Red Cone ...

The Red Cone 4-wheel drive trail is rated a 7 but has a scare factor of 9 if you're not comfortable with narrow ridge line trails and extreme, slipery decents. The trail is one-way proceeding east to west and paralleling the Webster Pass trail in the valley to the south. Overall the trail is relativly mild and any moderatly modified 4-wheel drive vehicle with decent A/T or M/T tires, skid plates, low gears and ground clearance should have no problem. Depending on the time of year and weather conditions you may encounter snow and mud in the trees and some sections of the trail are made up of loose, very sharp granite. The snow and mud accumulate in awkward places where it's easy to slide off the trail into the trees and the sharp, broken granite can easily slice through a thin sidewall. Vehicles with standard or all season tires should not attempt this trail.

The scary section of the trail begins towards the end when you climb above timberline and follow along the top of the ridge. The trail is very narrow and there's nothing on either side but air and a thousand foot drop to the valley floor below. As if this wasn't enough the the last two miles or so of the trail decends from the top of Red Cone peak to Webster Pass in an alternating series of steep, slipery decents and narrow ridge lines. The decents are very steep and very slipery; the trail is covered in pea gravel and splotched with moguls. Extreme caution should be used here as this is the site of more than a few roll-overs with at least one resulting in death.

To get to the trail take Highway 285 from Denver up Turkey Creek Canyon. About 3 miles past Grant turn right on gravel County Road 60. At about 5 miles you find a campground and a fork in the road take the far right turn. You are now on the beginning of Red Cone Trail. As you continue down the trail you will come to one more fork. Turn right and follow the trail to where it meets with Webster Pass.

Note: DO NOT attempt to drive this trail from Webster Pass to the east. This is a ONE WAY trail running east to west.