CR30 is in awful shape

[JQDivide]

I added a TH report, but thought I'd share this here too.

CR 30 is in awful shape. It is the worst I have seen it in 20 plus years.

Getting a 2wd vehicle to the Grizzly Gulch TH used to be the norm. I would not take a regular 2wd up that road anymore. It is rough, rocky and washed out, repaired in spots. Someone popped a tire on the way up to GG during the Fall Gathering. Your AWD vehicles should be OK, but you need to know how to drive these roads.

Between the heavy rains and OHV traffic this summer, the road is no longer an easy cruise. Even 4wd vehicles will be driving slower, so add anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to your trip. You will want a 4 x 4 to get to the top of the pass, some of the switchbacks are all rock.

I spoke with a sheriff deputy on top the of the pass, and he said the road has gotten worse since this spring.

This info probably won't matter much for the remainder of the year, as I doubt a lot of people will be taking a 2wd up that road with the possibility of any snow.
Not sure what it will be like once the snow melts for the 2023 summer.

[dwoodward13]

Agree. I was shocked how bad it had become around the 4th of July timeframe (and I'm sure its only gotten worse since then). I had driven my sedan up to GG two prior times, but would never even consider doing so now. I was lucky to be in a different car.

It will be interesting to see if Hinsdale County does some repairs next spring, or if they just let it go to the SxS...

[yaktoleft13]

It definitely was worse than I remember (bumpy and pothole-y, not technically difficult), but coming back from American Basin on Sunday there was a Prius at the GG trailhead. So do with that what you will.

[Skimo95]

It definitely was worse than I remember (bumpy and pothole-y, not technically difficult), but coming back from American Basin on Sunday there was a Prius at the GG trailhead. So do with that what you will.

A mechanic saying I like: you can’t fix stupid, but you can fix what stupid does! I also posted a CR on the road this summer after thinking it’d gotten worse.

[two lunches]

without pointing fingers...

it is ironic that following the ban of SxS in Silverton and the SxS community being up in arms ALL SUMMER LONG over being "kicked out", declaring they are "taking their business to Lake City instead", the road quality of the Alpine Loop on the Lake City side of CR30 has rapidly deteriorated...

[cedica]

I doubt it's only CR30. Last September I've visited few roads that I didn't see for three or four prior years and those were in horrendous shape for low-clearance cars: CO 390, Dolores CR 38, Hinsdale CR 20... I hope that Build Batman's Back Better Bill will fix them all.

[tmud]

All the roads back there are getting rough. It's about time they paved and installed guardrails on stony and cinnamon passes. I bet SJCO could get buc-ees and whataburger to sponsor the project if they get first dibs on commercial space where the CDT crosses stony pass.

[XterraRob]

SxS should be banned on all roads. Not sure how anyone can expect a road to stay in "good" condition with the way those lunatics drive on them. They're tearing up trails in Arizona, Colorado, and Utah from what I've seen. Everytime I am head on with one on the trail and they're driving like an idiot, I don't even brake.

[12ersRule]

I-25 miles 250-268 are in much worse shape than CR30, I'm sure. 18 miles of hell, and it's going to be another few years like this. In the end, all we get is a toll lane out of it.

[Hiker Mike]

I was up there last week on that road in a Jeep. I don't know what surprised me more. The condition of the road or the speed limit sign that said 15 MPH. I felt lucky to do 10 MPH in spots let alone the whole road.

[desertdog]

I drove quite a few 4wd roads this summer. Many I had been on before. I was shocked at how rough they had become. On the way to Rockdale I came across a S X S coming down hill at me. He won't move even though i could see a pull out behind him. Finally after a standoff he backed up and frowned at me. I think the rain has been hard on the roads plus the crowds,

My 4Runner still isn't talking to me.

[HikerGuy]

I drove quite a few 4wd roads this summer. Many I had been on before. I was shocked at how rough they had become. On the way to Rockdale I came across a S X S coming down hill at me. He won't move even though i could see a pull out behind him. Finally after a standoff he backed up and frowned at me.

That's another issue with them (SxS), they don't know/follow the trail rules/etiquette. The driver facing downhill yields to the driver facing uphill.