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RidgeRunner
September 16th, 2014, 12:07 PM
Does anyone know if it is possible to drive from Rollins Pass east to Rollins Pass west? In the aerial shot below it looks like there is a road the splits off Jenny Creek and loops around above Yankee Doodle then up some switchbacks to the divide. Wondering if this is a legal trail and if anyone has been up that way. I'm looking at doing some exploring on the west side and would like to be able to access it from the Rollinsville side if its possible.

<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m12!1m3!1d8082.183534805545!2d-105.6542533310244!3d39.93607935692565!2m3!1f0!2f0! 3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v14 10890223077" width="600" height="450" frameborder="0" style="border:0"></iframe>


EDIT: Well shoot, the embed didn't work, I suck at that stuff. Link to Google maps: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9369684,-105.6521662,1848m/data=!3m1!1e3

The StRanger
September 16th, 2014, 12:31 PM
Not doable. There is some trail for foot or bike. The trail is blocked by a slide on the east side. The last mile or so is on foot only.
Would mind doin the west side before snow !

SubAlpine
September 16th, 2014, 04:55 PM
The Boulder Wagon Road is the spur you are talking about. Supposed to be opened, but Boulder County is dragging their feet.

Jim
September 16th, 2014, 07:34 PM
A segment on the Boulder Wagon Road (BWR) via Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollins_Pass

The majority of the route of the Moffat Road (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moffat_Road&action=edit&redlink=1) is open, except for a long, deteriorated trestle just east of the pass, and sections leading to the Needle's Eye Tunnel, a short high altitude railroad tunnel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel) which was closed in 1990 after a rock fell from the ceiling injuring a Denver (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver,_Colorado) firefighter resulting in a below-knee amputation.[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollins_Pass#cite_note-2) Since then, the tunnel was sealed by Boulder County and the USFS. The original Boulder Wagon Road (BWR) also goes over Rollins Pass and bypasses the Needles Eye Tunnel. The BWR is a four-wheel-drive road not suited to lower clearance two-wheel-drive vehicles. Although open prior to 2008 and in good condition, this road remains to this day a subject of much controversy between its users and some officials who want it closed. In 2002 the James Peak Wilderness and Protection Area Bill (aka Public Law 107-216) was signed into legislation by President George W. Bush and Congress. The Bill specifically created a narrow road corridor between the Indian Peaks and James Peaks Wilderness areas and states that if any of the affected counties (Grand, Gilpin or Boulder) request, the Secretary of the USDA will cooperate and assist with the repair of the Rollins Pass Road and until that time the attendant road (the BWR) will remain open to motorized use. Boulder County officials and the USFS-Boulder Ranger District have resisted the wording of the law and have closed the BWR. Both Grand and Gilpin Counties have made numerous written requests to the Secretary for the repair of Rollins Pass Road but to date there has been no repair of the road or the barricaded Needles Eye Tunnel. The reopening of the BWR, and/or repair of the Rollins Pass Road, and even the facts surrounding the 1990 accident in the tunnel, have become contentious and ongoing issues.

Java
September 16th, 2014, 09:01 PM
when I was up there BWR ended at a parking area, but there were mtn bikes and dirt bikes going over the top of the Needles Eye Tunnel, there is a single track off the trail to the tunnel. one of the bikers said they had a car on both sides and were riding over. I want to do that! I hope they open BWR, it would really be an incredible day to drive the whole thing and make all the stops.