Red Cone

This wet summer was NOT kind to the trail. Everything was harder. All the rocks were bigger. The "gate keeper" is a solid 6 now. Forget doing this in a stock unless you've got ALL the armor, lockers (or ATRAC), and a LOT of driver skill. The "moguls" on that one switch back must have been a foot and half deep. Still, it was a glorious, sunny day, but VERY windy. I'm talking 60+ mph at the summit. Felt like it was going to blow my truck over.

This trail has everything a Colorado trail can offer, and is definitely a 5/6 depending on vehicle. The 'gatekeeper' obstacle seemed easier than the washed out, rutted switchbacks. The narrowness through the trees and their exposed roots will make this difficult for full size vehicles. The portion above timberline has some of the best views you will experience exploring Colorado. If you are in the area and have a moderately modified rig, do not skip Red Cone. Easily one of my favorites.

Great run on Red Cone with good friends before winter. Short wheelbase or higher lift will prevent getting hung up on a few obstacles. Vehicle - 2000 TJ With 3" Lift and 32" Tires - no issues

Fun trail but descents are way overrated. Zero danger at all. Great views and would do again in a second.

Massive Erosion and traffic has made this simple trail quite hard. The Gatekeeper is lift required. And be careful on the boulders all they way up

Ran this trail with the following: 2000 Frontier, 33's, 3" lift, no lockers, winch. 2004 4Runner, 32's, 2" lift, no lockers, no winch. The 4Runner got stuck on 1 line and I had to pull him about 1 foot to get off the rock that high-centered him on the frame. Probably could have been avoided with a different line. The entire trail is pretty rocky/rough the whole way, so don't expect dirt road status. There's a section one 1 of the switchbacks that is pretty chewed up right now with really deep holes left/right/left/right/etc. It flexes you out and if you don't have lockers, you may not be able to drive this section. I tried a bunch of times an ended up having to winch a bit to get past it. But I also have completely open diffs, IFS, and no lockers. The GX470 that went after me made it without lockers, but it has really good traction control, he stacked some rocks, and sent it. Whatever, I digress - the trail's awesome and you're going to have a good time. See pictures.

I had never done Red Cone before and this trail lived up to the hype. Go on a weekday though, the crowds made us feel both rushed and impatient for the large groups squatting at the summit. I'll do this one again during the week.

What an awesome trail! Moderate rock crawling with a couple extra credit hard lines that are avoidable if you want. The main obstacle isn’t hard but it’s a scraper unless you take it just right! The climb to the top was beautiful and the descend fun and exciting but quite easy.

Trail was awesome, had some fun spots to test your suspension and the view was incredible. Definitely recommend! We exited via Webster Pass which was nice as well.

Great trail. With bunches of beautiful views. Trail was in great condition.

If you are familiar with this trail: Trail is open and in good shape. Snow drift at Webster Pass saddle is still there. The final decent is in good shape with no traction issues. If you have never done this trail: I’ve done this trail a few times and in different rigs and the subjective difficulty rating is REALLY depends on what your driving. Below tree line can get technical with tire placement if you’re not in Built Rig, Keeping your painted parts off the rocks and trees is more challenging in a stock vehicle. In comparison, my JK (see bio for build details) only had one rock strike and I did this trail without a spotter. I have also gotten high centered in my full size truck and had to winch my way off the “Gatekeeper” Above tree line-the route gets more rocky but far less technical. The views are worth getting bounced around though. Enjoy the ride.

Ran this trail last year for the first time but still loved it the second time! Met up with some cool people from South Carolina and rolled with them for Red Cone. Webster Pass is still closed on the South slope. Few more weeks. Trail has a couple of minor challenging obstacles the dangers are above tree line when you just need to be paying attention.

Ran Red Cone on Sunday, July 3rd with a small group and pretty much had the entire trail to ourselves! One of my favorite trails out there and offers a variety of challenges along with beautiful views! No issues with our rigs on any of the obstacles. We did observe a dirt bike go up the one way section so please note this is a one way trail once you get to the top.

We ran Red Cone today and it was the best. We never saw another rig on the trail which was nice. I ran it last July and the trail seemed more washed out in areas this year. We had great weather and even had a mountain goat on the summit. When we got to Webster there was not another sole around. That was great because we needed the room for a dance off. We then headed up radical hill and ran it to the snow which was right below the cabin.

