Jeeps and vacations in Breckenridge

[Cottontail]

Greetings from Tennessee!

I am going to Breckenridge with my wife and daughter the 3rd weekend in August.

I will have a rental WK and want to do at least a half day of scenic driving. I don't want anything that will beat up the truck, but do want to get off the pavement.

In my research I found: Boreas Pass (21.2 miles), Horseshoe Basin (11.6 miles), North and Middle Forks of the Swan River (19.3 miles), Peak 10 (13.2 miles), Webster Pass (8.2 miles), Freemont Pass, and Hoosier Pass.

Any insight on these options...just looking for scenery, something that a 4 month old can ride along on, and will take about 4 hours or less to do...

Thanks!

 

[fatwreck]

Those are all good options. Boreas Pass can be done in a subaru, but has great scenery and is worth the drive...plus it pretty much starts right in town. The north and middle forks are a little more challenging, but can still be done in a stocker. They will offer even more scenery than Boreas and aren't that much farther away. Hoosier pass is a paved road, but is worth the drive and can be done in about an hour starting from town and ending back in town.

You can PM me with any specific questions you may have. I lived in Breckenridge for a while and have spent quite a bit of time wheeling in the area.

Enjoy your trip and look forward to views like this:

 

[Cottontail]

Tell me more about Boreas Pass please. Where do I catch it? Is there a trail map anywhere? Is that picture that you posted from Boreas Pass? How long does it take to run (without picture stops) round trip from town?

Thanks for the information!!!

 

[fatwreck]

Boreas pass (the paved section) starts just on the south side of town. You turn left at the stop light and follow it until you reach a gravel parking lot/gate. That is where the "trail" section starts. There aren't many (if any) places to turn....just keep following the main road....you can't screw up. I would say that if you take your time, it would take about an hour 1 way and then an hour back. I think we did it on the way back from redcone in about half an hour.

You could take boreas pass to highway 285. Then 285 to fairplay....and over hoosier pass. That would be a nice scenic drive that you could do in about 2-2.5 hours.

That picture was actually taken up on redcone, but the scenery is very similar to that of middle/north/south forks.

Be sure to check out the Colorado Backroads and 4 Wheel Drive Trails Vol. 1 for more good info on that whole area.

 

[shotstopper]

I grew up in Breck area and just moved to Denver recently...definitely hit up Boreas Pass, its great scenery. Also a fun exploring area is to hit up rainbow lake behind Frisco. Theres no map for the trail and it branches off to lots of different camp sites, but kinda fun to look around...if your heading to Breck from Frisco turn right at the stoplight right after the fire station, you should see animal control on your left if your on the correct street. Take your second left I believe, you'l go across a bike path and onto what looks like a private road (its not). Should see a parking area and then a trail to head up...have fun