Posted: July 22, 2026

I see a lot of people asking about the Gold Mountain Fire and other fires in Colorado right now, wondering if they can actually travel through the affected areas. We just got back from a week in western Colorado (Jul 11–18) and wanted to share what conditions were actually like on the ground.
Our Route & What We Found Open
Denver → Breckenridge → Glenwood Springs → Ouray area (and back)
• I-70 from Denver to Glenwood Springs: fully open, normal traffic
• US-550 from Glenwood/Aspen area south toward Ouray: fully open (we drove this multiple times)
• Million Dollar Highway (US-550 to Silverton): completely open, hikes in the San Juan mountains around Silverton all clear
• Return route: Ouray → Montrose → Black Canyon → Gunnison → Salida → Denver — all clear, scenic, and zero issues
No road closures encountered the entire trip.
Fire visibility: We saw the Gold Mountain Fire from a distance near Ridgeway (viewpoint from far away looking at smoke), but the Ouray/Silverton corridor was not impacted. The fire activity is east/northeast of the Ridgeway-Ouray US-550 corridor—not blocking routes to the attractions most people visit down there.
What Worked & What to Know
1. Check COtrip.org before you drive. We checked it every morning. The Ridgeway-Ouray stretch is the one segment that occasionally gets closed for fire ops, but even that was clear when we traveled it. It’s worth 30 seconds to verify.
2. AppWatchDuty is your friend for real-time alerts on road closures and conditions.
3. Weather was actually nice in the western mountains. Afternoon thunderstorms (nearly every day around 2-4 PM) meant it wasn’t oppressively hot—way more comfortable than Denver/Glenwood Springs (both hit \~100°F during the day). Evenings cooled off nicely everywhere.
4. Don’t camp with open fires or have campfires. There are signs all over the national forests about this. It’s not worth it. Don’t be that person.
Bottom Line
If you’re thinking about heading to Ouray, Silverton, Telluride area, the San Juans in general, or even Maroon Bells—go. Roads are open, hikes are open, the infrastructure is normal. Yes, there are active fires in Colorado right now, but they’re not where most tourists travel. Be smart about it (check conditions, follow fire restrictions), but don’t skip your trip out of worry.
Stay safe out there.

Latest information on fires and our trip

Just did the road up to corona pass in my bronco sport badlands and immediately fell in love with that type of driving. I haven’t done much of this before beyond regular rough forest roads, so any recommendations that are beginner friendly would be appreciated!

We love dispersed camping off forest service roads. Because of injuries (mostly from backpacking haha) we cannot backpack anymore, so we boondock.

Do you have any recommendations for Forest Service roads that are closed to ATV and OHV use? Sorry, but we find them to be incredibly disruptive, noisy, and dirty. We want to avoid conflicting uses with ATVS, so I figured this would be the best place to come ask about places OHV/ATV riders most love and use (so as to avoid) and places that are good for dispersed camping where such vehicles are prohibited in Southern Colorado.

Thanks!

3rd and 2nd gen Tacomas, 95 JDM Land Cruiser, full size big block GMC, Suburban, and a 79 Jeep Wagoneer!

Hiked up Argentine Pass today and captured a sick photo of a stranger taking in the views. Wanted to share with y’all!

If whoever was driving happens to be in the sub, I got more and will send to you!

Just sharing a few pictures form a trip in 2022 to Crystal Mill. Was done in a 2021 Ford Explorer 😂 no issues fyi

I did a bunch of research and planned on spending 2 nights dispersed camping in the Lead King Basin. My plan was to go through crystal, show the boys (5 & 2) the crystal mill, and then head up to the lead king basin dispersed sites while avoiding the switchbacks on the north loop and entirely avoiding Schofield pass. On the way up, tour jeep folks strongly advised not going any further, which scared my wife and made me decide to turn around at the western trailhead. After getting back from vacation I logged into trails off-road and after reading that further and seeing more pictures and descriptions, I’m very annoyed that I didn’t push on through. The jeep tour people asked where we were going and all I told them was the mill, and they didn’t even want me going there. Our rig is a stock 2024 ford expedition max with a DIY high clearance trailer. From beaver lake to the western trailhead was steep and rocky but we had zero issues. Am I crazy for thinking we could have pushed on??