Happy to report Red Cone is now open for the season as well as the north side gate of Webster Pass. The snow cornice on the top of webster is still huge and several weeks away from being passable. Untilthat melts, you can only exit Red Cone by traversing the north side of Webster, into the then of Montezuma. Remember that from the summit, it is a one-way trail downhill only. If you are in an unlicensed vehicle, you will have no way of returning to the start of Red Cone if you opt to continue down from the summit. You can easily see the snow blockage from the top of Red Cone, so there is no reason someone should not know it was blocked. Both Webster signs will read closed until the pass is fully melted out.

Wind drifted snow, and icy conditions have made the trail extremely dangerous. The pass is now considered impassable to regular 4wd users. For anyone still willing to attempt the trail, go prepared with chains, shovels, and stay on the designated trail.

The trail is still passable all the way through. The decent is icy and there were spots that you slid for 50’ or so which got your attention. After the initial decent there were a few spots we had to break trail but the snow was 1’ at most.

Much of the snow melted on the bulk of the trail, leaving a wet and no-dust day, which was great. The north facing descent from the peak of Red Cone was still covered in snow with ice underneath (particularly on top). Many vehicles, side-by-sides, and ATVs made the trip down. I witnessed one Wrangler get sideways from locking the tires up, but it safely came to a stop. After releasing the brakes, it straightened back out and continued under control. A side-by-side on desert tires needed to be rescued after losing control and also getting sideways. The attached pic is taken from Webster Pass to show how much snow remained; didn't think to take one from the top of Red Cone.

The first snow of the season has fallen! Snow began to accumulate just below treeline, and once above that, there were several inches of snow on the ground. The deepest was maybe 4"-5". The last 10 feet efore the summit was the most difficult as there was a little deeper snow drifted there and there was a thin layer of ice under the snow. Made the first tracks to the summit though, and then hung out a while and watched a couple jeeps and some UTVs take the descent down. When I went, it was a Bob sled run! Definitely a bit sketchy. I then headed down webster back towards hall valley to help on a trail repair project. As the day progressed, it got warmer and I saw a lot of snow melt off. With the warm weather expected, this trail will remain open a big longer. I would say the first time we have back to back snows it was close it off. Just be careful and don't try the descent if it looks icy or you are not comfortable. There are no problems with turning around.

We LOVED this trail! This was our first difficult-severe trail and it was so much fun! We watched an FJ get hung up/ wedged on the gate keeper in the beginning, so high clearance is a must! Watch your brakes and keep a very low speed on your decent as locking up can be pretty easy on the lose rock. We are definitely doing the trail again soon!

Out of all the trails I’ve done, this one is my favorite. As soon as you get onto the trail the challenge begins. Did it in a lifted Tacoma on 305s twin locked and a lifted 4Runner on 305s and twin locked. Amazing trail

2006 LJ, 3” lift and 33”, no lockers. Never even scraped on anything, in my video it sounds like it but it was just a rock kicked up off a tire bouncing off something. Waypoint 2 was no problem just suggest getting way over to the right. Rock garden has easy or more difficult lines. Only place I could have used a locker was in the switchback section, there was a turn that was dug out pretty bad but all I had to do was get a little run at it and made it up with little drama. The descent seemed overrated, there are spots on nearby Saints John only rated a 4 that I found way more sketchy.

Great trail, not as intimidating as I was expecting. Good line choice in a few spots will easily have you over the obstacles. Stunning once above treeline. Ran in Nissan Frontier, 4in lift, with 33" tires

I can't say this enough. Make sure you have proper equipment and recovery gear. Had a full size stuck on a rock and a stock 4runnner having issues. Fun trail as always

You can't do Red Cone without doing some other trails to get there. In our case, we did Webster Pass, Radical Hill, Red Cone, and then up to Saints John back to Montezuma. The hill from Webster Pass to Saints John (called different things in different trail guides) is one of the hardest trails in the area. Our video covers all of the trails we did that day.

Fun trail, having a little more clearance helps. The first obstacle touched but made it over without much issue and through to the top. Wasn't as steep on the descent as I was expecting but low gear was enough to hold and get down without much trouble. I think one of the coolest things with this trail is going right over the top and over a saddle like most pass roads. Awesome views from the top.

