Schofield Pass

Closed for the season! See you next year!

Ran this from Crystal over to Crested Butte and after waiting for an ATV rollover to clear (everyone was fine), I had a great time. I'm surprised that the obstacle right next to Devil's Punchbowl isn't listed on here (you can see the easier part of it in Tracy's review below) and although I had an easy time getting over it, I think it's still worth knowing it's there (didn't take any pictures but it's about 100 yards after the bridge if you're coming from Crystal). There was quite a bit of debris at Waypoint 5 and I had to reposition myself several times to get over it. I did this trail on worn-out 285/70/17 tires (32.7" when new so mine are probably closer to 32" right now, maybe even smaller) with 3" of lift and going off of my experience, I would not recommend doing this trail unless you have one of the following: 1) Someone in front of you who can tow/winch you out if need be because if you don't make it over Waypoint 5, you'll have no choice but to back up or 2) A minimum of 3" of lift AND a minimum of new (or close to new) 285/70/17 tires. I ran this solo and knew it was going to be a challenge with my worn-out rubbers but it was still a fun, beautiful trail and I'm excited to do it again next year with my new, larger setup.

Amazing trail we did it from marble to CB. We were inLifted land cruiser and got stuck on the main obstacle. Friendly jeep help be our anchor and we were out in no time. Trail was wet so it added a bit of difficulty heading up.

I drove Schofield Pass from Crystal up to Gothic and Mt. Crested Butte on Sunday, September 19. The autumn colors are just beginning and I expect them to peak by the first week of October. There are two challenging spots in the "Devil's Punchbowl" section--Waypoint 5 and a point that is approximately 100 yards uphill from the Bridge at Waypoint 6. WP-5 is the rock-slide area and it has two boulders, one larger at the shelf edge (this one is embedded or fixed in position), and the other, smaller, is loose. The loose boulder makes this tricky--one can put a tire directly on it to drive over it (with adequate clearance and sliders) or one can drive over the fixed rock to "straddle" the loose boulder. The second challenging spot is where the road makes a S-turn on jagged, exposed bedrock. At the lower end of this segment is an exposed pointed rock that will grab a diff or snag an IFS rig if one slips off the rocks attempting to straddle it. An alternate line is to hug the uphill wall, but this is more off-camber and more difficult to back-up/reverse if you choose to change your line.

Ran the trail from Crystal to near the parking lot at the top, then camped for the night. It was dark when I went over the rock obstacle at waypoint 5 - had to reposition a few times to get the right line. I concur with Ryan's 7/31 review - the obstacle has more debris on it than shown in the trail images. There was an additional obstacle that I had to reposition on between waypoints 5 and 6, but that's probably due to the fact that I was running at night, uphill, after light rain, without a spotter. Overall a beautiful trail that I highly recommend running during the daytime! Pics of waterfalls running, near waypoint 4. This was after a rainstorm earlier in the day, so this may not be representative of current water flows. Had no issues with any of the stream crossings.

I came up from the bottom, from Crystal Mill. This was an amazing trail! Great shelf road, with a couple challenging obstacles to climb. The relief from the shelf road really adds to the thrill. I made it no problem in my Xterra and it was super fun. I would not drive this when the crowds are out. I can't imagine meeting some one who on the shelf road who couldn't or didn't know to wait until the oncoming traffic passed through. I might up this trail 1/2 a point when ascending the Devil's Punchbowl hill. Super fun. Put it on your bucket list.

What an incredible trail! The trail difficulty rating is too low. Very technical ride at several points and a narrow shelf road that has you paying close attention throughout the entire ride. Our adrenalin was up. This was my favorite trail after doing many over the last 35 years in Colorado. Yet it also made my wife cry... This trail makes me think there need to be two rates for each trail. One is the level of actual danger and the other is the level of skill or gear needed to accomplish the trail. This trail is much more dangerous and technical because of that reason, making the overall rating too low. God forbid someone would have come from the other direction! There was no way I could have backed up through the obstacles, and there are only two places on the trail where one vehicle could pull over. I wish I had taken more pictures but was so focused on the trail as it was my first time on it.

The big rocks in the aforementioned reports about the rock slide, have been cleared and the trail is finally open end to end for the year. Be advised, the rock slide areas do still have some debris on them that will require higher clearance then the rest of the trail, at least until these piles get beat down a bit by traffic.

