A gorgeous drive on a clear day with just enough challenge to make it fun. Two Forest Service campgrounds with hiking trails on the north side. End of trail at Villa Grove requires a long drive home if you don’t return the way you came. To avoid this situation, consider combining this route with Trail #44. You can reach the town of Bonanza on County Road LL56, which starts just north of Villa Grove. A gas station in Villa Grove is no longer in business.
(719) 539-3591San Isabel N.F., Salida R.D.
Check the Weather09/04/2019
Submitted by Robert
Drove trail in my stock ’19 Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited. The trail is extremely rocky and there are a few places you really need to pick your line right to avoid larger rocks unless you are higher than my stock Jeep was. Traveling east to west, I almost missed the entrance, there’s a small sign pointing almost back the way you come, it’s a sharp left turn onto the trail and from there it’s almost all rocks until you get out the other side. Views were decent, and it wasn’t a bad way to make a loop, we came through Hayden Pass, down to Great Sand Dunes National Park for a bit, then back through via Medano Pass. If you are a novice, I’d pass on this trail unless you are with an experienced group, the views aren’t worth the work if that’s what you are after.
06/18/2015
The difficulty has increased between Wpt. 3 and Wpt. 4. Stock vehicles without recovery equipment are advised not to travel alone. The trail is still a moderate rating.