Ran this in a stock Rubicon with 32" tires. Scraped the bottom a few times at some of the more difficult sections but overall did not have a major issue. The most difficult obstacle was the first rock obstacle (#2). As the description states, avoid touching your brakes on the steep decent. Low gear seemed to be just enough to keep us at the right decent pace.

Calvary 4-Wheelers took a trip over Red Cone on Saturday, August 7, 2021. It was the first time back on the trail for my Green, lifted XJ after a 9-month break for a complete steering re-build and a cylinder head swap. Also along we're my nephew, Jon in his red XJ and Mike and Jessica in their brand new Rubicon. The trail was fairly busy but traffic was not as bad as expected so we were able to take our time and enjoy the obstacles on the way up. The smoke and haze from all the wildfires made the view from the top a lot different, kind of eerie and other-worldly. Overall a very fun and enjoyable day.

Red Cone always offers amazing views! It was a very smoky day so visibility was limited but I think that added a unique view of the trail. Mostly dry and not terribly busy.

Red Cone is my all time favorite trail. We run it at least once a year. It has gotten a little more washed out but not terribly bad. The rock obstacle at the bottom is a little bigger than the last few years. The most noticeable change to me this year is on the descent from the summit, there is a washed out spot that is a little bigger than in the past. It’s maybe a foot tall and not difficult but being where it is located, it could intimidate some drivers. This trail never disappoints. I want to live on the top of Red Cone.

Awesome experience in stock Bronco Badlands 4 Door with Sasquatch. We asked some Jeep guys at the bottom of the trail if we could join up with them and they were amazing. Trail was extremely busy (Saturday morning) with lots of vehicles, buggy and ATV traffic which created pressure to keep a solid pace. Wildfire smoke from out West robbed us of the typically great view but the fun was still there. Descent was really easy and the highlight of the tail for us.

This trail is b-e-a-utiful. It was not hard at all to us. 2013 GX460 2.5IN lift with 33s. The views are great.

Red Cone continues to be one of my favorite trails ever. Such a diverse landscape, fun obstacles, great views.

Trail was in great shape and not busy at all for a Saturday. Chatted with the Trails Off Road RND crew for a bit, what a great group of guys.

This was my first time to experience Red Cone. A great trail with much diversity. It rained heavily the night before so, although the trail was not dusty, the moisture added mud and water as an unexpected twist. The sky was filled with smoke from northern fires and the haze took away some of the distant views once we were above timberline. Because it was a weekend, we encountered quite a few other vehicles including ATVs, motorcycles, and really nice and well built jeeps. One of the rigs in our group was a stock Taco. It's driver, Trent, was well experienced and managed the trail in the Taco with no problems. This is a trail to go back to in the future.

I ran red cone with a very experienced group of 5. It was my first time on the trail. 4 jeep big tire and my lifted F-150. The first couple of obstacles went well then unexpectedly I hit a rock and gashed my new 35 mud terrain. It went completely flat in less that a minute. Geoff of Colorado 4x4 YouTube channel and his good buddy Camron the dream team of offroad fixed my tire in like 5 minutes and said your going upward. I said yes sir !! We went higher and a short time later found a lifted Lexus high centered on a rock. I started to not feel so bad. Geoff and Camron and the owner and a few others worked about 1 hour to get the Lexus unstuck. We all then a group of 6 continued to the summit of red cone 12,801 feet. This place is amazing and wow what a trail !! The view from the summit was unbelievable !! Must do trail but bring your A game and be prepared.

Ran this trail in my Tacoma DCSB only real issue I had was the first obstacle at about 1/2 mile wrong line got me high centered. I should have stuck closer to the passenger side, especially after cresting the rock on the driver front wheel. Once my wheel dropped off I was quickly high centered. The decent off red cone is about 30 degrees no really that bad just gear down and engine brake.

This is a must do trail. It’s not very difficult technically, but not everyone will like the exposure once you get above tree line. Webster is open now, but instead of heading down Webster I went up Radical Hill (an even more sheer trail) and out through Montezuma.

