elwood pass

A friend had hired a Jeep Wrangler for the week. We had a fun day out tracing the trail alongside the river. A few tricky parts but all in all relatively easy and great fun.

This pass is crazy steep, great for 4-wheelers, but you better have the stomach for heights. This is not for the faint of heart

Taking Elwood Pass requires a high clearance 4-wheel drive, period. It is beautiful country, narrow road. At the end you find Summitville, a ghost town and the site of the most expensive Super Fund clean up site. Well worth the trip, about 4 hours up.

Elwood Pass doesn't get the press of Black Bear or Imogene but is about as good. There are more things to see on BB and Imogene but Elwood has started to deteriorate over the past few years and it now offers some very good, and fun, 4 wheeling. I gave it 5 stars not from a off road enthusiast (technical rating) but from an off roader that loves fun trails that don't have to tear up your vehicle. Keep in mind that this trail DOES have lots of sharp rocks and ledges and you need good tires to go over it but if your vehicle is in good shape and you are competent at negotiating a line it won't be a problem.You follow the east fork of the San Juan river much of the way up. You stay in valley most of the time but there are lots of places where the scenery is beautiful. You can also stop and walk up to Silver Falls on the way up. A couple of side forest roads that cross the creek are also fun and pretty.When to get over the summit and down the other side you have the choice of following the forest road out to South Fork via Park Creek and/or you can take a side detour to Summitville; an old mining town that now has the dubious honor of being the home of the largest Superfund recovery site in the country. It is pretty interesting. Take along your normal off roading supplies to be prepared and.....have fun!

A 4-wheel drive vehicle is a must. The roads are rough and narrow, with plenty of streams to cross, but the abundance of wildflowers right now is breathtakingly beautiful. This is a photo op you don't want to miss!

We have quaded the trail to the top several times. There is always something new that we find. It is a beautiful trip, but can get very treacherous!!!!! We love it.