Grand Mesa National Forest OHV

The Alpine Loop Back Country Byway is a 65-mile BLM-designated 4WD scenic route traversing the heart of the San Juan Mountains in Hinsdale and Ouray counties, connecting the historic mining communities of Lake City, Ouray, and Silverton across three high mountain passes and through the ruins of the Colorado silver mining era. The loop crosses Engineer Pass (12,800 feet) between Lake City and Ouray, Cinnamon Pass (12,620 feet) between Lake City and Silverton, and passes through the ghost town of Animas Forks — a remarkably well-preserved high-altitude mining settlement at 11,200 feet that operated as an active silver camp through the 1880s and 1890s. The Alpine Loop is Colorado's premier high-alpine 4WD destination and one of the most photographed off-road routes in North America: the route crosses above treeline for miles at a stretch, traverses the exposed tundra and talus slopes of the San Juan high country, and provides 360-degree views of the 14,000-foot peaks that surround the route on all sides including Wetterhorn Peak, Uncompahgre Peak, and the Sneffels Range. The terrain demands genuine 4WD capability — not all-wheel-drive or crossovers, but dedicated 4x4 vehicles with low range; the rocky shelf roads on the pass climbs and the water crossings in American Basin and Picayne Gulch require real clearance and traction. ATVs, UTVs, dirt bikes, and full-size 4x4s are all accommodated on the byway. Colorado OHV registration is required. Dispersed camping is available throughout the BLM and national forest land. BLM Gunnison Field Office (970-641-0471) manages the byway; Lake City and Silverton each have full visitor services, lodging, fuel, and trailhead parking for trailered rigs.

The Alpine Loop Backcountry Byway is a 65-mile network of historic mining roads connecting Lake City, Ouray, and Silverton through the San Juan Mountains at elevations above 12,000 feet, managed by the BLM Gunnison Field Office. The route crosses Engineer Pass (13,218 ft) and Cinnamon Pass (12,620 ft) on narrow, rocky mountain tracks with significant exposure. High-clearance 4WD is required at minimum; experience with mountain driving and a recovery kit are strongly recommended. Jeeps, 4x4 trucks, and side-by-sides are the predominant vehicles; ATVs are permitted on designated segments. No fee or permit is required; dispersed BLM camping is available at multiple pullouts along the route. One of the most celebrated 4WD destinations in the lower 48, drawing tens of thousands of vehicles each short summer season.

The Dolores River Canyon BLM OHV network encompasses the designated off-highway vehicle routes on Bureau of Land Management land in the canyon country of Montezuma and Dolores counties in southwestern Colorado — the Four Corners region where Colorado grades into the Colorado Plateau canyon landscape of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. The Dolores River cuts a deep sandstone canyon through the mesa country west and north of the town of Dolores, and the BLM routes in this area navigate between the canyon rim, the mesa top, and the canyon floor on terrain that is categorically different from the high-alpine and mountain riding that characterizes most Colorado OHV recreation. The canyon landscape is Colorado Plateau character: Navajo and Entrada sandstone canyon walls, pinyon-juniper woodland on the canyon rims, sagebrush and rabbitbrush mesa flats, and the deep red-rock canyon system of the Dolores River itself — a landscape more similar to Moab, Utah than to the mountain OHV parks that dominate most Colorado destination riding. The route network provides access to the Anasazi archaeological sites of the Four Corners region; the Dolores River corridor contains significant Ancestral Puebloan artifacts including pit houses and cliff dwellings that are managed by BLM under cultural resource protection rules. ATVs, UTVs, dirt bikes, and 4x4 trucks are all accommodated on designated routes; riders should carry maps as route signage is less developed than in the high-traffic mountain areas. Colorado OHV registration required. Dispersed camping available under standard 14-night BLM limits. BLM Tres Rios Field Office in Dolores (970-882-7296) manages current route information and canyon access.

Grand Mesa National Forest hosts designated OHV trails across the top of the Grand Mesa — the world's largest flat-top mountain, a volcanic basalt plateau northeast of Grand Junction in Mesa County, Colorado, rising to over 11,000 feet above sea level. The Grand Mesa's flat-top geography is geologically unusual and recreationally distinctive: the mesa top is a rolling plateau of alpine meadow, aspen groves, and more than 300 small lakes and reservoirs sitting at 9,000 to 11,000 feet elevation, surrounded by the steep canyon walls that define the mesa's perimeter and separate the high plateau from the Colorado Plateau basin far below. Trail access is primarily via Highway 65 near the Lands End Road junction, which crests the mesa from the western side. The OHV routes traverse the mesa through mixed terrain: moderate forest doubletrack through aspen and spruce corridors at mid-elevations, alpine meadow traverses above treeline with the sweeping views across the Colorado Plateau that are the Grand Mesa's defining visual experience, and technical rocky routes on the approach ridges where the basalt cap produces the broken-rock surface distinctive of volcanic flat-top geology. ATVs, UTVs, and motorcycles are permitted on designated trails; Colorado OHV registration is required for all machines. Dispersed camping and developed campgrounds are available on the national forest at no additional trailhead fee. Season is approximately late June through October depending on annual snowpack — the 11,000-foot plateau holds snow well into summer in heavy years. Contact the GMUG Grand Junction Ranger District for current trail status and snow conditions (970-242-8211).