Elwood Pass is situated at 11,631 Ft in Rio Grande County Colorado, Between Pagosa springs and South Fork Colorado. There are
two ways to enter this trail, The Pagosa Springs side and The South Fork side on US-160.
This Trial begins with a flat, bumpy dirt road with lots of large potholes filled with water. At the time the trail was done it had rained for a few days, the terrain was sloppy and wet. As well stay the Trail.
A you ascend from the Elwood Pass Trail Head, the trail becomes more rocky, wet, and engulfed in willow bushes. This is an awesome
high country scenic trail, there can be side by Side traffic, so go slow, as there may not be a pull over. Remember that uphill has the right of way, use hand signals to address how many people are either Infront of you or behind you.
As the Trail gets into higher altitude, the trail
becomes more technical, with amazing scenery. There are a couple of larger rock faces that will need 4 Wheel drive and possibly a spotter. You will pass some cabins, with fun history. The Silver Falls Guard Station, San Juan National Forest cabin,
was built by John Baird between 1932-1935, as the first rocky mountain style cabin using the pioneer construction cabin method. It is the only remaining cabin built by this type of design in the national forest. The toilet and shed were also built using this technique. The Elwood cabin was built in 1911 by the Mountain States Telephone Company as a “line shack” to support crews
maintaining the transcontinental telephone line. Remains of this old telephone line are still found along Iron Creek. The cabin was also used as a Forest Service Station from 1950 until 1962, serving as living quarters for Forest Service employees, who worked on numerous
projects in the area. You can rent this cabin by going to recreation.org and making a reservation, this cabin is very popular.
The vehicle that was taken on this trail July 22, 2024, was a 2011 Toyota 4 Runner on 35’s, remember also that trails change year to year.
Recommendations for this Trail 4-wheel Drive, winch, high lift jack, and tree straps just in case. Make sure you have a full tank of gas and have fun