Group ran Red Cone for the first time. 3 JLURs, with lift ranges of 4” to 2.5” with 35s to 37s, 1 stock JLUR and our 2 door JK with a 4” and 37s. 2 door wheel base a definite advantage through the gate keeper as all the 4 doors scraped at least their rock rails. Trail is a little dug out in areas but passable with thoughtful tire placement. After breaking through the tree line…the views are breathtaking….. The peak can introduce some pucker factor if you’re uncomfortable with heights. The descent was uneventful, just let your equipment do it’s job. Connecting trails were still closed due to snow so we exited at Montezuma.

Red Cone is an iconic Colorado off-road trail! 4th time running this trail and first time in the eco diesel Rubicon on 37 tires and was not disappointed. Ruts heading out of the treeline are a little deeper and have more standing water, but nothing a stockish high-clearance 4x4 can't get through with right angle. Hit 26 degrees of pitch going down from Red Cone which is fun. Webster Pass still closed at the intersection with several feet of snow, though likely melt off in the next week or two.

Definitely worth the views from the top! Backside descent isn’t bad at all! A few decent “gate keeper” at waypoint 2 will keep stock vehicles out. However with a good spotter they aren’t too bad at all!

Trail is open. The descent isn’t bad at all.

No issues for the FJC, but this trail is amazing, most of the hard work is done before the tree line, the descent isn't any worse than Black Bear or other trails with similar inclines.

Red Cone is an iconic Colorado trail, and like all of them it has gotten more difficult in recent years. This trail used to be a joyride for a stock Jeep with open differentials, today would be tough for a novice driver in a stock SUV. The descent however, is much easier that it used to be. Don't get me wrong, its still steep, but it appears to have been flattened side to side with a dozer blade or something. As others have reported there is still a cornice across the Webster Pass route back down (see photos), but the Montezuma side is open. Its fine if you've got a plated vehicle.

What a trail! Enough challenges to keep it exciting on the way up, and the descent was one of the scariest experiences I’ve had on the trail. Highly recommended if you can handle to heights.

Wet, sloppy, but great day with MHJC. Thanks, Ryan, for spotting me through the rock obstacles. Buster the Taco Supreme did amazing. Made it through with zero drama.

Officially Opened today ran with a group from MHJC to open this trail today lead by Ryan Boudreau. Great time this trail was a bit harder than i remembered it from the last time i ran it. However the Jeep made it seem easy. I took 168 photos today of our group. Got to see some other jeepers playing around on Webster although the huge snowbank at the top may keep it closed for a bit. We exited via Montezuma an d stopped to have a brew with some New friends David & Kim.

Trail is closed at the gate.

For me it was impassable, in a 2008 H3 on 33s with no lift, but for someone on taller tires or more experience in the snow it might be ok.

I did some night wheeling Friday, November 6, and decided to do this one after I did Webster Pass. Most of the early parts of the trail were more difficult than I remember from the last time I went on August 15. That first waypoint in the write up, it appeared someone had moved the rock on the east so I drug the frame a little going up and a lot coming back down. There was quite a bit of snow and ice on the way up. I was able to find lines to get past the icy spots. But on the saddle leading up to the peak, the snow got pretty deep and it became impassable for me about 311 feet from the peak. I saw some tracks keeping to the right on the rocks with one tire in the snow, but I forgot to grab my flashlight, and my phone light wasn't shining far enough ahead for me to see what was going on, and I didn't want to take the chance of that final ascent to the peak being even worse, so I backed down the saddle to a spot wide enough for me to turn around.

Love this trail. Few tough spots during ascend, not too hard, but the views are worth it. Completed end of October, had to move a downed Aspen off the trail. I would consider difficult due to the descend, know your rig well, driver exp is necessary.

This review is from 10/16/20 - the trail is no longer passable at time of writing this review (12/28/20). This is my new all time favorite trail when showing friends and out of state guests off-roading. It has it all all, from the best views I have yet encountered, extreme adrenaline rush on the descent, and some fun technical parts to flex on and mess around with on the ascent. We paired with the second half of Webster Pass for an extremely fun river-crossing as well. On the first steep descent a portion had rutted out providing a major challenge for two jeeps we were with - the longer wheelbase 4Runner did not have an issue, but it definitely made for a "leap of faith" type moment sticking the nose into it on an already very steep descent!

