Crooked Creek pass
Crooked Creek Pass is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 3.051m (10,010ft) above sea level located in Eagle County in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in the White River National Forest, the road to the summit is a gravel 4WD track. It’s called Eagle-Thomasville Road (FSR #400).
It is a scenic drive usually maintained by Eagle County as far south as Sylvan Lake, but 4WD is still recommended. The trail is a bit narrow and bumpy in spots, but it is almost always accessible. Located south of Eagle and Sylvan Lake, the road is 58.25km (36.2 miles) long, running north-south from Eagle, the county seat of Eagle County, to the paved Frying Pan Road. The pass is marked with a sign at a cattle guard. Otherwise, it would be not easy to notice.
Crooked Creek Pass has been a place I have explored since I was a teenager. So when my girlfriend told me she wanted to go camping to celebrate my 23rd birthday, I knew exactly where to take her. The summers in Colorado are nothing short of extraordinary; if you have never experienced it, you are missing out.
As I was planning this trip, I wanted to spend at least two nights there with her, and in a perfect world, I would invite a few more friends to join us as we decompress from what we call life. Unfortunately, this thing called life got in the way of most of my friends, but that didn’t stop my friends from Breckenridge from joining us.
Although my friends from Breckenridge could only stay one night, we had a fantastic day telling stories and catching up on life while also trying to cook a dinner we had not planned out well…
My girlfriend and I decided to hike to a 10th Mountain Division Hut during our second day there. After the hike, we packed up camp and moved closer to Sylvan Lake State Park. This lower altitude area doesn’t have the same open landscape feeling but has a denser forest filled with aspen trees. Also, something to note about our second spot is that a few years ago, Sylvan Lake had a wildfire that destroyed acres of forest, which you can see in a few frames.
