open mountain meadows and dense evergreen forest, with the trail narrowing to a single-vehicle-wide dirt two-track for most of the route. The surface is primarily packed dirt with areas of loose and embedded rocks, shallow ruts, and erosion. Several sections show ...
Learn more about Moniger Road

Berry Creek is a through route that traverses the ridgelines north of Edwards and connects Power Road to Dead Buck Reservior Road. The trail consists primarily of dirt and transitions between wider graded sections and narrower two-track. The surface is generally smooth but includes scattered loose a...
Learn more about Berry Creek Road

Homestake Road is a wide, well-maintained dirt and gravel route traveling through the mountain valley southwest of Red Cliff. The road follows a mostly smooth, hard-packed surface through dense pine and aspen forests, open meadows, and alongside rocky hillsides with views of the surrounding mountain...
Learn more about Homestake Road

This is a through route connecting Tames Creek Road to Power Road. The trail is primarily a narrow dirt two-track with sections of loose rock, shallow ruts, and occasional embedded rocks. Much of the route travels across open hillsides covered in grasses, sagebrush, and low-growing vegetation, provi...
Learn more about Beard Creek Road

This out-and-back route branches from Ptarmigan Pass and follows a mostly mild dirt road through the White River National Forest. The surface varies from relatively smooth, hard-packed dirt to rougher sections with loose and embedded rocks, along with occasional whoops, dips, and potholes. A steep g...
Learn more about Ptarmigan Road

This route travels through a mix of open mountain meadows and dense stands of pine and aspen before reaching the Piney Guard Station. The trail surface varies between packed dirt, loose rock, and softer sandy sections, with some embedded rocks and shallow ruts along the way. Several areas can hold w...
Learn more about Piney Road

This route travels through open, rolling hills covered primarily in sagebrush, grasses, and other low-growing vegetation, with very few trees along most of the trail. The surface varies between packed dirt, loose rock, and a narrower two-track with shallow ruts and uneven sections. Some portions are...
Learn more about Power Road

East Fork Eagle River travels from the historic Camp Hale area into the mountains through a landscape that changes considerably along the way. Near Camp Hale, the route is a wide and maintained gravel road surrounded by open meadows, sagebrush, low vegetation, and views across the broad valley. As y...
Learn more about East Fork Eagle River

This is an out-and-back route traveling through a heavily forested section of the White River National Forest. The surface is primarily maintained dirt and gravel, with scattered loose and embedded rocks becoming more common in a few sections. Expect occasional whoops, dips, and potholes along the w...
Learn more about Pearl Creek

This is just a nice, easy, scenic backway from Camp Hale to Highway 24, offering nice views of the Camp Hale valley. Most vehicles should do fine. If there's snow, it could get a little slick and there could be some deep puddles or rough washboards with a lot of traffic.
Learn more about Old Highway Road

Mumford Gulch Trail is a loop trail that can be done in either direction. It is primarily dirt with 1 section with a moderate pitch. The trail goes around the perimeter of Cow Camp Gulch and Mumford Gulch. This trail features beautiful views of the Green Mountain Reservoir. There are a few camp...
Learn more about Mumford Gulch Trail

Jones Gulch Way Road is a short forest route that descends approximately 1.7 miles from around 10,659 feet to 9,825 feet, losing roughly 853 feet of elevation. The route travels almost entirely through dense timber on a narrow dirt and rocky two-track. Much of the trail consists of packed dirt mixed...
Learn more about Jones Gulch Way Road

This U.S. Forest Service route branches off from FS 418 and descends into a beautiful canyon filled with dispersed campsites, open meadows, and popular hunting areas. Several excellent campsites can be found within the first mile, after which the trail becomes progressively narrower and more rugged,...
Learn more about FS 435

This scenic trail is open to all vehicles, as well as skiing and snowmobiling, and consists mostly of dirt and gravel. The wide route begins with 2–3-inch ruts and winds through dense aspen forest before reaching scenic cliffside sections with excellent mountain views. Around 1.5 miles, small rock g...
Learn more about Lower Spring Creek Road

Muddy Pass & Piney Guard Station is an exceptional scenic drive for beginner offroaders, families, and seasoned explorers looking for an accessible route with stunning alpine vistas and abundant dispersed camping opportunities near Vail and Wolcott. Stretching approximately 30 miles across the spect...
Learn more about Muddy Pass & Piney Guard Station

This historic trail is a hard packed dirt trail, plentiful with small boulders, mud holes and washboard surfaces. The trail is wide enough for vehicles to pass and offers many camp sites along the route ending at Piney River Ranch. The route is typically open June 21 til November 22, check with Wh...
Learn more about South Fork Piney - FS 701

This is an out-and-back trail that is mainly used to access hiking trails. Fall Creek, Mount of Tthe Holy Cross, and Cross Creek Trailhead are all accessible via this dirt road. A good portion of the trail is lined with aspens. There are multiple dispersed camping spots throughout and a designated f...
Learn more about Tigiwon Road

This route follows a wide, well-maintained dirt and gravel road through dense high-elevation forest. The surface is predominantly hard-packed dirt with stretches of fine gravel and only occasional small embedded or loose rocks. The road remains wide enough for vehicles to comfortably pass through mo...
Learn more about Lime Creek Road

Muddy Pass & Piney Guard Station is an exceptional scenic drive for beginner offroaders, families, and seasoned explorers looking for an accessible route with stunning alpine vistas and abundant dispersed camping opportunities near Vail and Wolcott. Stretching approximately 30 miles across the spect...
Learn more about Muddy Pass & Piney Guard Station

This historic trail is a hard packed dirt trail, plentiful with small boulders, mud holes and washboard surfaces. The trail is wide enough for vehicles to pass and offers many camp sites along the route ending at Piney River Ranch. The route is typically open June 21 til November 22, check with Wh...
Learn more about South Fork Piney - FS 701

This is an out-and-back trail that is mainly used to access hiking trails. Fall Creek, Mount of Tthe Holy Cross, and Cross Creek Trailhead are all accessible via this dirt road. A good portion of the trail is lined with aspens. There are multiple dispersed camping spots throughout and a designated f...
Learn more about Tigiwon Road

This route follows a wide, well-maintained dirt and gravel road through dense high-elevation forest. The surface is predominantly hard-packed dirt with stretches of fine gravel and only occasional small embedded or loose rocks. The road remains wide enough for vehicles to comfortably pass through mo...
Learn more about Lime Creek Road