FR300 summit(u)
In a state with high mountain passes, it may come as a
surprise that some of the biggest dirt road climbs are in
plateau country. These climbs reach large approach
heights, due to a low starting elevation, rather than climbing a high alpine pass. This road begins at the
Colorado River and climbs a forested plateau to its north.
The top is a nondescript spot on a forest road. It
is even difficult to find a nearby landmark, with which the
nameless plateau can be identified. Haystack Mountain and
Hastack Gate are both relatively nearby land features.
Other longer loops can be constructed to reach the same
spot.
click on profile for more detail
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01.(5470ft,mile00) START-END WEST:
jct: Divide Creek road - county road on south side
of Colorado River, 5 miles west of New Castle
02.(8050ft,mile17) jct with Road Gulch on left
03.(8410ft,mile19) jct with road to Coal Ridge on
right
04.(9370ft,mile24) intermediate high point
05.(9120ft,mile25) intermediate low point
06.(9670ft,mile27) FR812 ends. FR300 begins. FR302
over Hastack Gate leaves on left. Immediately
afterwards FR800 descends to West Divide Creek or
right. Profile follows FR300.
07.(9330ft,mile29) FR302 rejoins FR300 on left
08.(9200ft,mile31) intermediate low point
09.(9900ft,mile33) TOP
10.(8880ft,mle35) route through Road Gulch and
Fourmile Park rejoins route on left
11.(8070ft,mile39) jct with paved road to Sunlight
Ski area
12.(5800ft,mile44) START-END EAST: bridge over
Roaring Fork River, south end of Glenwood Springs
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 Approaches
From West. The road up East Divide Creek is
described on the FR801
summit(u): Flagpole Mountain page up to point 3. This route
stays left at that junction to reach a reservoir. Then a rough
section climbs to a forested intermediate summit. At this
point it is difficult to keep a sence of direction without a
compass and there are no good landmarks for orientation. A
smooth rolling descent leads to yet another climb. This time
the ridges around the Mc Lure Pass
area can be discerned through the trees.
The next two intersections can be very confusing. First
FR302 leaves on the left to cross Haystack Gate. This crossing
is classified as a divide in Helmuth's "Passes of
Colorado". FR302 rejoins the route described here and
reaches only a lower altitude than this summit. Just a few
hundred yards further the road surface along the left becomes
more elaborately engineered. It also takes a hard left turn
and changes name to FR300, while the route ahead over FR800
looks like a low traffic route. Ambiquous signs give the
impression that FR800 is closed (Oct/07). The route described
here continues on FR300, while the other option is contained
on the FR800-812 shoulder
summit page.
The road gives off the impression that civilization is not
far away. But we haven't even reached the summit yet. This is
accomplished with a 400 ft descent and another 700ft climb to
a nondescript spot in the forest.
From East. (described downwards): From here it's all
downhill, but it does not go by quickly because it's a big
one. The dirt road portion passes through an open plateau
park, named Four Mile Park, where a several short cuts to the
western approach join the route. Approaching the Sunlight Ski
area, the road becomes paved and stays in a shallow ravine,
hiding any views of Mount Scopris down into Glenwood Springs.
Tours
Dayrides.
(paved+unpaved): a loop ride starting and ending in New
Castle, going over the route as described and finishing it
along I70, measured 83 miles with 7100ft of climbing in 7:3
hours (m3:3.10.18).
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Colorado Pass Tables Page
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