Yankee Boy Basin Trailhead

Posted On: 9/4/2024 By: jberning30
Info: Maybe Labor Day weekend took a toll on the road? For the "can my Subie make it to the trailhead" crew...the answer is still YES, but my recommendation is, NOT WORTH IT. I am talking specifically about outhouse parking vs the 2wd parking. The road is in rough shape right now, and while I made it there, it was a stressful 20 minutes of moving at a crawl and picking lines, some sharp rocks and a few really dicey sections. I could've hiked the .6 miles from 2wd parking in the same amount of time, without the stress. Just my opinion, others may totally disagree. My stock Subie Forester made it there and back, ultimately fine, but I regretted not just parking and hiking the .6 miles extra from the 2wd parking /shrug

Posted On: 8/31/2024 By: Steelernation
Info: Parked a few tenths of a mile past governor basin in a Rav4. Most crossovers and even a couple sedans were parked there or lower. Any car can make it with some slow and careful driving. Saw 4 non-wilderness Subarus, a ford explorer, and a Mazda at the outhouse for non-true 4WDs. There was a big washout in the center of the road and some sharp, large rocks, but clearly crossovers can make it. After the outhouse, the road gets nasty and I only saw the usual trucks/4runners/wranglers/etc.

Posted On: 9/1/2024 By: Boggy B
Info: The road is in bad shape currently due to all the Wx. +1 difficulty to the bathroom due to ruts and talus encroachment. There were a few (nondescript crossover type) AWD's up there, with others parking down at the Governor junction. The morning's entertainment was watching a couple 4x4s (4Runner and a Wranglerish) square up on the washout just beyond the 11700' parking and then back down. It was early--I assume someone's making it up there today. Once/if it dries out it should submit to UTV traffic in short order.

Posted On: 8/13/2024 By: HunterGForeman
Info: Drove from Telluride --> Imogene Pass --> into Yankee Boy Basin. Easily made it to Mount Sneffels Trailhead. Started to get dark and rainy as we pushed past the end of the 2WD road. Continued a good bit up the 4WD road. Eventually we made it to the first switchback where Wrights Lake Spur & Trailhead is located but couldn't get past the second switchback. Really washed out and narrow road had to camp at the second switchback ~0.8 mi before Yankee Boy Basin Trailhead. '06 TLC, lifted, 34" tires.

Posted On: 8/8/2024 By: ssowalskie
Info: Made it to the outhouse parking area in my stock Subaru Outback around 5:45am. There were only two other cars parked at that area. No vehicles at the upper trailhead when I made it there. By the time I went back down the road, there were two vehicles (a Bronco and a Silverado) at the upper trailhead, and some 4Runners parked in pull-offs along the road. Got passed by lots of Jeep Wranglers as I hiked back down to the outhouse parking area. The road is pretty gnarly after the outhouse (saw someone lose a large part to their vehicle on the road), so definitely heed the advice to only go further if you have 4x4 with high clearance.

Posted On: 8/5/2024 By: Arand83
Info: Made it to the upper parking lot in a bone stock 15' Tundra crewmax with BFG KO2's. Others say that offroad experience is necessary, and they aren't joking. There were a few spots I almost regretted getting up that far, but made it with very minimal contact of my undercarriage. I probably wouldn't do it again without a little more clearance, and a short wheelbase definitely helps, but it is possible. I can't stress enough how important experience is on this road. Very dangerous and wouldn't be fun if recovery was necessary, not to mention how dangerous it could be.

Posted On: 8/8/2024 By: OldDude
Info: Those driving a Subie you can make up to the last outhouse with ease but no further IMO.

Posted On: 7/31/2024 By: Wentzl
Info: I drove to the upper 4WD trailhead today. I do this once or twice every year for the past 15 years. The road past the Wrights Lake trail has been getting worse every year and after this trip, I have to say that the 4WD rating of 3 out of 6 is dangerously misleading. This road is just about as difficult as Lead King Basin and if you plan on driving to the top, be prepared for a knarly ride. Pay close attention to the difficulty description provided on this site, quoted here: Easy 4WD (3 rating) to the restrooms. Very difficult 4WD (5 rating) to the upper TH.

Posted On: 7/4/2024 By: JoshLipp
Info: Driving a leveled Frontier on 32in tires, no lockers, and was able to make it all the way to the top trailhead. Snow isn't blocking the road anymore. Bone stock may strugle, but heavily modified vehicles arent required either. Decent offroad experience is definitely necessary

Posted On: 6/26/2024 By: Boggy B
Info: You can now drive quite high up Yankee Boy. There's still a snowfield blocking the last hill before the upper trailhead, with ample on-trail parking. However, above the parking at 11700' the road is in very challenging shape this season with erosion from the last storm cycle posing serious tip-over potential. Stock high-clearance 4x4s were all parking at 11700'. Subaru/crossover types may not be able to reach the normal trailhead without taking damage in current conditions, and we didn't see any above the Governor Basin junction.

Posted On: 6/8/2024 By: Wentzl
Info: As Boggy B. stated earlier, you can drive past the outhouse. But you can NOT drive to the nice big parking area just below the Wright's Lake trail. So for the next week or so, park at the bottom of that hill, after you cross the stream. I saw people driving up to the snow blockage and then turn off the road and make a whole new parking lot in the tundra. This is new behavior I had not seen in 25 years hiking this hill. The photo shows the first genius in the morning. I did not have the heart to take a photo of how it looked 5 hours later after what was clearly another 25 vehicles doing the same thing.

Posted On: 6/5/2024 By: Boggy B
Info: High clearance can go past the outhouse now, not quite to the off-camber section before the Wrights Lake trail (first switchback).

Posted On: 5/29/2024 By: supranihilest
Info: Now drivable to the outhouse.

Posted On: 5/27/2024 By: supranihilest
Info: Snow was still blocking the road at the big corner for most vehicles but there were plenty of redneck ruts through the snow and one truck had driven to the outhouse the morning we went. The problem is less getting up, if the snow is frozen, and more getting down if the snow is soft. I expect the snow to be melted out in a week or two.

Posted On: 5/20/2024 By: Wentzl
Info: Funny thing, road was clear to the outhouse last week, but new snow has made it impassable again from about 1/2 mile below. Plenty of room for 6 or 8 vehicles where the snow starts. The last half mile is covered in drifts up to 4 feet deep and will take a couple weeks to melt out again unless the county decides to plow it again, which I think is unlikely. 5/20 update. Yup, you can now drive to the big corner. Plenty of room to park, but still a couple weeks before you can shave off that 7 minute walk up to the outhouse, which was unlocked today.