Red Cone is a beautiful trail but it definitely has its challenging sections. I ran it in a 2012 Kawasaki Teryx4 and didn't have any real issues. I hit bottom a few times but could navigate around lots of obstacles. We were on the trail by 8:00 am and we were one of the first. After that, it gets pretty busy. We finished Red Cone and went to Radical Hill. Radical Hill is far worse than Red Cone. Red Cone is just a warm up for Radical Hill. This climbs on Red Cone are fun and the descents are pretty serious. Take your time and be sure to look ahead. The descents will get you if you aren't prepared. This is one of my favorite trails in Colorado. Views from the top are spectacular but, given the weather of the day, if might be a short stop at the top. The wind was in excess of 45 mph and cold!

Ran this as part of a two day trip with Radical hill, deer creek, saints john, middle fork swan, SOB hill, and georgia pass. What a great 2 days! Epic scenery even with the smoke. WP2 definitely the hardest part. Ran this in 2017 and they have widened the path thru the trees at the right hand 90 near the tree line. Also the descent is much easier and looks like they leveled it a bit. Great trail though

beautiful area . Definitely a few tough spots .. I did it in a lifted subaru 5inch lift Long travel suspension. Skids at tires and rear locker. .this trail is Definitely way too difficult for anything less that what I brought. K recommend any subaru owners run webster pass or something else . Mostly because the large hills and no low range. The biggest reason is the rock gardens ..

Red Cone with Colorado Land Cruisers on Saturday, 8/15/20. We had a great view of the wildfire smoke plume to the northwest.

We ran this trail in my 2011 4Runner w/ 2” lift and 31.6” tires. I feel like the descent is a little over-hyped, I didn’t feel my anxiety level go up at all as we went down. I did scrape pretty good at the gatekeeper and on a few boulders in the rock garden; rock sliders and skid plates are a beautiful thing. One of the last switchbacks was a pretty decent challenge as well, I watched another vehicle struggle through it for a while but I pulled right through, I think I found the right line.

This is a fun trail. I did it without issue in my Cherokee on 31’s with a rear locker and 4 inch lift. Great views and lots of fun. Don’t freak out on the descent and try to use your engine braking as much as possible. It’s not that bad.

I guess I defied the laws of physics and took my Ram 2500 up this trail on Tuesday. The rock obstacle at WP #2 was my biggest challenge (and my only rock strike of day). The previous review shows this in their first pic. The rest of the trail through the woods was rough but all passable. The climbs above tree line a little easier with some momentum. The descent off Red Cone was firmer than I expected. Came down it without any wheel slippage-not an easy feat in a 7,000lb rig. Handcart Gulch and Webster Pass both open

Took my Tacoma up. 33" tires, 3" lift, NO LOCKER, and made it just fine. There is one section around a switchback where you need careful tire placement and have to give it a little bump to make it up with no locker, but otherwise and easy trail, super fun. My pictures show the one spot I'm talking about. There were stock tacomas up there (with locker) and they made it without scraping, but said it was close.

Trail is super fun and in great shape. We did the loop back down Handcart. Made it without issue (traction and clearance wise) in a GX470 with 2-in lift and 31s. There is one tricky switchback where locking diff or good traction control is needed. Lots of sharp rocks along the way so good tires are required. Did get a good scuff on the paint, probably from an off-camber section but I did not notice until after. Also lost a mud flap but that will go back on with a plastic rivet. So, be careful if you are worried about such things.

Amazing trail! Highly recommended. I completed the loop and came back down Handcart Gulch. The snow drift at Webster Pass was dug out enough to get by.

Ran this trail with no doors and of course it would rain and turn chilly but I wouldn't expect anything less wheeling in the high country in Colorado. This trail was one we had been wanting to do for a while but just never had a chance to do so but finally did and it was great, despite the weather. We actually will be leading a group up there at the end of August so fingers crossed it won't be raining. There wasn't too many obstacles that caused us issues.

Definitely a great trail to do! Some of the best scenic views Colorado trails have to offer. I would recommend to have at least a locker in your vehicle to get up the first half of the trail. We had my 92 XJ on 35s with front and rear locked, a Suzuki Samurai with a 3" lift and 29s with rear locker, and a 2019 Ford Ranger FX4 on 4" lift with the rear locker package with 33". Once you get past the first few way points its pretty smooth sailing. At WP9 the trail ends and the Tail end of Webster pass is still closed due to snow. You will have to exit taking the first half of Webster where you leave into Montezuma. If you take a side-by-side or atvs, due to this being a one way trail at the top you'll be having a long day. Over-all this trail is quite spectacular and definitely should do if you've never done it.

