Tincup Pass

Beautiful Autumn views on the St Elmo side of the pass. Made it to Mirror Lake before it started to rain/snow & I turned around. A good bit of snow on top of the pass at > 11,000 ft.

While this is not a hard trail, it is EXTREMELY rocky and this actually turns a lot of people away from it as you will feel pretty beat up by the time you get to the lake. I highly suggest that if you don't have the ability to air down, then you are going to have a rough day.

Bumpy and scenic drive all the way to Tincup. Saw some moose in the willows before the summit push. Mirror lake crossing was low with no water on the trail.

Ran this from St Elmo to Tincup in a Badlands Bronco with 35s. No problems with the trail. However, lots of traffic, mostly SXS. Probably only 10 non SXSs. Scenic, enjoyable ride, but too much traffic for my tastes.

Ran this right after Hancock Pass, from St. Elmo. Trail was wet and got some precip on the way down to Tincup, but wasn't an issue. Many SXS's, lost count, but less than 10 other rigs. Trail seems a little easier than the rating, but you still need to keep your brain engaged. Tires stayed dry at Mirror Lake. Did not do Old Tincup. Lifted 4Runner on 32's.

This is a trial that I have always wanted to do. As a kid, I would see jeeps driving through Mirror Lake while I was fishing. This late in the season there was no water to drive through. The plan was to extend the day on other trails once we arrived in St. Elmo. We got a late start and a storm blew in so we headed back over the pass. The rain got heavy and turned to heavy hail. At times the road was more of a river, which on other trails would have been more difficult, but you still have decently wide trails. St. Elmo is a nice stop, but note the restroom is grose. It is also up the hill by a building so if someone really needs the restroom it is best to drop them off a the restroom up the hill before parking on the main street.

Neat trail with lots of history - starting in St.Elmo the road goes through many different levels of terrain. The mountain meadow just before tree line we saw moose not far off tail. The road down to the lake was rough but scenic and the town of Tin Cup was cool. Continued on to Napoleon

Ran this on a Sunday afternoon from Tin Cup to St Elmo. Barely dipped my tires in Mirror Lake. Plenty of traffic and ATVs, but plenty of spots to pull off. Views are incredible. Trail is completely snow-free. I think it’s closer to a 3 rating instead of a 4. Ran on a stock Xterra with KO2s.

The views from Tincup pass are amazing and it is a fun trail that is closer to a 3 if you skip the Old Tincup route (there was someone stuck going uphill and we did not do the old route). It was very busy and if you are not a fan of SxS's, I would recommend going during the week. The edge of Mirror Lake was about 12 inches deep and a not an issue on the day we went.

We ran this trail both directions as the loop is closed. The old section is most difficult, as appears seldom run as very overgrown. Enjoyed the Tim Cup and Elmo towns, and the trail was fun with some good views.

It’s been several years since I’ve been on this trail and seem to remember it being more difficult back then. We did it from St. Elmo to Tincup. There wasn’t too much traffic and the snow up near the top had a well established track through it. It will likely be completely melted off in a couple days. We were able to get the rough the water crossings at Mirror Lake just fine. The water was only about 12 - 14 inches deep. It rained all night of the 18th, so that may have changed the water level of Mirror Lake. The trail didn’t get washed out anywhere between St. Elmo and tree line, but there was a bit of erosion overnight.

Last remaining drift was shoveled open by local user. Pass is now open, but be prepared for deep water on the tincup side

Same as the last reviewer- couldn't quite make it to waypoint 7 (started from St Elmo). Still has some great views. I'd agree with the last reviewer, a week, 2 at the most and it'll be clear of snow.

Approaching from the east, we made it from St Elmo to a point about 300 yards from Tincup Pass. There a snow bank covered 1/2 of the width of the already narrow road. (See the photo.) We saw a moose in the open space just beneath there and enjoyed viewing several playful marmots after backing down in reverse for a little over a tenth of a mile. Good run. I anticipate the pass will be open in a week or two after the last of this snow melts.

The pass is open to the large cornice just before the summit on the St. Elmo side.

Made it about 4.5 miles in from St Elmo. Deep snow in places.

