Unicorn, Bennet etc. road advice please! (S. San Juans)

[KevinK]

Trying to plan a quick trip but having a hard time piecing together and finding beta on the roads in the area. Anyone familiar with that part of the state care to help please?
I'll be in a Subaru outback so no overly rough roads.

Looks like I could approach Bennet from the north on 14, 380 or 330 and then onto 329 till the 4wd section of blowout pass. Sound do able? Any way easiest?

To approach Unicorn/Monte/Summit from there it looks like I may be able to follow 329 back down to 380 and south to 243 and the TH. This part Im very unsure of. Can I get there in 2wd?

Lastly I need to go to Pagosa springs from there. Is there a more direct way there from the last TH or assuming my above route goes should I just reverse back up my route towards South Fork?

[bergsteigen]

I have a couple trip reports on these peaks, and I mention the roads. Off hand, approaching Bennet from the north will be your best bet

[rijaca]

You can also approach Bennet from the east on CR 28. Passenger car friendly til the road ends (or at least it was a couple years ago).

[12ersRule]

I followed the directions mostly in the book with all the Colorado county highpoints in it. It was all 2wd roads, even the part between Bennett and Summit/Montezuma/Unicorn et. al, that said it wasn't 2wd.

Approached Bennett from the north. I stopped about a mile before blowout pass just to be on the safe side. Hiked south to Blowout Pass, and then went from there.


Drove back to same main road, about 9 miles, then went past the turnoff for this 12er you can drive to the top of (Grayback Mtn) and got to the turnoff for those 13ers fairly easily.

I'll look up the road numbers tonight if you need, but your way sounds about right.

To get to Pagosa, the fastest way it seems is to go north from Summit/Montezuma et. al.

There's a surprising number of miles between each one of your stops. I remember it taking a while to drive. Have fun!

[Rainier_Wolfcastle]

We did those peaks, plus Conejos, last Sept, but all from the East (Alamosa). We did Bennett from the end of 265 south of Windy Mntn...very short with a walk through a pasture, easy road as I remember. We did Conejos and the Unicorn Group from that long drive up 250 (in on the northern section by Terrace Reservoir and out south by Platoro to Conejos River)...long drive, but beautiful country back there. I don't remember the difficulty of the FR 380, rest seemed like nice road. It is a maze back there. Unicorn group was a serious bushwack, GPS would have come in real handy. Lots of hunters this time of year off 250. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

[TravelingMatt]

Bennett: Did from the southeast from CR 28, which becomes USFS 265. Class 1 to summit. I still have the full summit register from when I did it.

Summit/Unicorn/Montezuma: Did from USFS 243 [Edit: Or maybe 242, not sure of the number]. I put up a conditions report on this trip; note particularly the northern ridge of Summit is not advisable.

Conejos: Did from the end of CR 105. Took the Rincon Trail south to above the basin at around 12100, then headed west to the summit. This trail gets confused with game trails just below treeline, but just keep heading up.

No trouble on any of the roads in a Rav4, and you'll be fine in the Outback. However, I do NOT recommend driving USFS 260 on the way to Conejos. It looks shorter than FS250, but is muddier and rougher than 250 and will take more time.

To get to Pagosa you can take 380/390 to Wolf Creek Pass or 667 along the East Fork of the San Juan River to reach 160 a few miles east of Pagosa. No experience with either of the roads, however.

It's beautiful country down there.

[TravelingMatt]

Unicorn group was a serious bushwack, GPS would have come in real handy. Lots of hunters this time of year off 250. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

From the end of 242 or 243 (not sure what the right number is; maps differ), you can head south on a trail to where the basin opens up, then northwest mostly through tundra up a long gully to eventually hook up with the CDT. I did come back down via Treasure Creek, which is more straight east/west from the TH, and recall it steep with blowdowns in a couple spots.

[djkest]

Has anyone driven the full length of Blowout pass this year?

Rather than start my own topic I thought I would jump in on this one.
I am looking for a bit more recent data on the blowout pass road. From what Bergsteigen said, the North approach is much more tame, the South approach from Jasper is steep and rough. However the Southern approach is MUCH shorter in many cases. My friend has a 4x4 Chevy Colorado, clearance isn't great. But we'd sure love to save some time if possible.

Also will post my trip report sometime after we get back. I've got an interesting route planned for Conejos that should be worth sharing if it pans out.

[DaveLanders]

I haven't driven all of it, but the 1st few miles were in excellent shape in early June. I only went as far as the side road that goes to the saddle between Marble and Burro (sorry I don't recall the number of the side road).

[djkest]

We drove in the area but not over blowout pass road. The road conditions were very good on the main dirt roads of the area.