Red Cone is one of those trails you have to do at least once if you have a capable rig. I was in a bone stock JLU Rubicon, my buddy was in a 2020 Tacoma TRD Tacoma with 33s. Both of us used our lockers to get up WP 2. After that, a few hairy spots but nothing too bad. At very minimum, I would recommend at least 33's and a vehicle with a decent amount of flex to get through - ideally a locker. This trail definitely deserves all the 5-star ratings. Truly epic area of Colorado!

After a very long and extensive day of trail repair, Red Cone is now open for the season. Be aware that you have to exit via Webster Pass to Montezuma and there is still an avalanche field you have to traverse that is still pretty deep. With the tracks we put on it and the shoveling, it will likely be melted in a week.

I recommend starting in Montezuma, and making the big figure 8 by doing Webster Pass, Red Cone, Radical Hill, and Deer Creek. Of those Radical Hill is the toughest. I think the first rock garden, and the switch backs through the woods were the toughest part for my long bed taco. Otherwise this trail is mostly about scenery, and possibly fear of heights. Just be warned, the views are very distracting.

I drove Red Cone with a group of eight Land Cruisers and Tacoma's visiting from back east (Keystone Cruisers, Capital City Land Cruiser Club). We're all experienced wheelers and had no issues. The rocks at Waypoint 2 require good line selection, and the switchbacks above Waypoint 5 (the last segment of road before leaving the treeline) was off-camber and deeply rutted. This was my second trip on Red Cone, having first driven it in 2015. Take the author's precautions about braking on the descent--the road surface is loose rock and some segments are steep!

Always a great trail. I heard from a friend that going down Webster Pass towards 285 after Red Cone is very scary this year. I ran Red Cone then descended towards Radical Hill. His story was confirmed at the Webster Pass summit by a guy who had just come up with his 2 toddlers. He said he about had a heart attack coming up. Felt like this info should be out there for anyone else attempting. edit** another buddy ran it down Webster yesterday (8/21) and said "it's the same as any year."

Incredible trail, the views are amazing. I ran it in the rain and some obstacles definitely were difficult because of the weather but still managed to pull through.

The Red Cone gate has officially been opened. Trail is dry and clear all the way to Montezuma.

My plan was to go up Red Cone, through Radical Hill, and then follow whichever way I felt after going through them, but unfortunately Red Cone is still closed. I decided to take Webster Pass, which is still a good trail, until the shelf road.

I ran Red Cone yesterday with another rig and the ground was dry. There is lots of snow in the forecast this week and I believe we may have been one of the last groups through for the year.

Spectacular trail! One of our all time favorites now. Just the right amount of technical. Amazing views. Took Red Cone to West side of Webster Pass and out to Keystone. Highly recommend it.

Ran this trail with a group of stock and very modified vehicles. The most stock vehicle we had was an 89 YJ with 30" tires and 1" lift, fully open diffs. Waypoint 2 is much narrower than it seems in the pictures. Our YJ had to be aired down to 8 psi in the rear in order to get traction to get up and over the center rocks. He ended up hitting his rear bumper on the way off but it didn't really show other than a few scratches. If you don't know how to let your engine do the braking on the way down the slopes, don't try this. One of the guys in our group locked his rear brakes up and fish-tailed about 4 feet before letting off, almost got real nasty for him and us. A word of advice don't run the top half of this trail with your sway bar disconnected! We had a few Jeeps (3 - 6" of lift) run without their sway bars and they were puckering as they were coming down.

