Poughkeepsie Gulch

Closed for the 2022 season. See you in 2023.

Not super scenic, but its a fun challenging route even with the bypass. The camping down at the connector with Engineer Pass is nice by the creek, and its about 45min to the main road.

Ran Poughkeepsie Gulch with a friend this time around so we could do "The Wall". The obstacle wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and we got lucky and were able to complete it just before it started to drizzle. Definitely would be a difficult obstacle to make it up the moment it gets wet!

Back again, and enjoyed just as much. Actually got up the wall this time without a winch. The approach to the wall seemed more dug out than it did two years ago as I made it on 32" AT's last time and this time I used a spotter with 35" MTs and both axles locked.

So far my favorite trail out here, I think 4 might be a little light of a rating especially the steps going out from the lake while wrapping around the corners. There is definitely some technical driving here. The wall I think they have spot on and so much fun.

Great trail with some fun challenges. Lots of rain in the area so wet rocks and plenty of small water crossings. Attempted the wall with no luck.

Nice trail, not very hard, other than "the wall", of course. I really wanted to have some fun on it, but there were already about 10 jeeps all over it. The downside of accidentally running the trail during MHJC's annual event.

We helped Western Slope 4 Wheelers put post and cable up to keep users on the trail at The Wall. Rained hard in the afternoon making tires muddy and rocks slick. Recovered a UTV that flopped due to the conditions.

This is a very fun trail, definitely worth it, but probably harder than a four minimum; there are some smallish boulders to cross that require getting out and plotting your line or having a spotter even on the easiest path, but the many pretty water crossings and gorgeous scenery make it all worthwhile. Even when taking the bypass to the wall, you have to go up a relatively steep hill of loose rock which you also have to scope out beforehand or have a spotter, because after cresting that hill, you are met with a relatively steep downward grade, so you need to know which direction you’re going before you get there. It’s all completely doable, especially with knowledgeable friends spotting, but overall it’s probably more like a five minimum. That said, you should do it. It’s totally worth it.

Trail has been cleared by the adopted club, a d the trail is now open for the season.

We took the bypasses. I'd call it a hard four with our route, but we had no problems other than some very slight trail damage. XJ 2.5" lift, 30" BFG K02s, rear LSD. With the bypasses there are not really an "hard" sections, no need to get out and spot, but it is consistently tricky. On some of the steep rocky climbs I was pretty thankful for my posi out back. Lots of great camping at the north end. Lake Como is absolutely gorgeous.

Absolutely incredible trail. Definitely on the more challenging side, (Tacoma TRD OR with +2.5" lift and 265/75/16 tires, sliders, underbody protection) The wall is manageable if you take it with a bit more momentum. I tried to slow crawl and ended up high centering due to longer wheel base, ended up having to winch up 3 ft before being able to drive the rest of the trail out. Very beautiful and varied terrain with beautiful vistas. I would highly recommend those that have a longer wheel base have at minimum sliders and a lifted vehicle, strongly recommend spotter for the wall and atleast having one vehicle with a winch. If you can make it up the gate keeper obstacles en route to the wall you should be able to make it up the wall.

Great trail! We took the bypass since our open differential JL probably wouldn't be up to the task. Want to give it a try next time though, with the right spotter/line who knows??? Our 2019 JL Sport 2 dr V6 8AT w/ Rubicon suspension and 295/70/17s didn't have any issues w/ traction or getting through the obstacles. Videos don't really show how steep that loose rock section is prior to the wall turnoff, a fun run up that for sure. The larger boulders in the stream section make for some fun navigating, made it though w/ some spotter help without a scratch. Nice variety in terrain and scenery, and to top it off with that picture perfect Lake Como is just icing on the cake! Can't wait to run it again.

Took our stock Jeep Wrangler JLU Rubicon on the Wall bypass route on Poughkeepsie Gulch. There are a few boulder areas to cross and a fun stream crossing or two, but mostly this trail is about steep crawls through loose rocks. What I feel most reviews of this trail miss is how stunningly beautiful the route is! Make sure you see the waterfalls just to the west of the Engineer Pass / Poughkeepsie Gulch fork. They are to the right just before the intersection. The valley itself on the way up is amazing, but the real treat at the end of the trail is the high alpine Lake Como.

Ran this with my stock JL Rubicon and my buddies JK Sport with a 2inch lift. We took the bypasses and with the right lines a stock vehicle can do this trail without any issue. I believe we only scrapped once or twice and I think that was driver error. We ate lunch at Lake Como and relaxed for an hour before taking Hurricane Pass to Corkscrew Pass down.

It seems this trail is a bit overrated on difficulty. There is really only one major obstacle and rating it as Sever is a bit overkill. Its certainly worth going to if you are making a weekend in the San Jauns.

This is one of my new favorites in the area (I haven't ran them all...yet). I loved this trail due to the scenery as well as the fact that this is one of the only trails that doesn't have extended shelf road portions (this trail I cant remember there being any shelf roads whatsoever). I don't mind shelf roads, but when you're doing them all day long, it starts to eat away at the enjoyment of the trail for me personally. This trail had it all. Scenery, technical obstacles, and great camping near the creek. What is not mentioned in this guide is the bypass, which makes the entirety of this trail a 4-8 IMO. This trail how its mapped is a 6, but if you take the bypass, you can complete it in a stock 4wd vehicle with a transfer case. We will address this change soon to reflect that this trail is completely doable with a stock 4wd vehicle. All in all, great trail. I would run it again for sure! The picture of the white Jeep on the rocks was the hardest part, and I am on 35s. The non-mentioned bypass was not challenging.

