Rattlesnake Arches Jeep Trail

Stock high clearance 4x4. Rocky, upper road entrance. Go slow to preserve tires. Signed entrance (706) from Colo Natl Monument is very rutted and rough. May be impassable when wet due to clay? Better, smoother access is N 16 1/2 road to Holloway Lane, which is falsely posted as a private road and ;”no trespassing “, but in fact is a Mesa County road. BTW: when hiking the arches trail, do not attempt exit under last arch unless you are comfortable lead climbing featureless face 5.9 with sticky shoes and no protection as it is very committing, exposed, and dangerous.

Took my Honda CRV (awd) and parked right after the Mee canyon turnoff. There were some steep ledges that I wasn't sure I had clearance for. Road is pretty good up to that point.

Easy 3.5-4 in some sections, but otherwise it’s mostly a dirt road.

Trail impossible when wet , turned around barely…lol

Some deep ruts, but dry when we did it. Deep mud/water on the lower road, some with established go arounds, some without, all crossable as long as you don’t mind getting dirty.

Upper Black Ridge Road from Rim Rock Road access to Arches trail head was open and dry

From the open gate at North 16 1/2 Rd, it's a little rocky for 1.4 miles to the split. Continue left here as Lower Black Ridge Rd (to the right) is only open from Aug 15 - Feb 15. From here the trail smooths out for about 6 miles until you reach the descent to where the two trails meet. To save your breaks, use 4 Low on the descent. At the trails end there is parking for approximately a dozen rigs. There are both long and short walking trails from here with some awesome views.

Two mud pits, some minor obstacles as you get about 1 mile from trailhead.

Trail was in solid shape. There were 2-3 mud holes with 1 of them being particulary daunting. It required some speed so resulted in a $45 jeep washing. There was no avoiding the 2 deepest ones.

Trailhead leading to BLM 701 closed.