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Slaugherhouse Gulch is a trail very close to Denver that affords the new 4wheeler or experienced rider a fun and challenging off-road experience. The trail has some mud, off-camber sections, challenging up-hill climbs, and a various rocky sections. If your new to off-roading, it is advised to do the trail with someone with experience. This trail is usually one of the first to be open in the summer months. Depending upon the winter, you might be able to run the trail all year long. I know some Denver groups use the trail for snow off-roading events.
Directions:
From the Denver area, take Highway 285 west to the top of Crow Hill. Turn right on Park County 43 and contiue to bear right. (GPS 39 26 32.4, 105, 27, 8.3) At 6.3 miles you will encounter a Y intersection, bear left onto Saddlestring Drive. Continue on Saddlestring Dr. until you located the Forest Service Marker FDR 101. (GPS 29 29 46.7, 105 31 57.3) Continue till you encounter the cattle guard. All milages begin from the cattle guard.
Trail:
The first challenge is encountered 1/2 mile past the cattle guard. It is an easy up-hill section that has some loose rock and a few moguls. A quick line assessment should be no problem even for the new 4wheeler. If un-easy about the hill, you can bypass the section. At 0.7 you will find a Forest Service shooting range. This area can be fairly heavily used, so don't be alarmed by the small and large arms fire! At 2.0 you will encounter an intermediate up-hill section. This is in an area that has been previously clear cut by some logging operations. The hill section contains loose gravel and numerous tree stumps protuding out from the trail. Careful tire managment and a slow steady pace will get you over this section without any problem. Starting at milage 3.2, a steep rocky, wet section will be presented. The rocks can become rather large and slick if water is running down the trail. Some sections may require a spotter to help the novice wheeler get over the section. The downhill section starting from milage 2.7 to 3.3 should be run in 1st gear in 4lo. This will help to maintain a slow steady pace. At 3.3 the most challenging obstacle of the trail shows it's muddy head. This is a 30 foot or so mud bog that requires a rather steep downhill approach. A spotter will probably be required to help manuever the downhill stretch. During out trip we had to do quite a bit of log work to get the vehicles down into the bog without damage. Once in the bog, give it gas and move that SUV. A couple of vehicles in the group did get stuck in the bog. The bottom of the bog is very sandy, and will gladly suck your tires into an unmovable state! This section can be bypassed without any problem. From this section to 4.4, a number of off-camber situations will present themselves. Most of the difficult areas will have bypasses. If you are making this a lunch trip, a nice meadow is at 4.4. From the bottom of the meadow at 4.4 a challenging uphill section will begin. The section has quite a bit of loose rock and numerous moguls. At the very top, be aware of a deep hole that can cause vehicle damage if you hit it at high speeds. It is best to stay very left at the top of the hill. From this section, the trail will continue to present numerous obstacles. Most notably a number of deep holes and moguls that might present a few teeter-totter situations. This section is generally quite fun and not that difficult. When we ran the trail some snow was still present and presented a few obstacles. The snow banks would force the vehicles very close to the trees and careful, slow movement would prevent damage.
Summary:
A great trail close to the Denver area. The trail will be most challenging in late-spring to early-summer when portions of the trail is still wet. If you are unexperienced, you may consider taking along someone with more trail riding experience. The trail offers a wide variety of obstacles for the off-roader. Check out my Gallery section on DiscoWeb for additonal photos.