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Yankee Boy Basin Trailhead

  
Posted By: Kiefer
Info: The actual TH is plowed, packed & icy. There were a few vehicles with chains. LOTS of room though. Past the gate, road is plowed pretty well to the mine.
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Posted By: fsun71
Info: Made it to lower 4WD/outhouses in stock 2015 Toyota Rav4 with some caution
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Posted By: Wentzl
Info: A lot of work has gone into smoothing out the rough spots on this road over the summer. They even filled in and smoothed out the upper part of the road to the upper 4wd trailhead at 12,000’. Subaru Outbacks can easily get to the outhouse now. After the outhouse is still a difficult ride, but easier than any time in the past 5 years or more.
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Posted By: dadykhoff
Info: Haven’t seen it posted here yet but the road is back open now.
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Posted By: GuiGirard
Info: Road is closed due to a rock fall at Governor Basin Junction (the 2WD lot at 10,700 if I understand correctly) since last night and still is as of 2.30PM this Sunday. Almost certainly related to yesterday afternoon thunderstorms.
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Posted By: csteffl
Info: Your results may vary based on your vehicle, road conditions, and driving capabilities. I took a stock 2015 Highlander up to the outhouse lot in the pre-dawn hours (dark). With new all-weather tires, traction control off, and careful lines with a spotter in a couple of places it was doable. The pucker factor was real though. The hitch scraped a couple of times. There was a newer Outback and a Jeep Compass (I think) at the outhouse lot among a few other vehicles with better clearance. It took 55 min to hike up to the upper trailhead at a casual pace from the outhouse lot. The upper was empty when we arrived, but had a few lifted vehicles with big tires (Wrangler, X-Terra, 4Runner) as well as several high clearance side x sides when we came down. Some other folks with SUVs just parked at the 2wd area and hiked or hitched a ride up to the outhouse lot. Hiking or driving that road is certainly part of the adventure!
 
Posted By: Oso Blanco
Info: Driving an AWD Cherokee Latitude, didn’t make it more than a few hundred yards past the Jct of Yankee Boy Basin and Governor Basin Road towards the Outhouse before encountering huge bumps and deep holes. Didn’t have the juice or clearance. A Subie driver behind me also tried a few times and turned back. Several higher clearance Jeeps and trucks passed us up without any problems. We parked in a wide pull off and thumbed a ride in a new Bronco, took us all the way to the upper 12,460 lot w/out any problems.
 
Posted By: john curtis
Info: I made it to the upper trailhead (12,460’) with my Jeep Wrangler (2.5 inch lift and 33" tires). There was one rough section where I had to use 4 low to get up over some rocks and I scraped bottom a little. This was around 12,160’ (I think) just beyond a small snow field where the road turns left just below the snow. I managed to take a better line on the way back down and did not bottom out. There were two other Jeeps and maybe six Can-Am/Polaris vehicles at the upper trailhead.
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Posted By: Wentzl
Info: The road is in decent shape now, not any real difficulties up to the outhouse. They oiled the road up to Senators Gulch, which is nice. No dust up to there. The snow is melting quickly and you can now drive past the outhouse up to the Wrights Lake trail cutoff. There were tire tracks through the initial snowdrift, but there is considerable snow above that point so no point in going further for a couple weeks at least.
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Posted By: supranihilest
Info: Plowed to outhouse. Road is a bit worse than in past years but most vehicles with moderate clearance and 4WD/AWD should be fine. Bathroom open and stocked with TP. Not plowed at all beyond the outhouse and deep snow on the road begins within 100 yards of the outhouse, so no point in attempting to drive farther.
 
Posted By: durkan
Info: Open! Plowed all the way to that lower 4wd TH with the shack. Construction and work is still occuring below that, so drive slow and cautiously.
 
Posted By: HikerGuy
Info: In case anyone was looking to get a jump on the holiday weekend. Per Ouray County Road and Bridge FB page:

CR361/26 CLOSED FOR CULVERT REPAIRS Thursday, May 25.
In preparation for a busy Memorial Day weekend and summer season, we will need to close CR361/26 (Camp Bird Road/Yankee Boy Basin) for necessary culvert repairs. The closure will begin at the Senator Gulch gate area at 8am and will reopen as soon as repairs are completed. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we work to maintain this important and heavily traveled road.
 
Posted By: Wentzl
Info: Winter gate open, not yet clear to trailhead, but the 4.3 mile hike has been cut back to 1.1
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Posted By: Wentzl
Info: Winter gate is closed.
 
Posted By: 100PeaksAdv
Info: Its crazy how much things can change in a little over a week! The trailhead is completely snowed out starting a little past the turn-off for governor basin. I also wouldnt be surprised if this gets pushed back even further following the snow on 10/26 and 10/27. Possibly even the gate closure.

I broke trail through about 12,800. Some post-holing as much as 2 feet deep already. Couldnt capture any footage due to earlier than expected white-out conditions. So I called it a day and turned around.
 
Posted By: Wentzl
Info: The road has never been in better condition all the way to the outhouse. The washout shown in the photo on the 8/26/22 report has been repaired. They have run the grader over this thing and made it so I could just about get my Accord to the outhouse. Seriously, I have been driving this road several times a year for 25 years. NEVER BETTER!!
 
Posted By: dt_forrest
Info: Drove up in a Honda civic and parked about a mile before the outhouse, with a good amount of space for other cars at that area (around 10,500 feet elevation). Pot holes to watch for before that, but nothing major. A little after that point the road gets much rougher, and there is a major washout, although there seems to be a path around the washout on the left side (going up). If I had driven my Outback I think I could have made it up to the outhouse, but it would take a little care and bravery.
 
Posted By: mehale00
Info: With recent rain there are some significant washout ditches about a half mile after the restrooms. Made it through in a Jeep Grand Cherokee at night with just 1 inch tire lift but it was sketchy. Couldn’t get back out the next morning because a Suburu with lower clearance got wedged, had to wait a few hours for a crew to get it out.
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Posted By: GSODJA
Info: My climbing partner and I were also climbing Mt. Sneffels last Friday. Adding some additional pictures to previous post where Subaru got stuck to give additional view of road. We couldn’t get past the Subaru and had to park below. The rain has created a number of washouts. Strongly suggest only 4 wheel drive vehicles and with lift - we spoke to a caravan of jeeps at the upper 4WD trailhead on our way down. They told us while waiting for the Subaru to get towed it cost $1700 JUST for the tow (before damage to the car)!
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Posted By: dlaw
Info: There are some potholes worth avoiding on the way up to 2WD parking. From there to the outhouse parking, AWD and at least 8" ground clearance are needed. We made it up in a Crosstrek. A few of the obstacles required a second attempt and many require a careful choice of line. Other vehicles at the outhouse included an Outback, a CRV, and a CX-7. We hiked up higher and observed that stock Rubicons were making it to the upper trailhead, but they had to work for it.
 
Posted By: jtinney
Info: Road is not in good shape, even before the outhouse. The rain is contributing to this. The upper portion beyond the 4x4 sign has about 4 or 5 difficult moves. I have a stock Rubicon and scraped on the rock wall which is one of the last obstacles before you get to the upper trailhead. I and others went up on the left side but coming down you need to go to other side (left coming down) which creates a pretty big roll angle. It’s doable for sure but you really need high clearance and a shorter wheelbase. The last mile is the hardest which you would expect. Even before that there are certainly obstacles that I would say make it a difficult class 3 road. Go slow and make sure anything loose is tied down. For the upper portion of the trail you will encounter the first major obstacle soon after you pass the 4x4 sign. If you have issues going over that you can easily back down and park in the lower parking area. Keep in mind the obstacles above that get progressively worse so just stay within your comfort zone.
 
Posted By: Wentzl
Info: Got my Tacoma to the upper trailhead at 12,500 last night and I have to say the upper part of this road has been deteriorating these past few years. A little worse every year. Currently the rating of "3" for this stretch is out of date. I managed to bang my head on the roof of the truck twice, which does not happen on a "3". I would give it all of a 5 for difficulty. Certainly not comparable to Jaws on the Como Road, but not a walk in the park either.
 
Posted By: mmbakken
Info: Recent mudslide damage was cleaned up well and the posted road closure shouldn’t be a problem after today, 8/2/21. Check the Ouray Road & Bridge site for current conditions: https://ouraycountyco.gov/151/Road-Bridge

Made it to the parking area at 11,600 in a stock VW Tiguan with 4WD and ~7" clearance. Was a rough drive up: there are a couple of small temporary creeks to cross, given the recent heavy rain. Difficult and very narrow in spots. I’d probably stick to the 2WD trailhead if I had to go up again, but a few other crossover type cars made it up too.
 
Posted By: ReginaThomas
Info: Road is closed at thistledown campground due to mudslides. No ETA on reopening. This also affects Imogene pass and governor basin.
 
Posted By: Evey1134
Info: Road was solid until the 4wd sign. I made it about a mile past this sign, Could have gone more but was crunched for time and didnt feel it was necessary to risk scraping. The last ~.5 mile of road was steep but certainly doable in a modified 4wd.
 

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