Mt Elbert and Bierstadt

[indio]

Hi All,

I will be riding my motorcycle from SF Bay to Utah and then Colorado. I will cross into Colorado on 9/19, ride 145, parts of 550 to Frisco via Leadville then on to Squaw Pass & Mt Evans. I will have spent 1 night at Leadville by the time I ride to Mt Evans & Squaw Pass on the same day.

My thinking/plan:

1) I'd like to do at least 1 peak and two if possible; Elbert and/or Bierstadt. Since I will be riding to Mt Evans and it will be a short riding day I plan on heading onto a campground that is close to Mt Bierstadt. Setup camp or maybe motel/hotel then hike it next day. Are campgrounds open at that time of year ?
2)Next day pack up and spend night at Leadville or a campground near the NE trail so that I can start real early. Is the "road" leading to trailhead/campground Elbert Creek or HalfMoon doable on a street bike. I have some experience riding in gravel, dirt, sand but not technical trails/terrain.
3) Are there any shuttles services that do drop off/pickup from trailheads in case terrain leading upto trailhead is not conducive for a street bike. I don't want to get injured even before I start hiking

I haven't done any 14ers. So this will be first time. I have camped right off of Clouds Rest trail (I think 9000 feet) thrice, hiked Half Dome (twice) plus some JMT backpacking trips over the years.

Any suggestions, advice is greatly appreciated.

I have already downloaded the app. I am glad I stumbled across this site.

Thank you
Rahul

[constipated_pete]

1) Guanella pass campground is right there, but it looks like it closes the week before. There may be dispersed (primitive) camping up on the pass, I'm sure someone here will chime in
https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232306

2) The road is a good dirt road, doable in any sedan. No clue about bikes tho
https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/trailhea ... hparm=sw01

3) No shuttles

[justiner]

There may be dispersed (primitive) camping up on the pass, I'm sure someone here will chime in

Dispersed camping is tight on Guanella Pass, as they closed it all except in certain places - worth to do your due diligence.

[sfreytag]

If you go down the road a bit there is Geneva Park CG. Definitely accessible by a bike.

If you want dispersed camping, check out Kirby Gulch up CO Rd 1038/FS Rd 119. There are tons of spots up that road. Last time I was up there a few years ago it wasn't too bad the first few miles. I remember it being just a washboard dirt road for the first mile or two. I've seen full size campers back there so I would imagine a bike would be fine. Maybe someone else has been up there more recently and knows the current road conditions.

[SkaredShtles]

If you go down the road a bit there is Geneva Park CG. Definitely accessible by a bike.

Unless something has recently changed, this campground is closed. Has been for a couple years, IIRC.

[sfreytag]

I think the Forest Service website is out of date...surprise, surprise. There are lots of reviews of the campground on Google from stays over the past few weeks. Common theme is the campground host isn't a very nice lady...maybe you don't want to stay there after all

https://goo.gl/maps/Ya3gYZDD2iZLGNeu6

[indio]

Thank you all for responding.

Mt Bierstadt will have to either stay at hotel/motel at Gorgetown or dispersed camping around Geneva Lake campground as managed campgrounds close after Sept 4th. Road leading up to Geneva lake campground is doable based on some photos I have seen.

It looks like HalfMoon road leading to namesake campgrounds and then to the Elbert Creek campgroud is gravel road for most part so I will ride it up there, disperse camp. Hike up next day, pack up spend 1 night in Leadville.