Guanella Pass, riding?

Anyone ever ridden up Guanella Pass (or that general area) and do you have any advice on where to park, ride, etc? Have you gone this year? Is the road a mess? Good idea or bad? Thanks!

I'm not a rider but it must be good up there. Threemile Creek Trail is popular but has limited parking. I've seen riders at the Burning Bear Trailhead and Abyss Trail. Lots of parking space on the east. I'm not sure of riding conditions at the pass itself. There is plenty of parking with restrooms on the west side of Guanella Pass. South Park Trail and Rosalie Trail may be alright. The road is open to Clear Lake (from the Grant side) and the dirt sections of the road has moderate potholes and washboard. The paved sections are OK on the Grant side and new asphalt above 10,000 ft. Hope this helps.

It helps a lot! Thanks! Do you know of any other hiking trails that are also for horseback riders? Not too rocky or steep? Within a couple of hours from Conifer/Bailey? I love your articles on backpacking, BTW, thanks!

If you happen to go up Abyss Lake trail there is a saddle/pack pad laying on the side of trail before you get to the Rosalie intersection. There is another pad on the Rosalie trail just east of the Scott Gomer creek crossing.

Do you want me to get those for you?

LopingAlong wrote: It helps a lot! Thanks! Do you know of any other hiking trails that are also for horseback riders? Not too rocky or steep? Within a couple of hours from Conifer/Bailey? I love your articles on backpacking, BTW, thanks!

Hey LA, have you taken a ride up the Payne/Brookside Trails in Bailey? There is a section at the switchbacks near the saddle to the Payne Benchmark that you can tie up your horse. The saddle itself has great overnight camping.
I posted these photos in the Pinecam Hobby Room in Janurary. I am mikedrum on Pinecam, and I post pics and hiking stories and tips there as well.
Saturday, Janurary 16th 2010 was a perfect day for a hike. This is one of the first outlooks I had on the way up.

Had to break trail most of the way up.

Old Bristlecone skeleton with Rosalie between the branches.

Mt. Bierstadt and Mt. Evans are amazing.

Lone Rock (center) and Doublehead Mtn to the upper right.

The Kenosha Mountains over Craig Creek.

Greys and Torreys left of Square Top Mountain.

More Kenosha Mountains!

Snaking Gulch Fire.

The peaks of the Evans Wilderness....Bierstadt, Evans, Rosalie!

My "dark" side.

The Bailey area from the Platte River Mountains.

Afternoon sun over the Kenosha Mountains.

Getting dark better hike down. Lone Rock reaching sunset.

OMG! Beautiful pictures, thank you for posting! I have not been up that trail. Will do so soon though. Thank you again!

LopingAlong:
The saddle pads are not mine. We saw them last Wed.
Ron

I hike Payne Gulch/Brookside all the time with the dogs. Have ridden it a couple of times. One of my favorite places It's gorgeous in the fall.

OMG!!! This trail was amazing! I can't believe that I've lived here almost 25 years and had never gone up there. What an idiot. We rode teh Brookside trail today and it was nothing short of spectacular. Thank you JMC for your advice on which way to go and thank you all for your input. We're going back in a couple of weeks to be leaf-lookers.