Jeep Trail – Slaughterhouse Gulch

 

We did an impromptu Jeep trip this last weekend to a trail by Bailey with some friends. In the Funtreks book, it is Trail #80, Slaughterhouse Gulch. The book rated it a Difficult Trail, but we would say more like a Moderate (considering the two Jeeps in our group both were Rubicons).

 

The trail starts just North of the gas station off of Highway 285 (prior to the town of Bailey). It curved through a neighborhood, before entering the trail area. It is about an 11 mile trail, with Pike National Forest on both sides of the trail for the most part. There are a couple scenic views of Mt. Evans. The snow was mostly melted and there were a few small water crossings. This would be the perfect trail for those by Denver looking to get out for the morning and try out some rocky areas with their Jeep. The harder areas of the trail usually had an easy side trail you could take, but what is the fun in that?!?

Difficulty Level – 5/10

Scenic Level – 3/10

Traffic Volume – 3/10 (mostly ATV’s and dirtbikes, but there are places to pull over on the trail)

Here is a short video of the bigger rocky area (just click on the picture):

After the trail we stopped for a cold beer at Mad Jacks Brewery, which is located just inside Bailey. The drinks were delicious, space was fun, and staff were friendly. They also had a pizza food tent, but we did not try any because we were not hungry (it did not say any specific vegan type pizzas on their menu either).

We would go on this trail again and discussed taking some more friends out to try it.