Huerfano/Lily Lake Trailhead

Posted On: 7/13/2025 By: AurumSun13
Info: The road up to the upper trailhead is definitely bumpy, but my Jeep Renegade made it up without any scrapes. Only 6.7" of clearance and it was fine. No large boulders along the road that were a concern. Some dips and hills were steep, however, and the 4WD helped get me through them. If you've driven up to the upper trailhead to Humboldt/the Crestones outside Westcliffe recently, then that road was worse, but this one was a longer approach. I did hear some coyotes while out on the trail itself, so be wary

Posted On: 7/12/2025 By: MaryinColorado
Info: What a great road! I definitely think AWD or 4WD is ideal for the two miles leading to the TH. Standard SUV clearance is sufficient. Honestly thought the road, overall, was nicer than the Stevens Gulch Rd to Grays/Torreys. I do recommend keeping mental note of available spots to pull over to let another vehicle pass because there are two stretches, in particular, where pull-offs are either slim or non-existent. I would say these aren't "uphill has right of way" sections, more so "whoever can, should" sections. On our way out, the three of us backed up to pull-outs because there was no way we could expect a large travel van to safely back up as far as would have been necessary.

Posted On: 7/7/2025 By: jennkmho
Info: I drove up on 7/5 and car camped for the night right before the TH. I'm a very mid driver in a 2020 VW Atlas with 8" of clearance. The road isn't bad at all. There are no large ruts or rocks to avoid. I thought the G&T road was worse. Accelerate going over the hilly parts. The puddle was very shallow. 8/22 miles are paved. Middle 7 miles are packed dirt/gravel. Last 7 miles are AWD road.

Posted On: 7/6/2025 By: sunbleached
Info: The road up to the trailhead is in good condition but for that remaining minor puddle. I got up there in my base model 2WD 2015 Jeep Compass, and I only had a very brief portion where my vehicle struggled on the second part of The Hill. (Which was fine, given that you can just go back to the dip and try again.) Caveat that I have a lot of experience driving this vehicle on rough roads.

Posted On: 7/7/2025 By: blonde_dinosaur
Info: I drove my Mazda CX-5 with 7.5 inches of clearance to within a quarter mile of the TH. Could have driven the whole way but stopped at a great dispersed camping spot. I am a baby when it comes to driving 4WD roads so probably anyone with 7.5+ inches of clearance can make it. I didn't scrape at all along the way. Hardest parts were the steep inclines on the way up where I couldn't see the road features well but had to keep my speed up. Clearance is definitely most important feature for this road.

Posted On: 7/7/2025 By: jennkmho
Info: Drove up on 7/5. Car camped for the night at a spot right before the trailhead. The road wasn't bad at all. There are no large ruts or rocks. I think the road to G&T is worse. On the steep parts, accelerate up the hill. The puddle was very shallow. I'm a very mid driver in a 2020 VW Atlas with 8" clearance.

Posted On: 6/29/2025 By: tlgold1990
Info: Completely dry with exception of one very minor puddle. Saw several subarus at the trailhead if that helps anyone with deciding if their vehicle can make it.

Posted On: 6/30/2025 By: E_A_Marcus_949
Info: Easily made it up in a 2018 Forester. One minor puddle, not to even worry about though. It's a long dirt road, just be prepped for that. Otherwise, you're good to go! Quite a few pulloffs and camp sites/flat areas along the road.

Posted On: 6/21/2025 By: Kbrown321
Info: Made it to the upper TH in a Subaru crosstrek. Didn’t feel like there were any major issue areas, though the road was totally dry given the lack of recent rain

Posted On: 6/9/2025 By: dakotasmama
Info: ROUGH 2WD DOES NOT MEAN YOU DON’T NEED HIGH CLEARANCE TO KEEP FROM DRAGGING YOUR CAR ROUGH 2WD DOES NOT MEAN YOU DON’T NEED HIGH CLEARANCE TO KEEP FROM DRAGGING YOUR CAR ROUGH 2WD DOES NOT MEAN YOU DON’T NEED HIGH CLEARANCE TO KEEP FROM DRAGGING YOUR CAR ROUGH 2WD DOES NOT MEAN YOU DON’T NEED HIGH CLEARANCE TO KEEP FROM DRAGGING YOUR CAR ROUGH 2WD DOES NOT MEAN YOU DON’T NEED HIGH CLEARANCE TO KEEP FROM DRAGGING YOUR CAR. The only part of these trailhead where “wheel drive” MIGHT be important is the last two miles. These trailheads need to be ranked on clearance requirement first and 2WD/4WD second.

Posted On: 5/22/2025 By: Jimmy Jay
Info: Road is clear to the TH as of Wednesday 5/21, one water crossing that might come up to a low car's doors. One section of snow on an uphill slope that might be tough for front-wheel drive cars, but will likely be melted out by the weekend.

Posted On: 5/18/2025 By: daway8
Info: Made it to within 0.37mi of the upper trailhead before being stopped by snowbanks. Found a pulloff just below at 10,486ft. Lots of pull offs before that too. But by my return later in the day, others had pushed as high as 10,577ft. Probably another week or two before people will be able to make it all the way to the upper trailhead at 10,691ft. These numbers are all from my GAIA app. Note that Google Maps gives up more than 4 miles short but there's no real need for the map after that point. You'll want decent clearance and 4WD doesn't hurt.

Posted On: 3/21/2025 By: jaquetcj
Info: Was able to drive to 37.66437, -105.45973 Road Transitioned to snow pretty quickly thereafter. (W some bare spots). Pm me for further details if interested

Posted On: 10/30/2024 By: bigfoot1
Info: wow ok this road sucks. easy 2wd until just past singing river ranch, then it gets rocky and sketchy 2wd. I parked on the side of the road at (37.664019, -105.460007) and would suggest anyone else in a regular passenger sedan go no further than here as well. Tree recently downed as of yesterdays snowstorm at (37.63636, -105.47232). I saw 3 large pickup trucks make it basically all the way to the downed tree. Tire tracks in old snow before the tree was downed went as far as (37.62562, -105.47156). There are 4 large notable puddles that go across the road that have not completely frozen over yet, and the road itself has ice under the snow now and is a bit slippery.

Posted On: 9/3/2024 By: jGunn
Info: Made it all the way in my 2012 Rav4... But... I have very chunky offroad tires and have experience taking it offroad on 4WD roads where it probably shouldn't be. There was one very deep puddle with a big drop-off. This should not be underestimated. On the way up I hit it faster to avoid getting stuck in the deep mud, bottomed out hard and put a small dent in my fuel tank. On the way out I went slower and my tires were the only thing that stopped me getting stuck, and still bottomed out again.