EDIT: main concerns from everyone was tires and clearance. Will get proper off-road tires, rock sliders, and upgraded skid plates and attempt again. Still haven’t seen good evidence of why I can’t bring the trailer along if avoiding switchbacks and Schofield pass.

I'm traveling through Ouray in a few days....will Cinnamon Pass be okay for a stock 2012 rav4 with good tires?

Has anyone on here ran Red Cone in a raptor? I expect to leave with Colorado pin striping. Past that, anyone see any issues?

I ran this a long time ago in a 4Runner. Didn’t see too many full size vehicles on the trail.

Hey i'm looking for suggestions or advice for where i can get to pulling my 14' meaner bean trailer (offroad tires, independent suspension, high clearance, articulating hitch) for a night of dispersed camping near Telluride. Pulling vehicle is a heavily modified tacoma on 35s, no issues with rugged driving.

I don't want to pop in any old camping area you can pull any trailer, but also have no desire to take it on some of the extreme trails. But it can be hard to tell if online advice that says "don't take a trailer" like for Alta Lakes, does so with the sort of trailer i have in mind.

Anyone found that sort of ideal spot?

Boulder county road 68J. Thanks to Trails OffRoad as this one is hard to find without an app.

I drove 1.5 hrs from Boulder on a Tuesday morning to set up my tent, eat a PB&J, watch my dog swim, enjoy some wildflowers, take it all back down and go home by 3:00pm. And I loved every minute.

Actually I want to get my dog “broken in” to camping. He can be a bit territorial and whenever we tried in the past he doesn’t like other people near “his” area. So, trying small chunks at a time. Plus - I mean why not. It was 73F, blue skies and absolutely beautiful.

Stock GX460 except 265/65/18” Falkens.

I have read a few threads on Rampart Range Roads and am thinking of driving this on Saturday while I’m in town. I’d like to get started early around 6:30am hopefully before most people show up. Has anyone been out there lately? How are the roads? This will be my first time.

Looking for help, my daughters 16 and 18 love riding ATV’s with my wife and I. For years we have gone to lost park road to ride and camp but the girls want a new place as we have gone here for 10 or more years now. What other areas are good to go that are about same distance or closer? I have heard Rampart but also been told that it’s more for dirt bikes. Also should note that having 4 ATV’s we have a 33’ toy hauler. Any help would be very much appreciated. Thank you

Hey there, I'm looking for some tag-along partners for some offroading this weekend. I'm passing through on a long road trip and want to hit some hikes and scenic drives, but most importantly, some trails. My plan is generally this:

* Jul 15-17: Estes Park (no idea what I'm doing yet)

* Jul 17-18: Breckenridge - Mosquito + Argentine Pass (maybe Guanella Pass for hikes) but Willow fire...

* Jul 18-20: Telluride - Black Bear Pass, Imogene Pass (maybe skip Ophir?) but Gold Mountain fire...

Otherwise, anything you would change/recommend? Especially with the current wild fires? Also, any Facebook or other groups I should hit up?

I've never been on Mosquito Pass but I'm thinking about working the Fairplay Pack Burro race as a photographer. One of the spots is up on Mosquito Pass. I'm now driving a 2013 F350 CCLB so it's a bit long (24'). I would need to make it up to #5 on the attached pic. I have plenty of offroad experience and if I still had my 4Runner, I wouldn't be asking the question. It's just the length and lack of turning radius that has me concerned with the F350. Anyone advice would be much appreciated.

I bought a Polaris 900 trail, the 50 inch width version, so I would have more trail options. But when I drive to a trail head for a 50 inch trail, it only shows a picture of an ATV and dirt bike on the sign. Is this an oversight since my sxs is in the minority? Do I meet the intended size for the trail so I'm good? Or is the trail width pointless because I can only go on full width trails?