Beginner Level Trail Near Denver (1 Viewer)

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Have fun! A stock LC can go most places just fine, and certainly most any forest road type trip. If you can't air down the experience will be a bit rougher, and you do have increased risk of a flat, but you also have a stock full size spare . . .

...add a shovel....

Have fun! A stock LC can go most places just fine, and certainly most any forest road type trip. If you can't air down the experience will be a bit rougher, and you do have increased risk of a flat, but you also have a stock full size spare . . .
My small shovel has helped me several times, including become stuck on a small ice mound (don't ask).

Our 2008 cruiser had 220,000 miles when we purchased it July 2019. I've not done any mods to it except dash cams. We've taken it over lots of 4x4 roads like Engineer Pass, Mineral Creek, Cinnamon Pass, Imogene Pass, Pole Creek, Hurricane Pass, Corkscrew, Ophir, Governor's Basin, etc. We don't have big mudder's on it either.... just Yokohama Geoloander A/T G015 tires that run very quiet on the highway and good enough for the trails above.

The more you gain experience in the cruiser the more you'll learn how capable it is. And remember, it's better to stay safe and not venture down a trail and leave it for next time than to push and put yourself in a difficult spot (I've done this too).
 
We did Hagerman Pass near Leadville last weekend. Trail was in good condition. Stock LX except for BFG tires. Allow for at least 3 hours.
 
When I first started out I did Dakan Rd a number of times. In fact there are a handful of trails off of Rampart Range Rd. that are easy but give you a feel for driving on something other than pavement. And it is a pretty area relatively close to town. But these do close down December 1 and remain closed until May. The are in the “FunTreks“ books. In fact, you may want to invest in the 2 Funtreks books for Colorado (one if for north of I70 and the other is for the south side.) I found them more current than the Massey books. But any book you use can be dated. My wife and I did a trail up by Estes Park a couple of years ago and 3/4s of the way through the trail it has been taken out by a mudslide a couple of years earlier. We had to turn around and go back. The books did not reflect this. There is also a group out of Colorado Springs called Trails Offroad. Their trail guides are online and tend to be more current. And they have a lot in Colorado.
 
So...

First, check trail conditions, with the wild fires there's apparently a lot of closures, even near Denver.

My first trail when we got our LX was Yankee Hill near Blackhawk/Central City. That was on the well worn all seasons that the previous owner left. Even as a novice the LX gobbled the trail up. Lots of options to try different things, the area is well trafficked so there will be others around.

Others have mentioned the Funtreks books, these are great.

I personally am a HUGE fan of TrailsOffroad I linked to the Yankee Hill trail as an example. They provide great waypoint by waypoint details as well as photos, camping info and gpx files. Like Funtreks I appreciate that they 'normalize' ratings so there's consistency, plus the user feedback on each trail let's you know current conditions. They have great coverage here in CO as well as UT. On the TO scale a 1-2 is typically just a dirt road, a 3 will introduce some good sized rocks and minor obstacles. I've been comfortable upto about a 5 or 6 in the LX based on their ratings, but read the whole description to see what's appropriate for you.

AllTrails.com can be helpful, but the ratings are vague and hard to tell when you've got a wrangler on 37s and a jeep liberty both trying to rate the same trail.

GaiaGPS can be a great addition, especially with their overlays.

I've been playing with OnXroad and it's an interesting new app for offroading, it's better for mobile than most others, but not nearly as complete as TO.
 
Get yourself one of these and pick a trail.
Amazon product ASIN 1934838047Then give me a call. I'll gladly go with you.

Get the spiral bound! It's easier to clean the pages after a child looks at it (we've been there) and it's easier to keep a page open on bumpy roads (ditto). I recommend to start with the book that shows the trails south of I-70.
 
Get the spiral bound! It's easier to clean the pages after a child looks at it (we've been there) and it's easier to keep a page open on bumpy roads (ditto). I recommend to start with the book that shows the trails south of I-70.

The trails book is on it's way! Along with a portable compressor.

I wanted to say thank you to @RT Cruiser for the chat last night. We talked for about 30 minutes about basic preparedness, gear to pack, and the Land Cruiser in general. It was a great introduction for me into 4 wheeling/overlanding. I can't wait to get the 200 dirty. This is going to be fun!!
 
The trails book is on it's way! Along with a portable compressor.

I wanted to say thank you to @RT Cruiser for the chat last night. We talked for about 30 minutes about basic preparedness, gear to pack, and the Land Cruiser in general. It was a great introduction for me into 4 wheeling/overlanding. I can't wait to get the 200 dirty. This is going to be fun!!

Great chat @joltman Thanks for taking time for me to get to know you and your family. Hopefully we can join forces and do a trail in the future.

Go and dirty up the 200. It's a badge of honor. The cruiser is a beast. The first you feel the 4x4 low carry you and your family up a tight switchback, it'll put a smile on your faces.
 
I don't want to overwhelm you, but here is a video I put together for a friend getting into wheeling. It's the gear I keep in the truck basically full time, but you can probably just cherry pick a few things that would be helpful for now.



Oh man, I've watched this video several times. Very helpful.
 
I’m so happy and excited for you joltman. Please take photos and post them so we can see what you’ve been doing. I’m also glad to see you ask the question and that so many of us responded. This is a great community. - we’ll done mudders!
 
