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Gillespie Gulch Rating Trail Photos  Return to Trail List   
Boulder, CO: Trail Head: N 40?6.798, W 105?23.016  Trail End: N 40?5.168, W 105?26.177
Delorme CO Atlas & Gazeteer pg: 29, 7-D
Nearby Trails: Coming Soon.


Access: From Boulder, you can also take Highway 119 West to Nederland and then Highway 72 North to the town of Ward. On the North end of Ward, take CR 100 East and turn right on Gold Lake Road. This road will take you to Gold Lake Ranch where you drive though on the Jamestown to Ward Trail till you reach teh Gillespie Gulch turn off.
he portion of this trail from Jamestown to the Gillespie Gulch turn-off has been closed by request of the town of Jamestown. Please respect there wishes and avoid that section of trail.




Trail: This trail is an enjoyable challenge for moderately modified 4x4?s. A couple guys in my group made it stock (Jeep Wrangler, and Toyota Tacoma), but it took careful spotting and several attempts at a couple sections. High ground clearance is recommended, and there are a couple optional paths for those guys who like have a little more fun (or break things).

On Sunday 10-14-01 my wife and I did Gillespie Gulch in my 99 F-150 Off Road; all stock except a Detroit c-locker. Originally we were looking for Lefthand Canyon and then have some fun on spur trails from that. Being the first time up there, we did not know where any trails were. I had a forest service map and the printout from 4x4trails.net. We found a turnoff that seemed to match our map, but we were told that Lefthand Canyon was on up the road, which later we found out that this trail was Lefthand Canyon. Turning left towards Ward, we decided to try a trail that looked like would lead us to Gold Lake. We entered this trail from the Rowena side, but didn?t know what trail it was. Immediately off the road is a pretty rough trail. About ? of a mile into the run, we came upon a steep hill with a nice big rock at the top. There were 3 ways to travel up the incline. I tried the left first, because that was the best way over the rock. I could get within 15 ft. of the rock, but would spin out and stop there. I tried the middle fork of the trail next. I made it to the rock, with no problem, but getting over the rock was still the obstacle. After a couple tries and some skid plate grinding, I made it up. The trail continues along the side of the mountain and is still rough. Some places were almost not wide enough for my truck. As we were about to come out on top, there is this rock that sticks up out of the road. This obstacle has a little 12?x12?x4? tall rock tower on the downhill side and not much room to pass between the tower and the mountain. After almost rolling my truck here, I decided this is not a place to turn around. The next place was about ? mi. down the trail. With my loving wife guiding me, we managed to make it to a turn around spot. Turning around here was no easy task either. Finally we made it back down to just below the steep hill and ate lunch there. A few jeepers came down the trail and we talked 4-wheeling. They saw that someone had tried to turn around at the rock, but couldn?t believe I got that far. ?Never again, in this truck? I told them. By the way they talked it is an easier trip coming from the Jamestown side and coming down over that rock. I would like to someday try that again, but only if I have a ?toy? built for the job. I ended up with a lot more skid plate dents and a leaky pumpkin, but nothing a little silicon won?t fix. I have honestly never been more scared to lose my truck then that.
-J.D.Myers

The first time we took this road was in the snow, and we only made it (from Jamestown) to the abandoned cabin just past a challenging rock section. In fact, I was he only one in my group to make it up past the mine in the snow (with chains). The combination of large rocks and ice was too much for the short wheelbase guys. But it was the ?short wheel-base guys? who helped get me out when I high centered and then put a tree stump in the middle of my driver?s door. Since then I have lifted my truck (full size crew cab) 6 inches and put some 36? Super Swampers. In the summertime, the trail is easier to drive, but rougher. It can get narrow and steep at times, but nothing the average off-roader couldn?t handle. Once you reach the top, there are several other trails you could try. Most of them have gates at one point or another and--based on the time of year you are there?you may have to turn around and head back the way you came in.

-Thanks to Dave Nichols for the review

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G.P.S. Coordinate List:
No Extended G.P.S. data for this trail is available.