I think this might be our favorite trail in the area. Lots of variety and some great views. Ran it from Engineer to California and took the wall. Made it up the first try with minimal slipping, no need for the multiple winch points but could see needing them. The long shale climb was long but doable and fun. Overall a great trail and a lot of fun.

This trail was a blast!! We ran it south to north in a lifted Rubicon, but I would have done it in my stock Sahara, no problem 😉 Plenty of fun obstacles & beautiful views! I wanted to drive the bypass loop between 8 & 10 and do that part again! 😃 He said “no” 😒 Lake Como was beautiful, and that was about the only pic I got while we were relaxing… the rest of the time was intense & fun! Picking lines on the obstacles & taking little hikes when we saw a pretty waterfall or abandoned mine 😄 To see more of our adventures, follow us on Insta @ReachesofRaine

Knocked this out as we hit the Jeep badge of honor trails. Excellent views for this mild trail.

This is the most technical trail in the Ouray area. If you avoid "The Wall" this trail would not be difficult for many 4x4 vehicles. Rock protection would be good to have, but if you're careful you might not even need it. The Wall is a fun obstacle that is surprisingly slick. It isn't grippy sandstone like found in Moab. On my visit some Jeeps made it up without even spinning a tire, others, including me had a bit of a time, but made it. Being on the right line is critical. Don't be afraid of doing Poughkeepsie, it is not a severe trail.

We got started early and made it to the wall without any traffic, passed a lot of campers at the beginning of the trail. The lake was crowded with SXS, what would you expect on a Saturday. We had a great time great time and I actually made it up the wall without any assistance (unlike Wheeler Lake), I would suggest going up the far right side. Definitely doing this one again.

Awesome trail that is a must-do. Ran into traffic at the hill so went around, had the RTT anyways.

6th time to the area, first on this trail. Had a blast. My winch got to stretch its legs on the wall. Can't wait to come back and so glad it's open again.

This trail is open......Not sure where some people get there info. still snow at the top

This is truly a spectacular trail. Even though we did not attempt "The Wall" (because we were alone) there we plenty of other obstacles to keep us interested ... and busy. Lake Como is a perfect way to end the trail, then jump onto Hurricane Pass.

Ran Poughkeepsie on a rainy day, the trail is not difficult, the wall was pretty slick and I was not able to make it up due to the rain and didn't have a spotter with me so I didn't push my luck. I will hit it again next year when I have a spotter with me. The wall isn't that bad as long as you pick the right line.

From the USDA Forest Service:
"As of July 15, 2020 Poughkeepsie - Closed Indefinitely due to people repeatedly cutting the gate locks and going off trail, causing a lot of trail damage."

On July 18th, the trail was reopened for the 2020 season thanks to the efforts of the Western Slopes 4 Wheelers. Poughkeepsie is there adopted trail and they have been working for 2 summers to clear the trail of avalanche debris and resource damage done in early 2019. Gates on both the BLM side and the National Forest side are officially open.

The upper gate has been opened by the BLM allowing people to access Lake Como, but the middle gate and lower gate still remain closed until crews can get in and clear avalanche debris and repair resources damage. The wall obstacle is still not accessible as it is below the middle gate. (See photo)

This trail is still closed due to avalanche debris. We were able to enjoy views of Lake Como. It’s unbelievably beautiful!

Per the Forest Service and BLM, Poughkeepsie is still closed due to avalanche debris.

The varied terrain with a few difficult obstacles make this a fun trail.

I drove Poughkeepsie Gulch in my 1988 Isuzu Trooper with my friend who drives a modified and well equipped Lexus LX450. Knowing the Wall would be improbable (even in dry conditions) I gave it a go because I knew my wingman could strap/winch me over. Had no issues on the approach because my track is narrow and I was able to slip between rocks that the LX was crawling over (in a sluice near Waypoint 6, and the large boulder immediately below the Wall). The first attempt was center-right, then I tried center-left; I stacked a rock in the crevice and damn near made it but couldn't maintain momentum across. I backed off and then tried the "V" notch on the right. After a couple of wheel spins, I took the winchline and we went on to Lake Como and then over the pass to Animas Forks.

My review isn't worth much, as I was coming from Animas Forks to California Pass then did a stop over dowm into Lake Como for a picnic and made it to the Wall Bypass only before heading back to cross Hurricane then head out on Corkscrew to Ironton. That said, what little I saw was epic. Lake Comp is beyond breathtaking. The grade heading doesn't from California to the Lakeshore is intense, but nothing low range and engine breaking can't cover. While I can't speak to the technical sections from the Engineer /Mineral Creek side, the Lake Como side is worth all of the effort to get there.

This is a nice trail , I wasn’t in it to rock crawl so took the bypasses around the obstacles , lake Como and the waterfalls were the highlight of the trip for me. You should be fine in about any 4wd with decent ground clearance

I did entire Alpine Loop w/ a1953 M38A1 in 7-1981 before the trail really got beat up. It was a wonderful drive. Over the years of use and little maintenance, it has become more difficult .