I’m so happy and excited for you joltman. Please take photos and post them so we can see what you’ve been doing. I’m also glad to see you ask the question and that so many of us responded. This is a great community. - we’ll done mudders!

@Tim Foil I was telling my wife the same thing after the call I had with @RT Cruiser. Everyone is willing to share knowledge and assure others. I've never liked the "gatekeeping" of knowledge. This community has come out in full force for a newbie. Thank you!!
 
Just be aware, several ranger districts are now closed due to fire danger. These are mostly up west of the boulder area, but also clear creek ranger district near Idaho springs and Georgetown, so cascade creek and Argentine are out. Pike nf is still open so slaughterhouse, Dakan, rampart, etc are good to go. You may also consider mosquito pass over to Leadville for lunch. Great trip.
 
Just be aware, several ranger districts are now closed due to fire danger. These are mostly up west of the boulder area, but also clear creek ranger district near Idaho springs and Georgetown, so cascade creek and Argentine are out. Pike nf is still open so slaughterhouse, Dakan, rampart, etc are good to go. You may also consider mosquito pass over to Leadville for lunch. Great trip.
As for Mosquito Pass I have always found it closed this time of year. Even if it is closed, weather can be unpredictable up in the mountains. And it can be intimidating for a newbie out on their own. A nearby option is Weston Pass. But don’t take that one for granted! I did one year and attempted to go over it with absolutely no recovery gear in my truck. Heck, it was June! Hit about 50 yards of snow at the top. Thought it was shallow enough to just driver through. Wrong. It was about 2’ deep and it was heavy, thick snow. It compressed and I was high centered. Took 3 hours to dig out with the help of a couple much younger adventure motorcyclists that happened through. Since then my truck is always carrying pretty much what @mcgaskins laid out in his video. And whenever I approach a snow field, I test its depth with a stick - think of it as water you can’t see through.

One more comment is to carry a fire extinguisher and maybe a couple gallons of water. You all in Colorado are facing the same dry conditions we did in Oregon back in August and September. The NFS required the above if driving their unpaved roads. You might want to do the same. It looks like the current fires are north of I70. But driving around Rampart Range Road, Pikes Peak, the Buffalo Creek area, and so on will make it obvious that fires can be a big issue in CO.
 
One more thought. If snow begins to fill in the mountains, you may want to make a slightly longer trip over to Grand Junction. There are some trails around there. I took a private lesson from Bill Burke before I did any offroading and he lives in GJ or at least did at that time.

Again, the Trails Off-road is a huge help. They have a number of “writers” who regularly check the trails they are responsible for. And they require that the writers provide pictures. Many include video of sections of the trail. Also, you can download the GPX tracks and load them into Gaia GPS.

One more suggestion. Before putting too much money into setting up your rig you may want to go drive some rough, rocky roads (very common in CO) or even some heavily potholed roads with your partner and/or family. My wife was all in at first. But after hours of whiplash (its worse for the passengers) she chooses not to go on those roads or only for short periods. ;)
 
I wanted to say thank you to everyone for their ideas. My family and I joined the Rising Sun Spooky Night Ride last night to Slaughterhouse Gulch. Everyone there was super nice and welcoming. We had an absolute blast! We came out with only very minor damage. A few pinstripes and a gash on the passenger running board. I had no idea they were aluminum. Time for sliders!

Special thanks to Dan for letting us follow his lines and @mcgaskins for the spot up a rocky/loose dirt slope and his willingness to help a newbie.

@RT Cruiser you were totally right that the 200 just ate up that whole trail.

So thanks again to all!
 
I wanted to say thank you to everyone for their ideas. My family and I joined the Rising Sun Spooky Night Ride last night to Slaughterhouse Gulch. Everyone there was super nice and welcoming. We had an absolute blast! We came out with only very minor damage. A few pinstripes and a gash on the passenger running board. I had no idea they were aluminum. Time for sliders!

Special thanks to Dan for letting us follow his lines and @mcgaskins for the spot up a rocky/loose dirt slope and his willingness to help a newbie.

@RT Cruiser you were totally right that the 200 just ate up that whole trail.

So thanks again to all!

I love Meguiar's products. I've used their Scratch X to take out scratches. Usually there's no need for an electric buffer.

If I had time, I'd do a Meguiar's clay bar, scratch x, polish, and wax. Maybe next summer.

@joltman so glad you and your family experienced the beast-ness of the land cruiser. Fortunately that night I had an excuse to stay home and sleep in my very warm big comfy bed with lots of pillows and blankets ;). If you take the rig into the trails around Lake City/Ouray, you'll have confidence it can handle almost every single one of them. Feel free to reach out anytime.
 
Glad you had fun on the club run. Keep an eye on the 4wheel staging section for upcoming trails. Also feel free to post a a trail and get others to join you. I have been wheeling a long time and never wheel alone as anyone can get hung up. A second vehicle can always strap you off.

Its a great club and I have been a member for 16 years now. Taught me a lot and a great group of people to hang out with. Sometimes we do some great overnight or longer expedition runs. We also have an event every year (except this one) called Cruise Moab which is awesome on the trails and in the evening with vendor night and the dinner raffle
 

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