I drove the trail yesterday with my daughter and labrador retriever and had a fabulous time. The reason for writing the review is just to add a word of caution to others that may be driving a somewhat stock older vehicle. I found it to be very difficult. I drive a 1989 FJ62 Toyota Land Cruiser, with a very mild lift (2”) and 31” tires on stock wheels. Fortunately I have a rear diff locker which helped tremendously. I was also loaded pretty heavy with camping gear and a roof-top tent. The first half of the road is very rocky and I just didn’t have enough clearance to progress at a reasonable pace. We had to stop frequently to realign and to move and stack rocks and bolders. The trail description indicated a few hours, but it took us about 5-1/2 hours to reach the top. Of course, to make things interesting, we encountered a hail storm and lighting before reaching the top, so we had to sit in the vehicle for a while and wait for the storm to pass. Fortunately, it did pass pretty quickly. I was a little worried about the downhill parts, given the dire warnings to avoid using the brakes and the fact that my tires are barely larger than stock and don’t have a lot of width. It actually wasn’t bad at all, but I think having the rear locker helped tremendously to keep the tires from skidding. I went very slow, not nearly as fast as shown in on-line videos and I did stand on the brakes pretty heavily. But because I kept the speed so low, I never was actually decelerating, the brakes were used to keep from speeding up. I would have been uncomfortable at a speed where the engine was doing the braking, and yes, I was in 4WD low, with the locker engaged and I have a Vortec V8 instead of the tired old Toyota six. It’s not that scary if you’re careful. What would have been scary for me would be to turn around and go through the rock crawling back the way we came! We continued northward over Webster pass. I also thought that it was interesting that there was NOBODY on the road save for a young couple in a OHV quad. Anyway, tons of fun but just wanted to give a bit of additional perspective if you’re not driving a built-out trail rig.

Great day for a trip up Red Cone. It was my 1st run over this pass but we managed it okay. I think the hardest part of this trail is WP2 but I got over it. The decent down was not as bad as I was thinking it was going to be. Not much done to my Jeep other than 33's and a 2.5" lift. I would say traffic was moderate.

Got to do this trail on July 1st. Everything was wide open on the trail. Traffic was heavy with Jeeps, Toyota's and atv's (I was driving the only full size K5 seen up there). Trail is tight in the trees for a full size but it is do-able with careful driving. Some corners required a 2 or 3 point turn, but again no damage taken by the trees. Up top was windy, but clear. The climb to the peak had to wait for traffic to clear, but I can't imagine a better place to be stuck waiting for traffic to clear. Once on top the 360 degree view was breathtaking. You could even see the smoke rising from the Weston pass fire to the south. The decent down was fun and spooky at the same time. Gear down, point it straight ahead and pay attention, the Webster summit took no time to get to even creeping down to it. Webster still had the snow cornice at the summit to the south side and it was marked closed at the trailhead below. We returned heading up the valley to the north and hooking up with dear trail and going back up to the top and intersecting with the middle fork of the swan river. We came back to the road at hwy 9 in Breckenridge. 9 took us down back to Fairplay and on to home from there. Great trail to run, if you are afraid of heights it may not be the trail for you.

Our friends at Colorado Off Road Enterprise report that Red Cone is open all the way through to Montezuma thanks to Mile-High Jeep Club's efforts.

Snow condition update: Multiple reports from this weekend confirm the trail is no longer passable beyond waypoint 5. The seasonal gate does not close till spring, but travel along the trail is not recommended.