Still impassable as of 7/19. Rock slide in the Punchbowl area with some fresh debris from recent rains.

snow bridge still blocking the trail below the punchbowl.

Hiked up from Crystal. Another month at least on the snow.

My small group drove up Schofield Pass from Marble after having completed Kebler Pass from Crested Butte. My group consisted of a stock '97 Tacoma (29" A/T tires), a modified 2014 Tacoma, a modified 2019 4Runner, and a stock '03 Land Cruiser (33" A/T tires). None of us had issues (we all have 20+ years of 4x4 experience). We found there were two slightly difficult rock ledges between Lead King Basin (WP 7) and the bridge at the bottom of the Devil's Punchbowl (WP 6). Both were approximately 16-18" high. Uphill from the bridge (WP 6) less than 100 yards is another rock ledge and loose rocks; I slipped off my line, backed up three feet, and then successfully climbed over. The '14 Tacoma, 4Runner, and Land Cruiser were able to take a different line because they have bigger tires, so this was no problem for them. The rock obstacle shown at WP 5 has changed a lot and is much, much flatter and simpler now. There is little risk of rocker damage. Above the obstacle at WP 5 are two large rocks, one on the right side and one on the left side of the road. Each is approximately 20" high and 30-40" in diameter. They are separated enough that even the Land Cruiser ("full-size" width) drove between them without issue (using spotter).

Fantastic trail! Exciting start to finish. The descent down to the Devil's Punchbowl will keep your full attention all the way to the bottom. The narrow shelf road is among the narrowest I've encountered on Colorado trails. Besides the narrowness of the shelf road, most of the trail is fine but requires tight and precise navigation. Its the final descent in the last 1/10 of mile down to the bridge below the punchbowl that we found most challenging for our rig with its 32" tires and a 3" lift kit. Had we not been fully armored underneath, we could have taken some damage based on the contact we heard and felt in the obstacle. Stock vehicles may want to give this serious consideration. The attached video from our YouTube channel (TheGXChronicles) covers that section.

Open all the way

Drove from Crested Butted to Marble (and had fabulous Ribs in Marble). Based on the reviews from last fall not much has changed on the trail. I echo previous reviewers that this trail is more of difficult than a 4. Vehicles will have two choke points to contend with, and there are at least 4 spots where an improper line will result in damage or a jam. Short wheel base and lifts are a must for full size vehicles. See picture of one of the choke points between two boulders.

Ran on fri 10-9. Maybe we were lucky but only saw 1 vehicle on Scofield Pass. Trail is straight forward but make sure your rig is ready.

We drove this trail on Saturday after driving the Eastern half of Paradise Divide. We drove to Crystal and turned around and drove back up the Punchbowl. I would recommend driving this trail on a weekday to avoid the congestion we experienced (a Saturday during fall colors!) which required us to back-up several times. There are several very rocky sections and several throughout the Punchbowl which require precise tire placement and the Punchbowl is not for inexperienced or easily nerved drivers. We thoroughly enjoyed the trail and only were nervous (terrified) watching two vehicles that were not in 4 low, riding their brakes and "bouncing" down the Punchbowl. I would recommend upping the difficulty rating primarily to deter novice drivers from attempting it. Also, the giant warning sign at the start should be enough but it was shocking watching some vehicles go do the Punchbowl. We drove Black Bear early in the week and I would rate this as more difficult. Overall, I recommend for the challenge and the scenery but would suggest saving for a weekday!

I ran this trail from Crested Butte to Crystal Mill in my lifted Tacoma with rock sliders and 33s. Beautiful trail with shelf roads and a few rocky sections at a cliffs edge that will thrill you. I am going to echo the last review and say this trail is a little more difficult than it is rated. Beside a couple of technical sections coming down into Devils Punch Bowl, the main concern is the shelf road. I would add Narrow Shelf road, Width, No Full Size (due to the need to reverse and the few tight spaces available for passing) Mild off Camber, and Pin Stripping as concerns. There are very long stretches where passing is not an option for hundreds of yards due to the shelf road. Also worth noting, it appears the rock obstacle at waypoint 5 no longer exists. The obstacles I came across did not match the photos of that obstacle. However a few hundred yards before waypoint 5 some boulders have tumbled down into the trail creating an obstacle similar in difficulty (per the videos I’ve seen), but instead it is a straight on obstacle. I did not catch a photo, but only a side by side would fit between the boulders easily. Going down hill, the drivers side boulder is 3 foot high with a vertical face that no vehicle would go over and at the passenger side there is a 18” tall 3’ wide boulder that 4x4 vehicles will need to go over to pass. Rock sliders required on a Tacoma, I used mine well with no chance of avoiding it here. A handful of side by side vehicles told me I would struggle at that obstacle due to width, but with rock sliders going over it wasn’t a huge issue. I imagine someone might decide to pull one of these boulders out of the way to make that section more manageable since it seems to be recent. I did not need skids on this trail. I absolutely recommend the trail! Hope for minimal oncoming traffic, I was lucky and only had to reverse the shelf road twice.

