Colorado Raptor owners, Need your help

Depending on how much time you have. You can cover a few passes a day, or more if you push it.

Instead of telling you which ones I would do, I'll tell you the ones I'd avoid as a first timer.

Imogene and black bear pass. Definitely don't try black bear, especially in a SCREW. Imogene is really pretty but super technical and skinny. I'd also avoid mineral creek road outside of ouray. It's not very Raptor friendly. Instead from Ouray go to Ironton and do Corkscrew pass to access the middle of the range.

Look for a book of 4 wheel drive trails in Southwest Colorado, there are a few good ones with lots of descriptions and difficulty ratings.

The whole Alpine Loop is great. Not sure what previous dude is talking about regarding it being slow, we romped through it. My wife and I now call it the Alpine Rally. It's slow in a Jeep (I have one), but in the Raptor you can FLY! If you are going to be in that area anyway, it's a can't miss. Alpine loop is comprised of multiple passes.

The Macf said:

Not Offroad, but I would definitely reccomend going up pikes peak.

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The kids and ex lived in Colorado springs so I did the railroad up to the top. Fun ride. Haven't done the road up. And didn't have the donuts, ha

Imogene Pass is my favorite. It connects telluride and Ouray. Black bear is the only one I would avoid in a Raptor.

treypal said:

Depending on how much time you have. You can cover a few passes a day, or more if you push it.

Instead of telling you which ones I would do, I'll tell you the ones I'd avoid as a first timer.

Imogene and black bear pass. Definitely don't try black bear, especially in a SCREW. Imogene is really pretty but super technical and skinny. I'd also avoid mineral creek road outside of ouray. It's not very Raptor friendly. Instead from Ouray go to Ironton and do Corkscrew pass to access the middle of the range.

Look for a book of 4 wheel drive trails in Southwest Colorado, there are a few good ones with lots of descriptions and difficulty ratings.

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Wait - aren't these most of the trails that you took us on? WTF? LOL

Dane said:

The whole Alpine Loop is great. Not sure what previous dude is talking about regarding it being slow, we romped through it. My wife and I now call it the Alpine Rally. It's slow in a Jeep (I have one), but in the Raptor you can FLY! If you are going to be in that area anyway, it's a can't miss. Alpine loop is comprised of multiple passes.

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Can you expand a little on the Alpine loop? Which passes are involved? Towns/communities or unique areas that you go through?
thanks

Otis857 said:

Can you expand a little on the Alpine loop? Which passes are involved? Towns/communities or unique areas that you go through?
thanks

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Let the internet be your friend:

http://www.codot.gov/travel/scenic-byways/southwest/alpine-loop

There's a ton of this stuff on the web. Colorado is a pretty popular place for off roaders.....


Silverton, Lake City and Ouray are all great places to visit. Good food and drink, small mountain shops, motels and scenery for days!!!

Yeah there are some trails HAHA. Noah is pre-running these for data

Otis857 said:

Can you expand a little on the Alpine loop? Which passes are involved? Towns/communities or unique areas that you go through?
thanks

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https://www.codot.gov/travel/scenic-byways/southwest/alpine-loop

Engineer Pass and Cinnamon Pass

I like spending the night at the dinky cabins at town center in Lake City - they're cheap and ratty, but it's great. The gas station rents them out - Town Square Cabins and Mini-Mart in Lake City, CO

Make sure to visit the candy shop in Lake City.

Visit the ghost town, Animas Forks. You can't miss it.

Ouray is a great little city. Say it right - YOU-RAY.

You COULD do it all in a day, but I like to not rush it and spend the night in Lake City as described above. The road is rough for a car, but it's pretty easy in the Raptor (handful of spots you'll need to negotiate, but it's not bad). Don't be afraid to use the skinny pedal if it isn't crowded, once you get moving a bit the Raptor just floats over that road whereas the big jeeps you'll encounter have to putter along.

I'm doing it this year on dirt bikes, but I've done it in the Raptor.

Otis857 said:

Howdy from Az,
Im planning to go to Denver this summer to visit my kids (no date set yet) and want to get in some off road trips in the Ouray area on the way there. I've always wanted to do it but am finally getting the opportunity. I've been through Silverton to Durango many years ago in a car (yuck), but now want to see some of the real San Juan mountains. I wont have a lot of time, but plan on devoting a couple of days to it.

SOOOO, where should I go? I want to get in some of the passes in, but not the too difficult ones. My wife will be with me and I dont want to freak her out. I'll be coming from Phoenix and ending up in Denver, should be some great scenery in between.

What would you recommend? Any websites that will get me up to speed on the area?

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Otis, I am an engineer at a local mine in Ouray 3 weeks a month. I would be down to meet up and do some trails with you if the timing works out. Also, a lot of the passes can be accessed from difficult and not so difficult routes, so you can get to almost all of the good spots one way or another. I can probably get us onto the mine site as well for some good photos in front of Mt. Sneffels. Shoot me a PM for contact information if you would like.