Sign at trailhead says "Tracked Vehicles Only". The begining of the trail is snow free. We hiked in a little over a 1/2 mile from the trailhead before hitting snow fully covering the trail. One tree was down across the trail. With the snow melt the non snow covered areas of the trail is very soft and muddy.. it's going to be a little awhile before its ready for 4x4s.

Always a beautiful ride with killer views. It's only open to the top and not down to the lake. We tried to plow through the 3' snow drift with no luck. But definitely a blast!

Great trip starting from Tincup stopping to camp just after the pass below tree line. The trail was mostly clear of snow and an easy drive up. Saw about 12 moose in the creek valley. Coming down from the summit encountered more snow on the trail. Beautiful views of some snow covered peaks! (We did the standard route as we were traveling with a TJ and Cherokee Trailhawk KL with a 2" lift. )

Great ride! rocky most of the way. Saw 2 motorcycles on the trail near the pass and that was all. Someone has laid some logs as a barrier at Old Tincup Road so I am not sure if it has gotten worse and that was done to indicate that? (Of course I didn't go that way) I was a little concerned if my stock Tundra 4x4 would make it but didn't have any problems, slight under-carriage scrape 1 time (my fault). Saw alot of wildlife including a bull moose in the big valley near the pass (see pic, but can't see moose in pic) . I would rate the trail difficulty as a 3.

Still open. Construction crews were beginning work on the bridge at the very start. Very light snow above 10,000 but nothing on the road.

If you take the easiest lines I would rate this trail a 3. I did not drive Old Tincup which means the hardest obstacle for me today was a group of maybe 5 Jeeps parked in the complete middle of the trail, engines off, drivers hanging out in the gigantic camp site that they should have parked in. The trail was wide enough for 2 cars in this spot, but they parked right in the middle. Had my passenger side entering willows and my driver side 1/2” from these terribly parked Jeeps as I squeezed by. When a trail is this popular I suppose you’re bound to see some people with awful trail etiquette. Other than that it was pretty quiet and took me just under 2 hours.

Just run Tin Cup. 2014 Rubicon with 2.5 inch lift and 35s. Easier than I remember from years past. Agree with review below that there have been lots of improvements to the trail - especially on the Tin Cup side. Ran in 4 high and did not need 4 low or lockers. Still very bumpy the whole way, but no longer technical. New Ford Ranger truck (with paper plates) was doing the trail easily - possibly a small lift and A/T tires. Any vehicle with a small lift, 4 wheel drive, and trail tires can do this run (don't need skid plates with good lines). Took 2 hours from Tin Cup to St. Elmo. Classic run that got a little easier. Give it a 3 of 6 difficulty rating - down from a 4 or 5 before.

Fun trail. But tons of rzrs and atvs. Nothing technical but very bumpy

I had been putting this trail off for years. Perhaps because shortly after pulling out of the driveway toward the pass several years ago I had a major vehicle malfunction on the highway. But a friend finally talked me into it and I'm glad he did. The trail and beautiful scenery both vary enough to keep it interesting. Plenty of SxS's on a Friday, particularly as you approach the summit from the St. Elmo side and all the way down to Taylor Park. Plenty of wide spots to let them pass though. Good fishing at Mirror Lake - rainbows and brookies. I will be bringing out-of-state guests on this trail to provide a quintessential Colorado experience.

It's beautiful up here. I haven't been up Tincup Pass since I was a kid on the way to Mirror Lake for camping and fishing. Fun trail, awesome views at the Divide. LOTS of side by side traffic on Monday but trail etiquette was pretty decent. There were about 4 out of the 10 first come first serve campsites available and we stayed over at one with a view of the lake. Mosquito threat level 6 out of 10 haha.

We ran Hancock, Cumberland and Tincup passes clockwise and it was an awesome day on the trail! There were a lot of sxs out, but traffic wasnt too bad.

Great as always! Ran the trail in the pouring rain so no traffic. Great improvements to the trail on the Taylor Park side as you near the top. Fun day!

Scenic as always. It was nice and empty, maybe saw 4 other vehicles in total until we hit Mirror Lake. We took the loop around Cumberland Pass and Hancock Pass, which was also nice and empty. Great camping at the beginning of Tincup also.