Decided to do Red Cone with my friend Brian in my 1986 Toyota 4Runner. The trail was wet, and there was a good bit of snow as we got higher. Then it started to snow pretty hard. We hit a really muddy patch on a right hand switchback with big rocks in it. I tried to power through that section and took out my left front turn signal and damaged my fender and bumper pretty good on a tree, coming to an abrupt halt. When I tried to back up, the right rear tire got in a deep pit and the 4Runner started to tip right and backward. The left front tire was several feet in the air. Brian jumped out to take weight off the right side, then jumped on the hood and scrambled to the left front corner. That teetered the truck part of the way to level and got me enough purchase to move a bit and alleviate the impending rollover. A Jeep pulled up (thanks Alex and Ryan). We cobbled together my come along, my chain, their chain, and their tree strap. After some trying we got moving again. However, the right rear tire now had a damaged valve stem and was losing air quickly. Using the original equipment bottle jack was difficult, but we eventually got the spare tire on. We were pretty far up at that point, and it was getting late in the afternoon. I thought it best to turn around because of the sloppy conditions on the trail and the possible (probable) slippery nature of the descent down Red Cone. The Jeep guys advised me that in point of time continuing on over Red Cone and back down Webster Pass was probably the same without having to go through the really rutted out boulders that we bottomed out and high centered on a few times coming up. We got to tree line. Their plan was to have us follow them to the top, where they would walk a bit down the descent to see how it was. We watched them slip and slide and get high centered going up the sloppy climb above tree line to the ridge on top and realized we would not make it to the top. They dislodged their Jeep and disappeared over the top. We gave the Jeep about ten minutes and turned around to head back down the way we came up, assuming they decided to continue. It was very windy and cold with snow. Now after sunset and getting dark quickly, we struggled taking the 4Runner back down through rocks that were much more exposed than normal from trail wear during the rain and snow this past week. Eventually the Jeep guys caught up with us coming back downhill. Their story--not ours--was that at the very top there was 6 inches of snow, it was 32°F, and blowing 80 mph. Not sure how they know that last figure, but the passenger said he was unable to open his door against the wind when they got near the edge of the descent. They did show us a video on their phone of the last time they could exit the vehicle nearing the top. It was clear from the snow depth and blizzard conditions in that video that going down the Red Cone descent had a low probability of successful outcome. On the way back down to 285 my left rear bumper got caught in the mud on a tight canted left hairpin turn. That corner of the bumper slowly twisted itself apart as it acted like a keel or drag anchor guiding me through the turn. It damaged the vehicle, but it did help keep us in the turn. Lessons learned include knowing that the weather is to be respected, stay off sloppy trails, snow and Red Cone do not mix, just because someone else suggests you continue does not make it true, and ego can get your vehicle damaged and endanger your life. That seems like enough lessons for one day. Damage report includes left front bumper, left rear bumper, left front fender, left front turn signal, one tire off the bead, a new squeal/whistle possibly from the differential, and unknown damage to the bottom of the vehicle from rock impacts. In all, a pretty fun day that turned out a lot better than it could have.

Wonderful trip over Red Cone! It had been over 15 years since I last drove this trail. It seems like there has been quite a bit of errosion that was not evident the last time I was here... Our trail run was done with fellow members of the Colorado FJ Cruiser club. There were about 16 rigs on our run. We always like doing runs with this group as everyone is patient and helpful on some of the difficult portions of this trail. The views up top of Red Cone are amazing to say the least. This is one of my favorite trails in Colorado. I strongly recommend!

The plan was to hit Red Cone for sunrise and then continue on to Webster Pass to Radical Hill. From Radical Hill we would take Deer Creek to Saint John then finishing on North Fork Swan River leading us back down to Breckenridge. Starting at 4:30 am we were able to be on Red Cone for sunrise and beat all the crowds for the remainder of the trails.

Thanks to the hardworking folks from Mile-Hi Jeep Club, Red Cone will officially open for the season today. This past weekend was a work weekend spent installing new signage, removing tree debris, picking up trash, and clearing snow. Please note that you have to exit via Webster Pass into Montezuma. Webster is not yet clear to return back to 285.

The seasonal gate on Red Cone is closed for the season. The trail is adopted by the Mile-Hi Jeep Club and anticipates the opening to be the weekend before 4th of July.

Great trail, heading up through the trees and then above the tree line, to s steep climb and steeper decent on the other side of the Red Cone. A fall day with lots of colors in the trees and likely the one of the last weekends the trail will be open this year. Continue on to Radical Hill for a little more challenge with off camber short section of shelf road and a narrow area with just enough room for a Jeep to pass.

Decided to celebrate July 4th with a quick run over Red Cone Pass. We left town around 7:30 AM to hit the trailhead just about 8:45. Brought the dogs and the ladies to enjoy the views. Hall Valley Campground was packed, and Webster Pass was still closed. As we got to the summit it was evident why. The cornice at the top of Webster (very last switchback) was still about 30' deep. Red Cone Pass was dry and had some recent trimming done, making for a very easy accent to the top. We didn't encounter any other people on Red Cone until reaching the junction of Webster and Red Cone, where we found a lone mountain biker. We ate lunch on the summit of red cone where we had the pleasure of seeing 3 mountain goats that were curious what we were doing but not so interested in my dogs. I was amazed at how mellow the decent from the top was. We went down the Montezuma side where the river crossing was around 30" at the deepest point. A young group of campers approached at the crossing and asked if we had and jumper cables. We landed a quick hand to get this groups up and running again. It was around 2:00 when we made it to Montezuma to air up.