Trail Overview

The Fortune Creek 4WD Trail is a tight, rugged off-road trail climbing up to Gallagher Head Lake. It is open seasonally from June 15 to November 1. This trail is popular with UTV and 4x4 users alike. Early-season visitors (before July 15) must be prepared to buck out fallen trees and will likely still encounter snow in the heavily forested sections at higher elevations above 5,000 feet. Stay on the trail and buck fallen debris rather than driving around it and braiding the trail. Note: you may encounter deep snow at 5,500 feet even in late June. The lower section of this trail and the parallel Forest Service Road are typically open July 15 while the upper sections are rarely accessible before mid-July.

Photos of Fortune Creek 4WD Trail - NF301 - Lower Section

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Difficulty

This is a fun, rugged trail.

Technical Rating

Basalt Overland

Sep 20, 2025

1990 Isuzu Trooper

Open

Normal

Stock '90 Isuzu Trooper with open diffs, not too bad. Trail was in good condition.

PNW BACKWOODS OVERLANDING

Sep 19, 2025

2015 Jeep Wrangler

Open

NormalDusty

Pretty easy trail with the right lines. Made it all the way to the lake even brought a Subaru forester wilderness edition with a 2 inch lift and rock sliders.

Tyler Wilcox

Sep 18, 2025

2006 Lexus LX

Open

NormalDustyMuddy/WetRough/Deteriorated

Didn’t take to many pictures. Trail wasn’t to bad for my stock rigs good wheel placement made it fairly easy.

Dale T

May 26, 2025

2023 Ford Bronco

Open

NormalMuddy/Wet

Trail is clear all the way up to where 4330 and Fortune cr trail meet. Snow is heavy about 1/4 mile after that.

Gene Collins

Nov 09, 2024

Open

Muddy/WetSnow/Ice

Lower part of the trail wasn’t too bad. Much slicker compacted snow higher up. Easy to slide off the trail. Do not recommend going alone. One of our rigs almost slid off and we had to winch him sideways with tree savers. Up top near the lake there is around 1’ of snow. Trail will be closed on 1 December.

Paul Burnham

Oct 12, 2024

Open

DustyRough/Deteriorated

A little rough in sections but easily passable with most 4x4 vehicles and a little bit of patience and situational awareness. Beautiful little trail.

Jeff Zika

Oct 05, 2024

Open

Rough/Deteriorated

We ran this trail in two groups of 8 vehicles ranging from built full-size trucks to a built Porche Cayan. No one made it to the top. The trail starts out ok with a few obstacles that can be passed with care. Further up, the trail gets deeply rutted with long off-camber sections and slippery rocks. The first groups, consisting made it the farthest and was forced to turn around .5 mile from the top. The second group broke a built full-size truck and turned around at the halfway point. Not recommended at this time for inexperienced drivers or vehicles without skidplates and winches.

Matt Engel

Sep 01, 2024

2023 Toyota 4Runner

Open

Rough/Deteriorated

Trail was dusty, rough and slow going but the scenery was amazing, and dinner at the lake make it all worth while. The trail features a lot of steep off camber sections, deep moguls, steep grades, steep grades with loose rocks, and some medium to large size rocks to contend with. I wouldn't recommend this one if you don't have skid plates and I would rate this trail at a 4.5 for hardness.

Bryant L

Aug 22, 2024

Open

Normal

Great trip up to Gallagher Head Lake with the family. Definitely a few challenging areas for a full size truck but still accessible with some luck and a good line. I know it is rated a 4 on the app but I think it is closer to a 5.

Ryan Douthit

Aug 01, 2024

2024 Toyota Land Cruiser

Open

DustyMuddy/Wet

Trail was challenging in places for a stock-height 2024 Land Cruiser but we got through with minimal hits. Should have brought a machete to trim back a few branches.

Kris W

Jul 10, 2024

Open

NormalDusty

My first outing in this rig after a lifetime of FS roads and limited off-roading. So there were a few challenging spots for me that took me some time to work through. 30' long puddle at the lake is ~24" deep at most. Traction is good, so it was easy to cross. Otherwise great day out with my kid.

Mike T

Jun 29, 2024

2023 Jeep Wrangler

Open

Normal

Daryl Greaves

Sep 04, 2023

Open

Normal

Preston B

Aug 19, 2023

2021 Jeep Gladiator

Open

DustyRough/Deteriorated

Martin Kowalski

Jul 23, 2023

Open

Normal