Animas Forks?

[Andy Douglass]

We have the first half of June set aside for a trip. One possible destination we have in mind is the Durango/Silverton/Ouray area, and I have wanted to see Animas Forks since I learned about it years ago. Stock 2018 Ram 2500 diesel with a Hawk FWC. Truck is bone stock except for AT tires (Falken Wild Peak, mountain snowflake) in stock size. From what I see on youtube the forest roads to Animas Forks seem pretty well maintained (or at least some of them). I know there is some fairly technical wheeling roads up there but we are just wondering if anyone has been up there in the last few years, which way you went, difficulty of road, etc. I have no issue driving on rough forest roads, but I like to keep the shiny side up and the oil pan in one piece.

And any other interesting things to do in the area, particularly fishing. We get a little restless, so we tend to cover a lot of ground on our trips with overnight stops in between areas of interest that we stay in for 2-3 days. Our two week trips usually come in around 3500 miles.

 

[Durango1]

The road to Animas forks from Silverton is bumpy but doable with a stock AWD SUV. (I know this because I've taken our stock Toyota Highlander even higher into American basin,,, very slowly!)

However, one caution: the San Juans have had epic snowfall this year. I wouldn't count on the road into Animas Forks being open in early June. Be sure to check. And #2...

Do NOT remotely expect solitude. Last summer when we were at Animas Forks the Lake County sheriff literally had a speed trap set up at Animas Forks and was handing out speeding tickets like confetti. (People were not amused.) He and I were chatting and he told me the traffic count 9including an incredible number of rental ATV's) was at 2,000 per day!

NOTE: We much prefer the Bolam Pass area west of Purgatory Ski area. You can drop down into Rico and hit Telluride. (Which isn't known for solitude but I still prefer it to Animas Forks!)

Best wishes,
Steve

 

[Andy Douglass]

The road to Animas forks from Silverton is bumpy but doable with a stock AWD SUV. (I know this because I've taken our stock Toyota Highlander even higher into American basin,,, very slowly!)

However, one caution: the San Juans have had epic snowfall this year. I wouldn't count on the road into Animas Forks being open in early June. Be sure to check. And #2...

Do NOT remotely expect solitude. Last summer when we were at Animas Forks the Lake County sheriff literally had a speed trap set up at Animas Forks and was handing out speeding tickets like confetti. (People were not amused.) He and I were chatting and he told me the traffic count 9including an incredible number of rental ATV's) was at 2,000 per day!

NOTE: We much prefer the Bolam Pass area west of Purgatory Ski area. You can drop down into Rico and hit Telluride. (Which isn't known for solitude but I still prefer it to Animas Forks!)

Best wishes,
Steve

Thanks for the info. I saw a video on YT about a jeep that was stuck over the side of the road right above the town site. It looked a little like photos I've seen of Time Square with how many people were standing around watching a pretty boring recovery. Is there some kind of tour shuttle that take people up there or does the train stop up there? It looked like a tour bus' worth of people watching.

Was the deputy mostly citing atv/utv drivers? I used to ride a 700 Raptor like a maniac, but I am now in the beginning stages of Curmudgeonhood and can see the need for enforcement in high-traffic OHV areas. I have seen first hand how dangerous OHV crashes can be. I'm guessing there are probably some memorial crosses along the forest roads in the San Juans.

I was wondering about the snow. I have a friend that lives south of Denver and I have spent a fair amount of time there. He always tells me how quick the snow disappears where he lives, but that is probably a little different than the San Juans.

 

[CougarCouple]

We went there last year and drove our F250 up with the camper, rough road and some places was glad there was no oncoming. If I were to do it again would consider a keep or side by rental.

PS we came out of Silverton to see Animas forks.

Russ

 

[Zoomad]

I was wondering about the snow. I have a friend that lives south of Denver and I have spent a fair amount of time there. He always tells me how quick the snow disappears where he lives, but that is probably a little different than the San Juans.

Snow melts quickly in the front range for multiple reasons. Lower elevation and lots of sunny days. However the San Juans have been dumped on this last winter/spring. At the higher elevations even with high number of sunny days the snow does not melt that quick. I was just wheeling in the Sangre DiCristo Range west of Pueblo this last weekend for one example. They haven't had the same amount of snow the San Juans had, but they had 2-3 feet in areas above 10,000 feet. We were in the same area for a snow run on new year's day earlier and that snow was fluffy powder. Saturday though that snow was almost glacial. It was heavy and dense from melting and re-freezing over and over. I got my K5 stuck up to it's rockers in one spot and while the tires dug holes the frame was resting on a block of snow. I'm a big boy myself and I could stand on the top of 2 1/2 feet of snow and not break through and sink.

So higher elevations like the trails around the San Juans will have massive amounts of snow that might take well into July to melt naturally. Some of those trails are county roads that might get plowed though. I'd check with the local ranger district for up to date conditions.

 

[Batman]

That area is not exactly known for good fishing due to serious mining impacts on streams.

 

[Kokopelli]

You can forget about Animas Forks in early June this year. This was in the Durango Hereald this am:

Tookey said that last year, when the region was in a critical drought, Cinnamon Pass, a high-mountain four-wheel-drive road that connects Silverton to Lake City, was open. This year, however, crews haven’t even punched through to Animas Forks, a popular ghost town closer to Silverton.
“If you have an avalanche bring down a lot of trees and debris, it’s a whole lot more difficult than just plowing snow,” he said.
One avalanche that covered County Road 2, the route to Eureka, buried the road in up to 40 feet of snow. Farther past Eureka toward Animas Forks, it was discovered this week that another avalanche dumped up to 120 feet of snow on the road. As a result, it’s likely Animas Forks won’t be accessible until July.

 

[Andy Douglass]

Thanks for all the info...we will be putting San Juans on the back burner. Maybe a late season trip some day. We found out that some family are camping at Flaming Gorge with their fishing boat during our time, so we will probably meander that way by way of OR/NV/ID.

 

[smlobx]

We’ll be in the area the second half of June..
Anyone have any suggestions in case the snowpack keeps us from exploring the higher elevations?