Trail Overview

Alkali Basin Loop is a 26.8-mile off-road route north of Delta, Colorado, climbing from the high desert into the Grand Mesa foothills. Connecting the Alkali Basin Trail on the west with the Pipeline West Trail on the east, the loop reaches a peak elevation of 8,635 feet. The western climb is rated a moderate 5 and features narrow, brushy sections with a high risk of trail pin-striping, along with tight paths and small boulder fields requiring precise tire placement. The eastern descent down the Pipeline West Trail is a milder, rated-3 drive offering views of the valley and the Devil's Thumb formation. The trail starts rocky and bumpy at higher elevations, smoothing out as it approaches the US Highway 50 trailhead. High-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles with skid plates are recommended for the rocky obstacles and 3,760 feet of elevation gain. The route is best driven from late spring through autumn when trails are dry and free of snow.

Photos of Alkali Basin

Want to see more?
View All Photos

Difficulty

Rocks, scratchy narrow trail

Technical Rating

James Stunden

May 22, 2026

2017 Jeep JK

Open

Rough/Deteriorated

Seriously need to upgrade rating. There are some technical parts that require using your brain. Fairly stock JK with 33’s, slow and steady.

Jaime Nakagawa

Mar 23, 2026

Open

Normal

This is definitely closer to a 7. Starts off open and rocky slowly starts to get super tight and then super rocky on the west side. 35s would definitely make it. Wouldn’t recommend 33s, or full sized trucks. Some super tight u turns. Over all pretty fun.

Eddie L

Oct 25, 2025

Open

not a 5 trail definitely a hard 8... the east side of the trail is a 5 rocky and easily passable with a slightly modified 4x4... however the west side of this trail has huge rocks I would recommend a lift, 37" tires minimum, and skid plates it is extremely narrow with sharp turns, deep washouts expect body damage and heavy pinstriping

Cody CARNES

Oct 25, 2025

Obstructed

The trail says it’s a 5 but I have done almost all the 7s and 8s on the western slope and and ya maybe the first half is a 5 but once you pass thru the meadow and hit the last half between the real tight turns and trees make it real narrow and large rocks requires skill and patience i would say the last half of the trail is harder then evening Poughkeepsie Gulch . 2 out of 4 rigs took body damage to fenders and cab

Cristian Meza

Oct 25, 2025

Obstructed

Really tight big rocks brush

CJ Picon

Jul 11, 2025

Open

Rough/Deteriorated

Eric Dirck

Feb 07, 2025

Obstructed

WashoutDowned Tree

Attempted a couple weeks ago and got stuck at 7000’. Today snow, ice, mud pretty tricky above 7k. Very difficult steering due to aforementioned terrain; more like bobsledding up high. Several shelf roads with outward-leaning camber made for dangerous passage above 7500. Would not recommend in winter months. Bad idea, but we lived. Had to winch sideways at Alkali Rd (113) intersection due to muddy & steep decline and large boulder at sharp left shortly after here. Body damage, lots of pinstriping, side mirrors trashed, rock rails bent / torn up. Waiting until at least June to tackle again.

Craig Bedelyon

Dec 21, 2024

Open

Enter the trail on H 38 smooth sailing until we hit the top of the mountain as we turned down it got incredibly tight and very rocky. It was snow covered, but we did it in a four-door JK but it was tight.

Graham Hart

Oct 22, 2024

2020 Jeep Gladiator

Open

The first half of the trail was a nice 3 with great views of the valley, however once you turn down hill things change. The trail was barely wide enough for our Jeep and we were scraping and pushing brush and tree limbs the whole way. Also lots of tight twists, large locks, and steep inclines. We were very concerned we were going to make it out and tried to turn around and go back up the hill, but didn’t have enough clearance and room to maneuver to get up the first bit of challenge. We ended up walking a half mile down the trail to scout and ran into a couple guys on a sxs and was able to turn back around and make it the rest of the way down and out. Would recommend 35’s, a winch, and vehicle no larger than a 4 door Wrangler.

Dylan Nedich

Mar 31, 2024

Open

Muddy/WetSnow/Ice

Quite aggressive once you get to the forest section/higher up the mountain

Jonathan Nye

Aug 20, 2023

Obstructed

Other

Dave Varshock

Jul 02, 2023

1997 Jeep Wrangler

Open

DustyNormal

Ric Simon

May 28, 2023

Open

Normal

Alkali Basin Trail can be accessed by the following ride types:

Single Track
50 Inch
60 Inch
High Clearance

Access Description

No permits or fees are required to access this loop, which traverses Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. Drivers should respect seasonal closures and avoid the trail when wet or muddy to prevent damaging the road surface.