Granby Lakes

Rating: 3. There are many rocks on the road that make low-range necessary as well as a higher clearance stock SUV necessary. The last 1/4 mile after Big Battlement Lake will increase the rating to a 4 due to a few larger boulders that you have to climb over which would be difficult for most stock SUVs unless it has higher clearance.

Location: Grand Mesa, CO, near Island Lake.

Trailhead: The turn off from the pavement is 1.4 miles up the road from the Visitor Center for Grand Mesa. It is straight east from the Visitor Center across Island lake. Head north from the Visitor Center and the road will take you around the lake. The road is to the south of the pavement and there are signs for the Island Lake Campground.

The coordinates for the turn-off are 39°02'21.0"N 108°00'21.6"W (39.039161, -108.005987).

The Granby Lakes road starts 0.8 miles from the pavement and is to the right. It is less than a quarter mile from the Island Lake Campground. It is forest road 115.

This road is about 4 miles to Big Battlement Lake, which is where the rating of 3 ends. It is only about a quarter mile to Little Battlement Lake, and this section increases the rating to a 4 due to some large boulders. It took me about 2 hours to get to the end and about an hour to get back. If I didn't stop and take so many pictures, it would have been about 2-2.5 hours round trip.

The reason it is so slow is because most of the road is covered with 6-12 inch rocks that make it a rough, bouncy road. Some of the rocks are bigger and there are a few mild climbs. These rocks and climbs make higher clearance and low range necessary, giving it a rating of 3. There are also a few mud-holes that can make it more difficult if it has recently rained.

There aren't any technical spots except for the obstacle at the end. It is just a painfully slow road because of the bumps.

In the fall, however, the slow and bumpy road is worth it. When I looked on google maps, there are 12 Granby Reserveroirs and there are also Big and Little Battlement Lakes. You don't see all of them, but there are quite a few that make for some spectacular scenes with the fall colors.

Here are the KML and GPX files from the trip.

This is the area that has a rating of 4. 

This is coming back down the hardest area. The line I am taking is probably close to the easiest line. I could go maybe a foot to the driver's side, but there is a stream there with a lot of growth on the edges that forces you to go over the biggest rocks. The rocks just get bigger to the passenger side making that way more difficult. I didn't want to try the harder line because I was by myself and didn't want to risk getting stuck.

Here is a nice panoramic picture. This is Granby Reservoir number 12.