When we did this trail, there was a sign to divert us from doing the rougher section. This trail ended up being much easier that anticipated. We really enjoyed the lake at the end of the trail.

Shoveled out the drift at the top. Pass is open!

Came up from the Tincup side. Smooth sailing to mirror lake. Drove a little over a mile past mirror lake when I encountered some hikers on their way down. They said there was waste-deep snow above tree line and they were not able to summit. I turned around a little bit before the turnoff for old tin cup jeep trail.

Made it up to about waypoint 6 when we hit the heavy snowpack at 11,775 feet. We tried getting through in the Power Wagon, but no luck. Two Jeeps tried and both had to be recovered.

Drove up from St. Elmo and reached snowpack at 2.8 miles

Made it almost to Waypoint 5. Be prepared for deep and slushy snow.

Traveling from Tin Cup to St. Elmo. You have to run this trail. It is amazing!

Trail is open and was busy today. The road to St Elmo was a mess with the large number of tourists doing their site seeing and picture taking from their cars at 15mph. Tincup Pass itself had a fair amount of traffic but all the drivers I encountered were very courteous and the views were great.

Always a rocky start, but the payoff is spectacular with its killer views.

The pictures from the way points don't look like the trail when I did this. Not sure when those pictures were taken, but the road is a lot more rocky and degraded than those pictures suggest. I would say this trail is on the more difficult side of moderate. Went from Mirror Lake and turned around at approximately waypoint 7. Still very pretty and Mirror Lake campground is awesome. Tincup is also very cool, read the history and see the old town pictures by the town Church.

We took a stock renegade, stock wrangler, and 2 KL Cherokee Trailhawks (2in and 3in lifts) on Tincup Pass as well as old tincup. The renegade drove a bit recklessly (he has learned from this) and ended up breaking on the trail. The rest of us had only minor issues which was mostly due to poor sleep and hunger. Basically, the trail is beautiful and is suitable for most vehicles with 4low with some ground clearance. If you want to push it a little, old tincup will offer some challenge to aggressive stock trail vehicles like the Rubicon, Pro4X, TRD, Z71 models and built trail vehicles of all makes. Enjoyed the pass, next time, I’ll go up starting on Tincup but starting at either direction is allowed.

We ran Tin Cup, Napoleon, and Hancock passes in our RZR. Hot, dry day. Trails were busier than I expected for a Tuesday. And these trails are rough! Big rocks! But we had a blast. Mirror lake was really low. No water on the trail.

Started in Tincup and ended the trail in St. Elmo. Very scenic and bumpy pass from start to finish. Had to pull to the side a lot for SXS's to pass. It was quite busy, but it has a fun little rocky section on the Tincup side of the pass pretty close to the summit. It was fun, but choosing a good line is important. I did not hit any skid plates or my rock sliders during the adventure. Mirror lake also makes for a nice spot to stop and have lunch or to stretch you legs out. I would definitely recommend it!

super fun mountain pass. there are some nice rock gardens to pick your line through. we went from home in BV over Cottonwood Pass and then back over Tincup to St.Elmo.

My on-trail time was 3:15 a bit more than in the review above(I didn't take Old Tincup). Water at the crossing point was real low, so should be no issues for anyone. Great trail etiquette from fellow Jeepers and Tacomas, SxS and ATV - not so much.

Ran the trail from Tincup to St. Elmo. Aired down at Mirror Lake. Water crossings were minor (~6 inch depth). I ran my mostly stock LX470 and it did fine. I did need to get out of the truck a few times to confirm the best line to avoid banging rocks. Otherwise a fun, bumpy ride up to the pass. The trail down to St. Elmo isn't quite as interesting as the Tincup side.

Ran from St. Elmo to Tincup. Did not do Old Tincup (heard there may be people stuck on it blocking the route). 2004 4Runner, 32's, leveling lift, no lockers, 2000 Frontier, 33's, 3" lift, no locker. Good trail, lots of fun challenges for new to intermediate drivers. The main route has some fun challenges both directions that will really test your vehicle if you're running anything close to stock.

