Trailhead Access - The Good, the Bad, and The Lake Como Road

Whoever said that getting there is half the fun has never taken a white-knuckle drive down one of Colorado’s mountain roads.

 

Accessing fourteener trailheads can be problematic, to put it mildly. Many of the standard routes begin at the end of 4WD roads, some of which are exceedingly rough and not passable with your standard Explorer or Pathfinder.

 

Which is why I’m proud to say I’ve climbed all of my 14ers so far with a lowly Honda Civic.

 

Using a car with pitifully low clearance has probably added close to 100 miles to my total hiking distance, but I’ve decided that fuel efficiency outweighs the extra foot travel. Plus, road-walking builds character!

 

I’m living proof that you don’t need an SUV to climb the fourteeners. But I’d be amiss if I didn’t warn you that not having 4WD will make for longer hikes. 

The roughest road in Colorado (probably in the entire US, for that matter) is Lake Como Road, which leads to Blanca, Ellingwood and Little Bear. It's so rough you'd have to be crazy to take any sort of motorized vehicle up it.... not that it stops people from trying:

On the other hand, some 4WD roads go so far up the mountain that you can barely call the remaining route a climb. For example, the road on Mt. Antero tops out at over 13K. And you can drive a 4x4 up to 12,700' on Castle Peak. 

 

When planning a hike, be sure to consider whether your vehicle can safely make it up the road to wherever you intend to start. You can check trailhead conditions on 14ers.com. When in doubt, allow extra time for potential road walking.

 

Finally, while I’m determined to finish the fourteeners with my trusty Civic and refuse to accept rides as a matter of principle, you can take comfort in the fact that it’s fairly easy to bum a ride in some kind soul’s FJ Cruiser if you want to cut down your distance.