South Colony Lakes 4wd Trailhead

[Ed_Groves]

I have plans to arrive at the South Colony Lakes 4wd TH Saturday afternoon, August 17th. I will be camping there for four nights with my truck tent so all I need is a parking space, although a camping area would be preferable.

Should I expect difficulty in finding a spot on a busy Saturday afternoon around 5 PM?
Would it be better to arrive on a Friday evening?

I am pretty much locked in on arriving on one of those two days, due to my schedule.

[herdbull]

I don't think it's been too bad this year. We drove up to the Rainbow crossing this past Sunday morning around 7am and there was spots open to park and camp. We did not go all the way to the TH but I would suspect there were spots open. The road is in it's "normal" condition. Not horrible but not improved. I would expect 1 or maybe 2 Subies to drive to the 4wd TH. Pick-up with 4wd or Jeep Wrangler type should be fine.

[climbingcue]

Both of those days, Friday and Saturday. Will have to compete with all the Denver weekend people. Sunday afternoon should be much better for getting more open spots. Good luck, I am not sure how busy it has been this year down there. There are a number of places to park a truck. One year I got blocked in and had to make a 50 point turn to get out of my parking spot. They parked in front of me and the cars on either side were too close.

[arasca]

A trailhead update for last Saturday mentioned they got the last spot at the 4WD trailhead around 7:30pm. I hope that mean there'll be space at 5pm. (https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/threport ... cnum=10435)

And I actually have the same question but for the 2WD trailhead. I'm planning to drive there Saturday early afternoon and backpack in for Saturday night. should I expect to have to compete for parking space, too?

[mtree]

Depends how big your truck is. The upper lot is filled quickly and snugly. The few camping sites in the area are usually filled Friday evening and people will just park behind you or on the road if they arrive late at night. Spots left by those leaving on Saturday are quickly grabbed up. After one hike I had someone pull up next to me, ask when I'm leaving, and they waited an hour to grab my spot! That didn't make for a relaxing after-hike chill time.

Another time I went up with a buddy and he parked his lifted Ford F150 crew cab early on a Friday afternoon, but it was a tight fit and the last "available" spot. Because of his clearance he was able to nudge it into some underbrush so it didn't block the turnaround in the parking lot. You might have better luck parking in one of the spots coming up the road. There aren't many, but if you see one grab it. Count your mileage on the way up to see how close you can get to the trailhead. The place clears out by Sunday evening.

Its rare if someone has to turn around to park below and hoof it up, but it happens. And who knows, you might get lucky and find a primo spot... not that camping around there is primo. Its loud, buggy, and there's no views. Don't expect a great night's sleep.

[Ed_Groves]

I don't think it's been too bad this year. We drove up to the Rainbow crossing this past Sunday morning around 7am and there was spots open to park and camp. We did not go all the way to the TH but I would suspect there were spots open. The road is in it's "normal" condition. Not horrible but not improved. I would expect 1 or maybe 2 Subies to drive to the 4wd TH. Pick-up with 4wd or Jeep Wrangler type should be fine.

Both of those days, Friday and Saturday. Will have to compete with all the Denver weekend people. Sunday afternoon should be much better for getting more open spots. Good luck, I am not sure how busy it has been this year down there. There are a number of places to park a truck. One year I got blocked in and had to make a 50 point turn to get out of my parking spot. They parked in front of me and the cars on either side were too close.

Depends how big your truck is. The upper lot is filled quickly and snugly. The few camping sites in the area are usually filled Friday evening and people will just park behind you or on the road if they arrive late at night.

You might have better luck parking in one of the spots coming up the road. There aren't many, but if you see one grab it. Count your mileage on the way up to see how close you can get to the trailhead. The place clears out by Sunday evening.

Its rare if someone has to turn around to park below and hoof it up, but it happens. And who knows, you might get lucky and find a primo spot... not that camping around there is primo. Its loud, buggy, and there's no views. Don't expect a great night's sleep.

Sounds like it could go either way then. I would come Sunday evening if I could but it isn't in the cards this time. I drive a Tacoma and was hoping to squeeze in after some of the day trippers go home. I will have to figure it out when I get there.

Thanks for the info from everyone!

[herdbull]

A trailhead update for last Saturday mentioned they got the last spot at the 4WD trailhead around 7:30pm. I hope that mean there'll be space at 5pm. (https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/threport ... cnum=10435)

And I actually have the same question but for the 2WD trailhead. I'm planning to drive there Saturday early afternoon and backpack in for Saturday night. should I expect to have to compete for parking space, too?

Don't sweat the 2wd parking. Every time I've gone up there this year there's been overflow parking on the road. Seems to be ok to do. Obviously NO camping at the 2wd parking area.

As for the OP, again, there's tons of places to camp between the Rainbow and the 4wd TH. While I understand it's convenient to park right at the TH. It doesn't add much time, distance or elevation to just pick one of the spots along the road.