 |
Grizzly Lake
From Dirtopia, The Off-Road Encyclopedia
 Photo: Grizzly Lake | |
| Off-Road Information | |
| Other Names: | |
|---|---|
| Terrain: | 4x4/atv/dirtbike |
| Off-Road Use: | |
| Difficulty: | Moderate(6) |
| Camping: | {{{camping}}} |
| Geography | |
| County: | Chaffee |
| Nearest Cities: | |
| Map Links: | Google Map |
| Satellite Map: | {{{satlinks}}} |
| Special Map: | |
| GPS Coords: | 38.7038/-106.344 |
| Google Earth: | Grizzly_Lake.kmz |
| Climate: | |
| Area Size: | |
| Elevation: | |
| Last Visited: | |
| Open/Closed/Date: | |
| Season(s): | |
Excerpt borrowed with permission from TrailDamage.com
It might not be the easiest trail to find but it is worth looking for. It's in a residential area, so please be considerate of private property when you make your way up to Grizzly Lake.
You pass a few houses and immediately find yourself at a fork in the road. The left fork goes down to a creek crossing and a rock obstacle, where the right fork goes up along the trail. Take the left fork through the creek (the right fork will dead end).
Once you cross the creek you may want to let your tires dry a bit before tackling the biggest obstacle on the trail. It is an ever-changing rock climb with areas of stacked rock and places where tires have dug holes in the dirt. Wet tires only make it more challenging.
After making it over this obstacle you will climb a short distance to a new rock obstacle almost parallel to the trail. The bypass takes you around it a little further, but the obstacle itself is worth trying. If you can get a little sideways on the trail you can climb up the rock head on instead of at an angle, making it easier.
After conquering these two obstacles you are faced with a long, steep hill of loose rock. It climbs to what seems to be the top, only to make a left turn and climb some more. You may want to leave some distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you, just in case they get stuck (you don't want to have to stop). Keep a steady pace without spinning your tires and you should be fine up this hill.
After the hill there are some shelf roads. Don't get too close to the edge as the rocks are pretty loose.
You'll spend the rest of the trail in and out of the trees. Some places are pretty tight and brush will touch your vehicle. There are more creek crossings and even a muddy water patch (it has a bypass).
It takes less than two hours to reach Grizzly Lake, an impressive lake framed by mountains. The fishing is good and the view is amazing. If you time it right this is a great place for lunch!
Return the way you came, leaving some room between vehicles on the steep hill down. This is a little-used trail with some fun obstacles, and great to run with other trails in the area.
External Links
TrailDamage.com pictures, movies, maps, GPS coordinates and additional trail information.
Maps and GPS Coordinates
A comprehensive list of GPS waypoints and tracks in Google Earth format can be found here: Grizzly_Lake.kmz
Grizzly Lake Coordinates: 38.7038° -106.344°
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Find nearby Geocaching locations
- Find this location with Google Earth
