Last verified May 2026
Colorado's overland map: the Alpine Loop, the COBDR, the Rimrocker Trail, and 11 national forests.
Colorado packs four national parks, eleven national forests, the 675-mile Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route, and roughly 8.3 million acres of BLM land into a state crossed by more than 50 peaks above 14,000 feet. The Rockies are the obvious draw, but most multi-day overland trips spend more time on Forest Service roads and BLM tracks than on the named scenic peaks.
The peak driving season is short. Most high passes (Engineer, Imogene, Mosquito, Cinnamon) don't open until late May or June and close again by late October. Summer afternoons bring fast-developing thunderstorms above treeline. Fall is the photographer's draw for aspen color, typically peaking around the third week of September.
Colorado overlanding overview
Lake Como with the Sangre de Cristo Range.
Most Colorado overland itineraries fall into one of three patterns: a high-passes loop in the San Juans, an end-to-end Backcountry Discovery Route traverse, or a Front Range / Sand Dunes circuit that mixes paved scenic byways with forest-road camping. The high-pass routes get the most attention and are also where rescue calls and altitude-related issues concentrate.
Elevation matters here. Most named routes spend significant time above 10,000 feet, and several push past 12,000. Plan for sun exposure, sudden weather, and the possibility of altitude sickness even after a clean arrival. Vehicles also lose roughly 3 percent of horsepower per 1,000 feet of elevation gain; loaded rigs feel it.
Colorado overlanding routes
Alpine Loop
Alpine Loop. Photo: Larry Lamsa.
The Alpine Loop Backway is a 65-mile mountain loop in the San Juan Mountains, connecting Silverton, Ouray, and Lake City. The route passes through the San Juan National Forest, reaches 12,800 feet at the high passes, and crosses old mining ghost towns from the 1880s, including Animas Forks and Capitol City.
Length: 65 miles
Time of year: Upper passes typically open in late May or early June and close in late October. Lower-altitude sections open earlier.
Vehicle: About two-thirds of the route is drivable in a two-wheel-drive. The full loop, including the high passes (Engineer and Cinnamon), requires a high-clearance four-wheel drive.
Reference: Colorado Tourism Office guide and the San Juan NF brochure (PDF).
The loop is drivable in a single day, but most groups stretch it to two or three days to use the side roads (Yankee Boy Basin, Cunningham Gulch, Stony Pass). Black Bear Pass, near Telluride, is a separate route often combined with the loop but is one-way only and rated for expert drivers.
Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route (COBDR)
The Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route covers roughly 675 miles south to north, starting near Four Corners and ending near the Wyoming line. It was designed by and for dual-sport motorcycles, but four-wheel-drive vehicles can drive most of the route as well; a handful of sections are tight for full-size trucks.
Most riders and drivers complete the COBDR in three to six days. The published track, GPX files, and current closures are maintained on ridebdr.com. Plan around late-snowmelt closures in the south and afternoon storms above treeline.
Rimrocker Trail
The Rimrocker Trail is a 160-mile off-pavement route connecting Montrose, Colorado, with Moab, Utah. The trail crosses alpine country at the Colorado end, descends through desert canyons and red-rock benches as it approaches Utah, and ties into the broader Moab trail network.
Conditions vary widely along the route, and several sections require a high-clearance four-wheel drive. Check the trail's official website and the BLM trailhead page for current closures. A detailed map (Montrose side, PDF) is available from the trail association.
Other Colorado overlanding resources
Colorado national forests
National forests cover roughly 14.5 million acres in Colorado, the largest single category of public land in the state. Forest Service roads are the backbone of most custom overland routes; the Forest Service publishes Motor Vehicle Use Maps showing every designated road and trail.
Eleven national forests cover land in Colorado:
- Arapaho National Forest
- Grand Mesa National Forest
- Gunnison National Forest
- Pike National Forest
- Rio Grande National Forest
- Roosevelt National Forest
- Routt National Forest
- San Isabel National Forest
- San Juan National Forest
- Uncompahgre National Forest
- White River National Forest
Some forests are jointly administered (Arapaho and Roosevelt share a supervisor; the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison are managed together as GMUG; Pike and San Isabel as PSICC), which is why some URLs are shared.
Colorado BLM lands
The BLM Colorado office administers about 8.3 million acres of public land, much of it on the Western Slope. Dispersed camping is allowed on most BLM land with a standard 14-day stay limit, after which campers must move at least 25 road miles. Specific rules vary by Field Office; check the relevant office's page for area-specific closures or permit requirements.
Colorado national parks
Colorado has four national parks:
Rocky Mountain National Park. Home to Trail Ridge Road, a paved scenic highway that crests above 12,000 feet, plus a dense network of hiking trails and several large drive-in campgrounds. Timed-entry reservations are required in summer.
Mesa Verde National Park. Protects more than 5,000 known archaeological sites, including the cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloans. Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America. Ranger-led tours are required for the major dwellings.
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Holds the tallest sand dunes in North America. Star Dune rises roughly 750 feet above the surrounding valley. Sandboarding and sand sledding are common activities.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Protects the deepest section of the Gunnison River canyon, including some of the steepest cliffs in North America (the Painted Wall stands 2,250 feet tall, taller than the Empire State Building). The park is a designated International Dark Sky Park.
Colorado scenic byways
Colorado's scenic and historic byways.
Colorado maintains a network of scenic and historic byways across the state, mostly on paved roads. The byways work well as connectors between dirt-road segments, especially when stitching together a multi-region itinerary. The state's official byways site is the standard reference.