The rating on this trail seriously needs to be updated. Do not take the warning sign lightly. Myself and 3 other heavily modified rigs completed this trail but not without a few spotters. After an agreed discussion, we would would rate this more of a 6-7 and other very important considerations BEFORE attempting would be: It also has it listed as no issues. Could probably add: Narrow Shelf road, No Full size, Mild off Camber, and Pin Stripping. There are also a couple rock obstacles to consider and navigate between. This trail is not for the faint of heart, and tire placement is extremely important. Beautiful trail nonetheless!

What an amazing trail. Beautiful views. Not many Jeeps on the trail today, mostly hikers, and a couple of side-by-sides. It was totally open, we came from Crested Butte and went all the way to Marble via Crystal City. The Schofield section was the most technical of the 3 trails, and it was really only mentally challenging. If you could take away the big drop off alongside the shelf road it's easy driving. We were in a Rubicon Unlimited on 38's.

We came in from the Marble, CO side after driving Crystal City. We had received reports along the way that an SUV was broken down on the road near the punchbowl. Apparently the stranded vehicle completely blocked the road and it had been there for a couple of days. About 3/4 of a mile in (from Waypoint 7) we found the obstruction. There was a jeep there with a tow strap attached, pulling the stranded SUV when the owner of the vehicle returned. I'm not sure the pulling jeep had permission from the vehicle's owner. It was quite tense for a bit. In the end, we decided to turn around and did not complete the route.

We ran this from Marble to Crested Butte and hit Paradise Divide on the way into CB. The scenery is amazing. On the Marble side there is a lot of evergreen timber and tall jagged peaks with many water falls and pools. Once you get on the CB side you are greeted with expansive rolling mountains. The Schofield Pass trail itself is not very technical. I would say the mandatory exposure is what makes it challenging. We heard that a vehicle flopped on its side in the punch bowl section due to the driver hugging the hillside just 2 days prior. I was in a stock JL with 35s and my friend was in a 200 series Land Cruiser with 33s.

Woah mama... this trail rules. It needs to be noted that pinstripping is guaranteed. I loved this trail. It is a little scary and it is narrow with little passing room. This is a must do. I hit my sliders in the rock slide area.

Hiked up to Devil's Punchbowl today because I'm not taking my stock JL on this road. I've driven my SxS on it and would say to people that haven't driven this road that even though it's rated a 4, it feels much more difficult and dangerous than other trails of the same rating. I'd describe this road as: large rocks, moderate off camber (leaning you into the river), and about no spots to pull over, so be ready to drive in reverse over all of these obstacles while on a narrow shelf should you have to yield to traffic. Road is dry for the bottom half and I flew my drone up further and it looked just as dry.

Came over paradise divide on my motorcycle, had to cross a 3-4 foot deep snow slide. Made it to the beginning portion of schofield pass but was unable to continue due to the first main water crossing. 2.5-3 feet of water moving at a high rate. Couple more weeks!

Great trail from Crested Butte to Marble. Thank god for rock sliders - that one rock obstacle is no joke. I drove a stock ZR2 with 2" lift and 31.5" tires but still scraped on the rock. Other than the one obstacle, not too bad. Did not seem possible to pivot around the rock with a full size vehicle - definitely had to drive over it with the right tires. Very narrow road with not many places to allow a vehicle to pass. Luckily did not run into anyone going the opposite way.

Drove down Schofield Pass with a group of Toyota buddies from back east who visit each year. The rock obstacle at Waypoint 5 is the most difficult part of the road; for our buddy with no sliders, we stacked a rock or two (and then moved them aside after he passed). This is a great 4x4 road, I look forward to it each year.

