Colorado Wheeling and Fly Fishing trails

[logan112]

Looking to do some wheeling in CO in 2 weeks. Flying by the seat of my pants a bit here.

Would like to do some wheeling and fly fishing before driving back to Missouri.

Any recommended trails or adventures that incorporate both? Open to suggestions. Ouray is high on list of recommended spots.

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[Golfsnob]

I just left Telluride Friday. Stunning. Can’t give any trail advice. Left the Bronco at home because my F150 is a much more comfortable traveling vehicle. There were a lot of folks in Ouray headed out to trails though in side by sides and adventure bikes.

 

[Gut]

How difficult do you want the trails to be? Some excellent resources are Charles A Wells books on the trails of Colorado, but there are hundreds of others.

If you want to stay closer to Denver, the trails around South Park are fun and range from easy to Yikes! The South Platte is Gold Medal in several stretches and is in that area as well.

 

[ColoradoKid26]

Looking to do some wheeling in CO in 2 weeks. Flying by the seat of my pants a bit here.

Would like to do some wheeling and fly fishing before driving back to Missouri.

Any recommended trails or adventures that incorporate both? Open to suggestions. Ouray is high on list of recommended spots.

Ouray is on fire right now, or just outside of the town to the West.
The smoke in LC is crazy.
Hopefully it wont get into town but I'd watch it closely.

 

[Scoop]

Check out South Fork, Creede and Lake City.

 

[ean01]

Be sure to check air quality across the state first and let that direct where not to go. There is a lot of smoke across the state right now from wild fires. To find trails, check out the Trails Off Road website or app.

 

[MilesTeg]

If you're going to be in Ouray, there's world class off-roading in the Ouray and Silverton and Lake City area. You can check out the Alpine loop: Cinnamon Trail, Engineer Pass. In that area you can't hardly throw a rock without it landing on a great offroad tail.

Unfortunately, it's also a very polluted area from mining -- much of the area is a proposed superfund site -- so I would not recommend fishing. Many of the streams are full of toxic mine runoff and tailings pond erosion. And those streams all feed into the Animas river which is the main river in the area. Even going in the water in some places is dangerous to your health.

There are also lots of old abandoned mines and mills and towns, which are all very cool to see but also one must be mindful of hazards like mine shafts, unstable structures, toxic soil, etc.

Lots of trails in that area won't even open up until August in typical years, but this year was pretty dry so you might get lucky. There is also a lot more traffic on those roads these days. Last time I was there the easier trails were practically rush hour traffic. Just lousy with side by sides and rented jeeps.

EDIT: Correction: The entire area IS a superfund site now (finally).

 

[Wilbur's son]

Between Salida and Buena Vista is the St. Elmo area. Good trails to explore and numerous high lakes to fish plus the Ark River and So. Platte River on your way home.

 

[Old Codger]

Download the Watch Duty on everyone's phone and enable location and alerts when you get close. It's a Must Have app this time of year on the western slope. You'll be out of cell coverage sometimes but this will keep you aware.

The big fires in Utah are wrecking air quality in western Colorado last few days. Most weather apps will provide AQ info.


Current wildfire status looks like this... The pink and red are areas are current red flag warnings.

The fire currently just north of Ouray may or may not develop into a big issue.

 

[MilesTeg]

Download the Watch Duty on everyone's phone and enable location and alerts when you get close. It's a Must Have app this time of year on the western slope. You'll be out of cell coverage sometimes but this will keep you aware.

The big fires in Utah are wrecking air quality in western Colorado last few days. Most weather apps will provide AQ info.


Current wildfire status looks like this... The pink and red are areas are current red flag warnings.

The fire currently just north of Ouray may or may not develop into a big issue.

Can't wait to see this map in August!

 

[Gut]

Between Salida and Buena Vista is the St. Elmo area. Good trails to explore and numerous high lakes to fish plus the Ark River and So. Platte River on your way home.

This is a great area if you want to go Pass Bagging. In the area around St. Elmo/Tincup there are Cottonwood, Tincup, Napoleon, Cumberland, Williams, Hancock, Tomichi, Chalk Creek, Waunita, Black Sage and 2 Monarchs. Plus Poncha and Marshall a bit south, Pearl and Taylor head north out of Taylor Park.

Some are easy, some are nasty so do your research before heading out.

 

[Wilbur's son]

This is a great area if you want to go Pass Bagging. In the area around St. Elmo/Tincup there are Cottonwood, Tincup, Napoleon, Cumberland, Williams, Hancock, Tomichi, Chalk Creek, Waunita, Black Sage and 2 Monarchs. Plus Poncha and Marshall a bit south, Pearl and Taylor head north out of Taylor Park.

Some are easy, some are nasty so do your research before heading out.

Yup, you find out very quickly what your skill level is. The pucker factor is real on many of these.

 

[Gut]

Everything is easier on a dirt bike. I rode that area for many years. There is some amazing singletrack up there as well. Unfortunately, the UTV crowd has found it, and the place has turned into a zoo, especially since Cottonwood was paved. I have read it is not as bad during the week but I can imagine what a nightmare it will be next weekend, as the drunken idiots destroy more trails.

 

[Charlie Mike]

I spent a lot of time fly fishing around Deckers, The Dream Stream (in between Spinney Mountain and 11 Mile Reservoirs), and 11 Mile Canyon.

 

[MachingBird]

Rent yourself a cabin in Basalt. Fish the Frying Pan there and the Roaring Fork nearby. Take a couple of day trips up the 82 through Wild Creek and Aspen to The Continental Divide at Independence Pass. Wild brookies EVERYWHERE! Logging and fire break roads/trails abound and they are ENDLESS...

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