[JMH FJC TRD]

Does anybody routinely travel up Rollins Pass (East Portal side) or Corona Pass (Winter Park side)? I was there over the Memorial Day weekend and you could only go up about three and half miles from the start, (East Portal side) before the snow was just too deep. I am not sure when the Winter Park side opens (this weekend maybe?) I am guessing that the snow will melt about a mile a week so that hopefully I might be able to make the run to Jenny Creek/Lake and Yankee Doodle by the end of June. Thanks in advance!

 

[Athena]

I don't know about the end of June...probably more like end of July.

 

[fjcruzer123]

Here's the USDA site with road info. Not always accurate, but gives you an idea and you can contact them directly.

USDA Forest Service, Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests, Pawnee National Grassland - Conditions - Forest Roads - Boulder Ranger District

 

[JMH FJC TRD]

Well I went up both the Rollins Pass (East Portal) and Corona Pass (Winter Park) side this last week and found that you can drive up to about seven miles on either side before the remaining snow is just to deep to drive though. (Not that people don't try to go further and end up geeting stuck!)

<<< As far as I could go (7.3 miles) on the Corona Pass (Winter Park) side. ((Picture is subject to change in the future))

 

[double_d]

Can this trail be fully traveled later in the summer when more snow melts? I've never taken such a direct route to Winter Park sounds fun. How long of a trip would u say it is over the pass, an hour?

 

[JMH FJC TRD]

Yes and NO!!?? When the snow does fully melt completely it is possible to drive all the way up on either side to Needles Eye Tunnel which has been fenced off so it is IMPOSSIBLE to go through to the other side. (East Portal from the Winter Park side ((Corona)) and Winter Park from the East Portal side ((Rollins)). There is supposedly a bypass trail that goes around Needles Eye that means it is possible to go from East Portal to Winter Park. I myself have NOT seen it yet. Time wise it depends on the traffic! Traffic you say? Yes, traffic. I went on the Rollins Pass side over Memorial Day weekend and they were quite a few SUV's/Quad runners/mini bikes/hikers/mountain bikers/Subarus/BIG lifted Jeeps of ALL sorts/misc campers/etc and you could only make it 3.5 miles up from the beginning before the snow was too deep and slushy to make it any further. (NOT that that did not stop quite a few people from trying to go further resulting in them getting quite stuck!) Then after I got my 6MT TT FJC I went back and there were at least twice as many people on the passes although you could then drive up to about 7.5 miles from the start. I drive quite slowly going up so as not to hit the rocks to hard or make it dusty for the OTHER users on the pass. I would say about two hours from East Portal to Needles Eye ONCE the snow melts completly. I am planning on going back next week and hope that it is possible to drive at least 10 miles up from the start to Yankee Doodle Lake.

 

[JMH FJC TRD]

Update:
The Rollins Pass road side (East Portal to Needles Eye Tunnel) is completly opened as of late July as I drove up to the respected summits. The Corona Pass side (Winter Park to Needles Eye Tunnel) has been opened since June. :wave: