Clohesy Lake Road

[larkinrx2]

just interested if anyone has pics/beta on how the road is to get to Clohesy lake.
yes river crossing issue aside (looking at begining of August). Mainly interested in how 4x high clearance the road is. i know a time back there was a bad mud slide back there also and a bunch of vehicles got stuck and any input on the forecast of that being repeated appreciated also.
taking a scout troop out to camp at winfield and didnt know if that was a viable lake for fishing or should we head out to the reservoir for the day on those wanting fishing? can you canoe on the reservoir or is it no water craft?

thanks in advance
mike

[BobbyFinn]

It's been a couple years since I drove up there. The hardest part was right after the creek crossing - a steep spot, almost a step.
After that, it's rough for maybe .5 to .75 and then it's not too bad. There are some mud puddles near the end if it's been rainy.
Edit: I did this road a 2-3 times in a 2 inch lifted, but otherwise stock Xterra PRO4x.

I don't know about fishing in Clohesy Lake or elsewhere along 390, but fishing in Clear Creek Res is pretty popular and boats are allowed.

[Trotter]

its a bad road, but a nice hike. Consider hiking in to the lake. It is boy scouts after all, not car riding scouts

[daway8]

Clohesy Lake was one of the first outings I did with a 4Wheeling group where I went with a bunch of people in seriously tricked out Jeep Rubicons and such. At the time I was driving a Jeep Renegade Trailhawk (not a "real" Jeep according to most in the group).

At the river crossing my literal thought was "that's absolutely impossible! There's no way you could ever get a vehicle up that!!"

But the first Jeep went up without incident and I was next in line. Put it in 4LO and took it slow and made it up without issue. I would never have even considered attempting that without experienced 4WD folks around with winches and such.

So if you have a proper 4WD vehicle and experience it's a viable road. If you don't have much 4WD experience I highly recommend NOT doing it without at least one recovery vehicle with you. If you don't have 4WD - stay away. There are less dramatic 4WD roads just past Winfield on either side but as of last weekend they weren't quite fully melted out yet (would expect the same for Clohesy).

There's plenty of good camping in that area but occasionally strange party mongers of various types pop up back there, lol.

[sfreytag]

Should be doable in any truck or SUV with a low range transfer case. I went up 4 years ago in a Ram 2500 and the road was closed a little before the lake. There was avalanche debris blocking the road but before that there was a closed gate. It wasn't very far from the lake (0.25-0.5 mi?), but just be aware you may still have to hike if that gate is closed or that debris is still there