Excellent trail! There are some rough, rocky spots throughout which will require good tire placement to avoid any undercarriage/rocker panel damage. The water depth at Mirror Lake was no more than the hub of my wheel at any point. The trail was somewhat busy, but there are multiple places to pass oncoming traffic. We didn't take the Old Tincup route, as time was running short. The rock obstacles on the rest of the trail more than made up for that! Unless you plan on heading back down Tincup Pass once reaching the end of the trail in Tincup, I highly recommend heading north on FSR 765 (dirt road) in Tincup to the Taylor Park Reservoir, then taking CR 209 (paved road) back to Buena Vista via Cottonwood Pass. The views at the top of Cottonwood Pass are beautiful.

Very rocky trail ,almost no reprieve from them . Obstacles were moderate at times but for the most part an easy rocky trail . What makes this trail worthwhile is the great views and lake water crossing . You’ll go up to 12’150 at tin cup pass . Fun ride

Recovered a rolled ATV that was driving off-trail at the summit. Remember, always Stay the Trail.

This trail was amazingly fun. Starting off in St. Elmo was awesome. great little glimpse into the history of the area. The trail up to the town of Tin Cup was very rocky that was mild to moderate in most areas. The best part of this was the stop at the top of the pass where the Continental Divide marker was. Very picturesque scenery throughout with lots of great dispersed camping along the way. Still a few patches of snow that encroach onto the trail in a couple parts as you near the summit, but CORE has been through and hand shoveled the trail clear to make the pass open, Was easily done in a stock JKU with a few bumps and scrapes, just got to watch your lines in a few areas. Can't wait to go back here and explore more. Word of caution though, can get very congested traffic wise between side by sides, quads, motorcycles, hikers and other 4x4 vehicles, so expect some time getting to the top. It took our group of 12 rigs roughly 3 hours to reach the pass from St. Elmo. Was a good time.

We made it the whole over the pass a few days ago. Mirror lake had 3 sections that were still covered in water but none of them were more than 2 feet deep. I believe I may have been the first threw the snow bank in the previous reviews. But it had melted enough that I was able to break a path through it with both of my lockers on.

Still two large drifts across the road 500 yards east of the summit coming from the St. Elmo side.

Our two stock Tacomas made it up to the snow with little effort except for a considerable obstacle immediately before the last switchbacks before the pass. After the last switchback, the road was covered with snow for roughly 150ft. We heard from a fellow driver that Mirror lake is also impassable from the west because of deep water. Didn't confirm it ourselves.

This trail is beautiful. Nothing about it gets too hard until after treeline. It's absolutely beautiful though.

Great fun! We made it to waypoint 6 and had to turn around due to time constraints although we heard it was blocked by snow shortly after that.

Drove Tincup on Wednesday afternoon, September 11th. I was with a group of Land Cruisers from back east (Keystone Cruisers from Pennsylvania, and Capital City Land Cruiser Club from Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia). We found the St. Elmo side had some erosion and water puddles, but the erosion on the Tincup side was more pronounced, exposing more rocks. We took the "easier" route at Waypoint 8, avoiding the "Old Tincup" portion of the trail. Overall, nothing difficult but we did have issues with one carbureted truck due to elevation. Even with periodic stops to address carb/fuel delivery issues, we completed the trek from St. Elmo to Tincup in approximately 3 hours.

Traveled the Tincup Pass route from Tincup to St. Elmo on Tuesday August 20. Seconding what others have said, the route is in much worse shape than last year at about the same time. Boulders are much more pronounced, not a smooth spot anywhere except on the pass itself. We were passed by one family in a SxS who took the Old Tincup route, we saw them again at the pass and they said they came back out and up the "easier" route because it was so rough. Only about 6" of water on the trail at Mirror Lake, the water was so clear that we could see many trout swimming about. About 3 hours to make the trip in a Jeep JK Rubicon Unlimited on 33" tires. Thank goodness for MORE skid plates.

Compared to previous years trips, this year the road is in terrible condition. Previous reviews have hit the highlights, so these are my observations. Most of the bypasses around obstacles are just as bad as the main route. In past years where there has been a dirt road, is now all rocks. It took us 5 hours to go from St. Elmo to Tincup, way longer than in previous years.