Ran the trail as the route here describes, in a 4Runner on 33s. It is open from crested butte all the way to Marble. Trail requires full attention and having a spotter is extremely helpful. Waypoint 5 is is not merely a bump in the road, the rock is very much still there. After driving up the side and a multipoint turn trying to get around, I still had to put my rear tire on the rock to pass it. Overall a relatively easy trail with high consequences if things go south.

WOW that was one of the most interesting trails i have done. I went from gothic to crystal

Open all the way through. A crew has shoveled the remaining drifts and drove the entire thing yesterday.

Got a message from a friend who is visiting the CB area; he says Schofield Pass is partially open but impassible, same for Paradise Divide. He says it will be a few weeks yet before they are open to wheeled traffic.

Challenging trail. Fun, but not for the faint of heart. Some times the road is impassable all year long due to the snow bridge covering the road. It is located just past way point 6. Don’t ever try to drive over it! It’s better to turn around and head back to Crested Butte.

The trail is in good condition and I could not tell where the rock slide was removed. The dirt portions of the trail a VERY dusty I have never seen so much dust kicked up. It has not rained is so long the dust is a force to be reckoned with and the fire danger is VERY high so please be careful out there.

The Aspen-Sopris Ranger District reports, as of June 26th, that the Schofield Pass Road is open. https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd554376.pdf

The "Devil's Punchbowl" section of Schofield Pass is impassible due to a new large rock slide in the vicinity of Waypoint 5. This information and a photograph were posted to the Crystal River Jeep Tours Facebook page by "Dave Phillips" on June 13, 2018.

White River National Forest says travel on Schofield Pass is NOT RECOMMENDED at this time, even though seasonal closures ended as schedule (May 21, 2018). WRNF states further that snow still remains in spots above 9,500' elevation so be aware of runoff and muddy conditions. Snow is probable to remain on the (western) Devil's Punchbowl segment of Schofield Pass due to terrain/the trail being shaded from direct afternoon sunlight. https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd554376.pdf

Jeep XJ, 4.5" RE lift, 33x10.50 KO2s. Drove in the uphill direction, from Crystal City to Crested Butted. The narrow sections weren't all that bad, however the large rock obstacles proved challenging going uphill in the rain. At one point we were stuck at the 30" rock obstacle, unable to proceed or back down for a second attempt. With some rock stacking and we were able to get up and around it, but not before our nerves were tested. If you do not have lockers, do not attempt the uphill in anything but perfect weather. Storms roll in quick and if you get caught in a down pour on the worst section you may not be as fortunate as we were. Overall a very fun and beautiful drive.

I ran the northern portion of Schofield Pass from the intersection with Paradise Divide (FS Road 734) down the Devil's Punchbowl to Crystal. It was a Monday evening, and traffic was very light. There were three vehicles in the Maroon Bells hiking trailhead lot, and one vehicle at the yellow warning sign at the north end of Schofield Park. Approaching the Devil's Punchbowl, the trail seems slightly narrower than last year due to the vegetation (willow) growth. I was in a small Isuzu Trooper and still brushed some pin-stripes. I stopped at the top of the Punchbowl to walk down and inspect the rock obstacle (Waypoint 5). It appeared less formidable than last year, and I crossed it without dragging or scraping. I did bump my skid plates a few times down the remainder of the road. A little slower and more attention to line selection would have avoided that, but I was being hasty because dusk was approaching. The only other vehicles I encountered were four ATVs; because my track is so narrow, passing was not a problem.

I always research a trail before riding it, but none of the material I found mentioned how narrow this is or how many serious accidents have occurred there over the years. However, the rating (5-6) is about right on a dry day, and it's really beautiful with some amazing landmarks as well. Schofield was definitely one of my favorite off-roading experiences.

Ran Schofield Pass from the Crested Butte side down into Crystal City on August 6th. The trail was wet from rain all morning, and the prior day, but luckily it didn't rain on us while we were coming through. There appears to be a rock slide near the top portion of the canyon that I don't remember from a few years back. It didn't necessarily make the trail any more dangerous or difficult for our Jeeps both running 37s, but I could see this slide section being a challenge for a vehicle on smaller tires. The warning signs at the beginning of the trail, are not a joke, and should not be ignored. The trail certainly is narrow and requires 100% of the drivers attention throughout the entire thing. You also have to make sure to make mental notes of areas where your vehicle could pull off in case you run into oncoming traffic. Luckily, we didn't encounter any other traffic that day. Overall, the trail appears to be in good condition, and not really any different or narrower from previous years. It is still dangerous and should only be attempted by experienced drivers.

