Medano Pass

Drove west to east. Encountered a dozen or so drivers headed the opposite direction. Plenty of opportunities to pull off and pass. Soft sand areas are well soft sand conditions. Maintaining momentum with aired down tires worked as usual. Creek levels were low. Deepest crossing may have been around six inches. Just enough to wet the sidewalls. The first crossing was bone dry. The “mud hole” mentioned before is now a deep ditch and dirt pile dug courtesy of heavy equipment. A bypass has been created, though it may not be an “official” bypass. Next, my only regret is not stopping to scout the rock face challenge near the end. Sorta just sent it. Made it fine, but I could have taken a better line after I was committed. Watch out for dips, snags, and sharp pointed rocks at this spot! Can easily pop a tire or hang up the vehicle if not careful. Finally, the air station in the park is AWESOME! It must be connected to a beefy air compressor nearby because it doesn’t “turn on” and fills tires fast.

As a newbie to the off-roading world, Medano Pass definitely did not disappoint. From the incredible views to the trail itself, I had an absolute blast.

Main water crossing was about 14 inches deep. Most of the road was dry and dusty. Sand was super soft. There is a big mud hole about halfway that's been catching people, but you can straddle or steer around it well enough. A TJ didn't have any trouble getting around it, but he did say he had just helped pull another vehicle out of it. All in all probably my favorite trail so far. This trail is incredibly diverse with sand, mud, water crossings, rocks, elevation gains, dispersed camping. 80% of the trail *could* be done in 2H, but I'm glad I aired down and engaged 4L for some of the obstacles. There are plenty of turnouts, but still plenty of narrow stretches and I had to backup a decent ways twice. 4/10 is a good rating, recommend you remove that air dam on the front of your truck. Trailers are not allowed for the main trail, but there is plenty of trailer parking on both ends. You might reconsider bringing a trailer up the East side. Horse friendly, but might be too much traffic on a holiday weekend

Trail conditions were good. Single water crossing was about two feet deep~ everything else was fine. Vegetation is not crazy, fit a Fullsize. East to West.

We did air the tires down to 25 psi just to see. Sand was loose an as long as you kept momentum you were fine. Few water crossings deepest was to the bottom of the door. Fun from east to west took about 1.5 hrs.

Loose sand in the normal locations. Wet creek crossings with the lower crossing was the deepest being up to about my rock slides.

Went east to west today, encountered ~6 vehicles going the other way before I got to GSD. The campsites were nearly empty (maybe 3-4 people in the four upper campsites). Aired down and shifted into low / locked center diff a few times, but probably not necessary. I think 4/10 is reasonable, a few spots to be a little careful but never needed a spotter or had a tight sphincter……. a Subaru with some tires would probably make it. The sketchiest part was probably the narrow trail with overgrowth / limited visibility for oncomers down on the GSD side with all the creek crossings. Other than the washboard on the east side, an absolutely lovely trail.

Went east bound from Big Dunes National Park. Trail was pretty easy with tires aired down to 20psi and going through soft sand inclines with momentum. Fun trail with nice views.

We ran the trail from east to west, ending in the park. Trail was in good condition and water crossings were a non-event. The sand was very… sandy in the final stretch of the trail but no big deal after airing down. Really great views along the way and great camping spots, I’ll definitely run it again

Very dry, no mud, water crossing are not an issue. Nice Sunday drive, near the park sand was very dry and a little slippery. Airing down made the entire trip very uneventful.

I did not need to air down for the soft sand section (stock 1999 Land Cruiser). About 50% of camping spots were taken when I arrived at 4pm on a Friday and it was a National Holiday.

Lots of traffic. Water level was no concern. Sand needed 4L and about 15mph momentum. No lockers at all. Medano side of the dune is leeward from 50mph winds and a much easier walk. Saw turkeys, beaver, and antelope.

Awesome trail! The water crossings were pretty shallow and mostly still water. Eastern side is very rocky for a bit but once you get through that it smooths out and turns to sand. Definitely air down.

Water levels were low. Had to deflate to 20 psi for the end so we did it at the beginning of the trail.