Ran the trail from Tincup to St. Elmo in the rain. Mirror Lake crossing was no trouble. Maybe frame deep on our lowest clearance vehicle. As previously stated, hug the bank. Water runs down the trail nearly the entire route. Rocky but do-able with a stock vehicle. Excellent trail! Watch for moose.

Traveled from St. Elmo to Tincup and back. Beautiful views and the weather was perfect. Rented a Jeep (my K5 is back in So Cal for a one ton swap) and passed through Mirror Lake without issue - Jeep was a stock JKU without lift on Rubicon takeoff wheels/tires. Water was only to the rocker panels in one spot, all other areas were halfway up the wheel only. Avalanche damage on the way out of St. Elmo (east side of divide) was amazing to survey. Trees snapped through and or uprooted and deposited on the uphill opposing side of the valley. Simply amazing to see the result of that power. Thanks for all the reviews previously, it was great to know I could make it with the rental before heading up the trail.

Made it through all sections at Mirror Lake with a Jeep Sport with high clearance and 35" tires although stock can probably make it fine. I saw at least 20 vehicles make it all the way thru - stock and utvs. There are 3 sections of water with the third (going south to St. Elmo) being shallow and very short. My guess is that the water is not deeper than 20-22 inches at any point in the first two sections if you stay close but not necessarily hug the shoreline. There were many people there today.

Mirror lake is low enough that a Grand Cherokee can navigate it.

The trail is now snow free and can be driven all the way over. Mirror Lake is still flooded over the trail. Do not attempt to ford the water if you do not know the road.

Open all the way. Mirror lake was flooded still, but never more than 30". Stay to the right side and hug the bank!

You can't get from Tin Cup to St. Elmo. The road at Mirror Lake is under a reported 9 feet of water. Locals say it likely will not be passable this year.

This trail is perfect for the novice Jeeper. Start out early in St. Elmo and take the trail to Tincup. While in Tincup have lunch at Frenchy's Cafe.

Forest Order PSICC-2019-19 has now been rescinded. Thanks to Colorado Off Road Enterprise and Mile-Hi Jeep Club working with the Salida Ranger district to clear the avalanche debris that closed the trail on the St Elmo side. The trail is mostly clear with a few patches of snow and very wet conditions up to treeline at waypoint 6. From this point on, snow fields are almost constant with a few patches of dirt. Snow is extremely deep and off camber before ever approaching the switchbacks. Please be sure to stay on the trail and drive over snow drifts and not around them at all. On the Tincup side, the road has been reported as flooded out due to high water in Mirror Lake.

Per Forest Order PSICC-2019-19, Tincup Pass is closed on the Salida Ranger District side (Waypoints 1-7) until September 1st, or until the order is rescinded. There are currently two large avalanches that cover the road in debris and those need to melt out and be cleared by heavy equipment before they will open the road. You can find the order here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd624784.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0F9JmIoQOrC5VRqdi5AGmG-Y94yTYRgj1g4Ve4kedoobF08y5x_7yDIZc and the map here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd624786.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1a9mcjz-x6Afr5yUPxDCaYjeuvpEQyfht2d6lp0bVfDb-AIUKCbCXETaw

Great time! I love this trail and can't wait to go back. I met up with a group of dirt bikers that I work with at Taylor Park and ran the trail as simultaneously as is practical with a Jeep vs bikes - meaning I went through Tincup and they took a side trail to Mirror Lake, and I waited for them at the summit, then waited for them again for dinner in BV while they did another singletrack route. I do tend to disagree with the bottom end of the difficulty being a 3. I'm not really sure whether my track fell all or in part of the more difficult "Old Tincup" route but when I compare to other trails that fall into the 3-5 range (Cinnamon and Engineer Passes, Bull Park, etc), the size of the rocks doesn't feel like it deserves any less than a 5 - at least if you're going up from Tincup.

My vehicle is an '02 Dodge Dakota 4x4. I visited Tincup Pass on 09/09/17 and had little trouble with the trail, so went back on 07/22/18 and found that the trail was a bit degraded due to erosion from the previous year, still I was able to drive the trail without using 4 whl drive. The scenery is great and the folks we met while traversing the Pass were great and mindful of the rules of the road. Numerous camping sites, many of which were occupied by people with large 4x4s and camping trailers. St Elmo Store is open from 9 am to 5 pm and will remain open until the end of September depending on the weather. Check their website for hours.