Though my first car was a ’42 Ford military Jeep, I didn’t ever get it up in the Colorado mountains for some real four wheeling. My parents would take our ’57 Bell Air wagon places that people said were impossible, and Mom was always curious what was down some new road, so the spirit of adventure was born in me at a young age. My childhood friend Bruce had a Jeep with a Chrysler hemi in it that would scoot us down the road far faster than was safe, or legal, but Bruce’s Dad had taught him how to properly drive on back-country mountain roads. Bruce shared his lessons with me, even teaching me to double-clutch. Fast forward twenty-five years to 1995; I had my first Cherokee, and was anxious to take my wife and boys four wheeling. I had driven the stretch from Glenwood Springs through Carbondale, and up McClure Pass, to Paonia for years to visit family, and we would occasionally take an excursion to Marble. One summer we took a Jeep tour from Marble to the north and east going up towards the south side of Snowmass Mountain and then on till we could see the back of Maroon Peak. I decided I had to had to return to the area and started studying Topo maps of the area. I found Schofield Pass that ran on from Crystal City above Marble to Crested Butte. After prepping the ’93 Cherokee for the trip, and making reservations in both Redstone and Crested Butte we headed out to hopefully conquer Schofield Pass. Rated at 5-6, but with occasional closures, even in the summer, we were excited and concerned about possible conditions on the trail. Above Marble and near Crystal City you can see the burned out hulk of a vehicle that rolled down the mountain. Not far along the initially easy trail your will pass the famous Crystal Mill on the south side of the river. Just as everyone else has, we stopped and took numerous pictures. Not far from the mill, we ran into a sign saying “Attention Drivers – Extremely rough road ahead. Vehicle traffic discouraged. 4X4 with experienced drivers and narrow wheel base only.” The scenery of along the Crystal River is beautiful with rivulets running towards the river and tiny waterfalls cascading into space before finding a place to light on their way to the river. Emerald Lake was beautiful, and the ambience of the whole area is serene. At one point we came to a rock ledge with little clearance on either side and an appreciable drop off on the driver’s side. My wife order the boys out and the three of them walked to the end after I successfully navigated the ledge. Well over an hour into our crawl along Schofield, we came to an open spot with nearly a dozen vehicles stopped. A CJ had slid down the mountain side and Bronco was pulling him out with a long tow strap. The strap was too long and the CJ was being pulled backwards at too high a rate of speed. I was certain he was going to roll as the Bronco whipped him around. That bit of excitement over we saw why everyone was stopped. Though mid-August, an avalanche of snow had come down completely covering the road for a hundred yards and no one was attempting it after apparently watching the CJ slide off of it. The slide had sideways slope of probably ten degrees and there was a real risk of sliding off too. I pulled up to the snow slide and my wife asked “what are you doing”? I told her that I was going to check it out, and if I felt I could do it safely, would take the Cherokee across. Once again she and the boys bailed out. I walked the length of the slide, stomping on the crusty snow occasionally to determine how I might get stuck in it, and picking up handfuls seeing how well it packed and how much ice was in it. It was corn snow, was just at the temperature were it was melting, and had a surface crust. After walking back to the Jeep, I had made me determination and decided that trying to power over it would put me at risk, but if I could carry enough speed to just get across while maintaining control, I could do it. Backing up maybe a hundred yards, I smoothly built up to the speed I thought would take me across. With the gas pedal at that magical spot where you’re neither accelerating or decelerating, just keeping up my momentum, I easily traversed the slide then stopped while my family ran up to jump back in. We took off for Crested Butte and were there in no time with the rest of the trail being quite tame. Looking back in my rear view mirror, the jeeps and trucks were all lining up for their shot at the slide. I had conquered Schofield Pass, and it remains one of my favorite four-wheeling memories. In 2005, we went back with a friend in his 2000 Cherokee. After the Crystal Mill we ran into and much larger avalanche with an approach too high to climb. We had to turn around and take the long way to Crested Butte, but witnessed a gathering of small planes who annually fly into and out of remote areas. It was really cool to see them up in the mountains with us.