Kingston Peak

Started around 11:30. Super pretty, especially once you’re above tree line. It got a little snowy and icy once the southern exposure was lost, nothing crazy. Tons of fun, definitely a new favorite. Had no issues completing the trail.

We drove this from east side, Apex Road, entrance. Up until about 11,500’ the trail was fine, wasn’t even in 4-wheel drive. But about 1/2 mile before the James Peak trailhead, the trail is partially covered by snow. This made most of that traverse slippery and probably more over camber than normal. We made it to that switchback/trailhead but going further looked even dicier than what we just did, so we turned around. 5 vehicles passed us as we went down, they did the same thing we did: traversed it, hit the switchback, turned back. Not saying it’s impassable, just not possible for me to do it🙂

Fun trail! A few soft spots from the recent weather, but nothing too crazy. We started from the north end, and the last climb before the peak was pretty rutted, but other than that, it was a blast. Definitely recommend it!

I took this from the north end to the James Peak Lake Trailhead and back. This section felt more like a 4/10, though it did have a couple interesting off-camber spots of up to 25 degrees. Then again, I’m maybe not the best judge due to most of my off pavement driving being in vehicles no more capable than an AWD CR-V, which has no business on a trail like this. No problems in my Tacoma. Great views while driving and even better on James Peak Lake Trail.

Started over by the st Mary’s trail head and did the whole trail to Apex. Lots of loose rock but definitely doable. The back half is very technical but we did end up seeing a Subaru outback and crosstrek up there. They struggled but made it to the top.

Started on the Tolland side over to St Mary's. Trail was amazing, awesome views, couple loose rock inclines to peak but was in good condition, few clear water puddles along the way, deepest only 12". Great stopping spot before climb to peak, and then stop at the rock pile at the top, beautiful lake and waterfall view from the peak.

Boy was this a wild ride for someone who had never been off road before. Was by myself in a rental and for some reason I misread the rating and thought it was a beginner trail. Stupid. Did air down tires beforehand and took everything incredibly slowly. Starting in Alice/St. Mary’s, first 1.5 miles to Hilltop Lookout and then to Rock House wasn’t bad. Loose rock and a few steep/banked switchbacks that were good spots to try out some of the techniques/approaches I’ve been learning about. From Rock House on to James Peak was awful (for me) - multiple steep inclines that were washed out and had large rocks you to dodge. Decline to James Peak was particularly stressful. About a mile east of there, there are some some wonky banked portions near the abandoned house that took some thought to get through. From there to Tolland was breeze. Overall a beautiful and fun route for someone who knows what they’re doing. Can’t imagine taking anything other than a high clearance 4x4.

It’s an amazing trail! We did it in two 4Runners and a Subaru, and it made it up no problem! The views are amazing and it’s worth the trip if you have the right vehicle! The ground is soft so some rocky areas aren’t as stable.

Trail was rocky but in overall great condition. A high clearance 4x4 is recommended for the trail to clear some parts of it.

Trail is very rocky, recommend high clearance and low range. Took my stock FJ Cruiser and hit the skid plate a couple times. If you take it slow it’s doable.

Started in Tolland up apex road to get onto Kingston peak trail from the north side. I would recommend this way to everyone. It must be more accessible from I70, since what little traffic there was on the trail was oncoming, however we spent more time going up than down, and it’s nice to get the pay off on the views near the end rather than the beginning. I was in a Tacoma and my buddy was in a ranger raptor, both stock. Careful tire placement was key but still glad we had skid plates.

Rough road with sharp rocks. Recommend airing down but stock 4x4 with ATs will have zero issue