Ran this as our final trip of the day after running Hancock and Cumberland first. This giant loop makes for a long day, but it certainly is a fun one rich in history. We were running the trail in reverse of this guide. By the late afternoon, there wasn't a lot of traffic on the trail, but there were still a lot of people at Mirror Lake. We came up the Old Tincup route and going uphill on those boulders definitely challenges you. Fun day in the hills as always.

Trail was open and we didn't see any snow along the route. Didn't take the Old Tincup route and the rocks weren't anything to worry too much about. My 7 month old had the best nap of the last week on this drive.

Trail was good today. Temps were in the 40s for the most part. The trail up to Tincup Pass was open and in good shape with only a couple of small trickles across the trail. Up on top the wind had picked up (of course). The trail after the pass was closed, not sure of the reason. That part of the trail looked much wetter than the St. Elmo side. Saw just a few tiny snowflakes along the way with some patches of snow in shady areas. When we made our way back down to St. Elmo, it started raining. I suspect that it was snowing up higher.

Open and beautiful. This trail has changed very little from year-to-year. My local 4X4 group visited the Buena Vista area for the week and this trail was our first choice. The trail was exceptionally busy with vehicles going both directions. We ran Tincup Pass from St. Elmo to the town of Tincup then back. Jeeps, ATV's and Side-by-sides were all abundant on the trail. Afternoon rain showers greeted our trip back to Buena Vista. The light rain knocked the dust for the trip.

Almost ready to summit. I ran the trail as part of the Set Them Free Off-road event which was held in the area during the first weekend of July. Tincup Pass was in great shape, until you reach the last few hundred yards at the summit. A large snow field still sits on the road waiting for the sun to do it's deed. We were able to walk across the snow field to the summit sign (Waypoint 7). The snow field is still about 200 yards long. Another few weeks will be necessary until the snow melts away. The ghost town of St. Elmo was busy with visitors. While on the trail, we needed to rescue a vehicle that teetered over the edge of the road. The impatient driver tried to pass in a narrow spot and put both passenger side wheels over the edge. Luckily for him, there were plenty of experienced wheelers there to get him back on the road.

It was an extremely warm day around the Collegiate Peaks. 4 of us on 37s+ with dual lockers and around 5lbs of air in the tires, headed up Tincup from St Elmo. The trail was very wet and soggy at the start with a little bit of snow here and there on the trail till about 2 miles in. At that point, it became mostly snow, with little dirt. The snow was about 2 feet deep until we reached tree line. At that point, it was easily 4'-5' deep. You can see in one of my photos my buddy is standing on the dirt while I take a photo at the snow level. You can barely see his head. There is a TON of snow up on the pass still. We were able to make it as far as we did because the snow was still very hard and our single digit tire pressures allowed us to float on top of the snow. Because of the amount of snow, I would not recommend traveling alone on this trail for the time being. Please stay on the trail and do not avoid snow drifts. There was evidence of this happening already. If you cannot get through the snow on the trail, turn around and try a different day. The first 2 miles of the trail have lots of open camping areas where we didn't see a single soul.

It was day two of the Unlimited LJ Adventure and we started our day in St. Elmo in an effort to run Tincup Pass and one other trail that day. There was a ton of RZR traffic on the trail as we found out there was a RZR Rally in Taylor Park with some 650 people. The trail was totally dry and had many campers camping out on it, and although there was a lot of traffic, the trail is wide enough in most spots that we were able to continue moving even with oncoming traffic. We made it to the top, snapped some group photos, and continued down the Old Tincup route on our way to Mirror Lake.

I have done this trail in a stock CJ-5 a few times. It is probably one of the more difficult trails in the Taylor area, besides Taylor Pass. Access to the trail depends on how high Mirror Lake is. A lot of the time you will have to ford through the lake. I believe you can see and or hike to the Fairview Peak Fire Lookout. The hike is a lot harder than it seems, and I have not done it.