Bennett Pass 2

Bennett Pass, Part 2 Difficulty Rating: 5-6 Conditions: Massive ruts, tight clearance, and heavy washboards This section gets technical due to massive ruts climbing up the hill and very tight clearance from recent tree-clearing right on the trail edge. Expect multiple pinstriping moments if you are driving a full-size rig. Dropped into 4L twice on the climbs as a preventive measure to maintain strict control, get the tires to dig, and avoid sliding into a couple of wicked ruts. The main road heading down the mountain is heavily washboarded. Learn from our mistake: do not air back up before this final descent, or you will quickly regret the ride.

Camped at Badger Lake then headed up and out via Bennett Pass 2 towards Lookout Mountain Rd. This section has the biggest ruts (downhill when headed North), the most dust/sand but still very rocky/bumpy in plenty of parts. No scraping thanks to taking it easy with 31.5'' tires and small lift. Mostly slow going in an aired down 4x4 but great views and a couple campsites right off the road. Only saw one other person on an enduro bike the whole time.

This trail was awesome. We were worried about it based on previous reviews but with summertime conditions it was no problem. We went north on this trail. Bumpy road, 1 section of deep, sandy ruts that was fun. Downed trees make it more of an obstacle for our full size truck & camper but got through no problem. Awesome camping. Views, views, views. Slight stream going down 1 side of trail in last section. Some off camber areas & exposed. Minor brushing of trees on truck. We had a blast. Only saw 3 adventure bikes & 1 jeep.

Drove Bennet Pass over the weekend in my Toyota Sequoia with a 4 runner and a full size Tacoma in our group. The Road was passable for all of us, but we all have lifts and larger tires. There were some rigs on the trail that were closer to stock as well. The trail is not very technically difficult, but the cliff exposure is legit and there is not a lot of room for passing. We had to do some weird maneuvering and reversing to allow for people to pass our group going the other direction. The trail is narrow and rocky, and wet in some places. All of that said, it is amazing up there, but maybe bring a change of pants with you.

Came from south/west. Clear to Windy Camp. Encountered several tricky off camber sections of snow all the way to Gunsight, including getting stuck and digging out. Hit impassable snow just north of Gunsight Butte and had to drive back.

We stayed at the lake a bit longer than planned, and as a result, we had to drive through the mountain pass on our way back home after dark. Generally speaking, most high clearance vehicles should be able to handle it without any problems. A regular Subaru could manage it, but you might hear some scraping on the underside. If the road is wet, I wouldn't recommend attempting it for the stock subarus. If anything take the other entrance it’s a lot more manageable

Drove Bennett from Lookout Mountain to Badger Lake. Road is in great condition with phenomenal views. High clearance required while 4WD is nice to have in a few sections due to loose dirt/sand on steeper inclines.

The snow isn’t super deep but there’s enough on the side of the cliffs and in the shaded areas that it wasn’t safe to go very far.