Red Cone is Colorado's most remarkable off-road trail. Come along for a ride on this impressive Jeep trail to Red Cone’s breathtaking summit at 12,801’.
Why is Red Cone Trail so impressive?
Red Cone is a peak and not a pass. Many high country trails in Colorado follow old mining roads to high elevation mountain passes. Red Cone Trail is different than most high country trails because this trail takes you to the top of a small summit of 12,801’. Other Colorado high country pass trails usually have nearby peaks that are taller than the pass. While on top of Imogene Pass you look up at the nearby Telluride Peak which is taller. On Black Bear Pass, Trico Peak (13,321’) and another mountain to the south stand above you. On Engineer Pass, Darley Mountain (13,260’) and Engineer Mountain stand taller. Ophir Pass cuts through Lookout Peak and Vermilion Peak. Holy Cross Trail is exciting but it doesn’t have good views. Black Bear Pass has amazing views and the switchbacks are fun, but I don’t get the same feeling as I do on Red Cone. Wheeler Lake trail is full of exciting obstacles, has a great ending at the lake and you are surrounded by nearby towering peaks, but it doesn’t have the same dramatic crescendo like getting to the top of Red Cone. Mosquito Pass, Devil’s Punchbowl, Schofield Pass, Cinnamon Pass, Corkscrew Gulch, Chinaman Gulch , et al. are all amazing but for me, Red Cone takes the cake. The summit and parking area on top of Red Cone is small (maybe 1,200 sq-ft) and the contour lines are close together on the topo map. There is room for probably 8 to 10 vehicles on top. Landslide Peak to the north stands taller at 13,238’ but it is 1.75 miles away. Handcart Peak 1.3 miles to the west stands at 12,518’ and Webster Pass (12,103’) also stands below you. The climb out of Handcart Gulch is a constant climb upwards with several tricky sections to navigate. I don’t cover them in detail in this video but maybe I will make a trail guide video for this trail at some point if you would find that useful. The final push to the summit of Red Cone follows a ridge line with your driver side exposed to a 2,000’ drop. The color contrast between Red Cone and the surrounding peaks is mesmerizing. The lush green alpine vegetation contrasted with the red oxidation of pyrite on Red Cone adds to the excitement. The views to the west to the Tenmile Range and the Holy Cross Wilderness are stunning. If you bring some binoculars along you will probably spot mountain goats living their high country lives. The descent of Red Cone can be intimidating. There are no tight switchbacks but the descent is steep and the rocks are loose. If you look closely you can see Camron’s Jeep LJ rear tires slide a little bit. There is a washed out section about a third of the way down from the summit that has gotten worse over the years, but just take your time and focus and you shouldn’t have any issues. Another big positive to this trail is that you can connect to many other nearby trails and make an epic wheeling day. Connect to Webster Pass, Radical Hill, Santa Fe Peak, Saints John, Deer Creek, Middle & North Fork Swan River Trails, SOB Hill and Georgia Pass. You will also find less traffic on Red Cone and these other neighboring trails than you will see on the San Juan trails.
So is it Colorado’s most remarkable off-road trail? I say that it is. If for some reason someone came to me and said, “Off-roading is about to be banned. You can only run one more trail in Colorado one more time, take your pick.” My pick would be Red Cone.
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e-mail: steinernm@gmail.com
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FAQ
When did Colorado4x4 start? 2015
Is YouTube your full time job? No. I work as an engineer in Denver.
When did you first go off-road? 1998
Are you sponsored? Nope
What is your favorite trail? Red Cone in Colorado and Hell’s Revenge in Utah. I know that is two and you asked for just one trail but I can't make up my mind. They are both tied for 1st place.
Do you film every trail you run? No
Why not? It is a lot of work and sometimes I like to put the cameras down and just go wheeling
Do you like to film off-roading videos? I love to film off-roading videos. I try to convince Stacy to drive just so that I can film. I really like driving more on difficult trails. Sometimes I would just like to film on trails and ride along with my buddies so that I can focus on great camera shots.
How many trails do you run each year? I try for 30 trails a year but sometimes it doesn’t happen. Our best years have been 40-50 trails per year. I hit 20 trails in 2020.
Do you set up organized trail runs? No, but I have invited folks from YouTube to come run trails with us. Look for Todd in his Ford F-150 in my latest videos.
What size tires do you have? 35s
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