Placer Gulch and Picayune Gulch

Rating: 3
This is a trail that isn't technical, but 4-wheel drive and some clearance is required.

Location
Near Silverton, CO

Trailhead
Picayune Gulch and Placer Gulch are the same road that goes through both gulches. Placer Gulch is on the north side of the mountain and turns into Picayune once you go over the mountain onto the south side.

Picayune Gulch starts at GPS coordinates 37.916421, -107.558061 off of county road 2. This left turn is located 10.6 miles from Silverteron, where county road 2 intersects with Greene St. If you start from this end, you will come to a "Y" in the raod 0.4 miles after leaving county road 2. Stay to the right at this Y.

If you start from the Placer Gulch side, as we did, the turn is located at 37.931705, -107.589775. This turn is located 1.2 miles to the west of Animas Fork along county road 9 (staying to the left as you leave Animas Fork going uphill). Placer Gulch turns to the south from that road.  If you are travelling from California Pass, it is located 2.8 miles after crossing over the pass.

Description
This is a fun detour that bypasses Animas Fork when travelling from California Pass back down to Silverton. I do recommend that you see Animas Fork if you haven't seen it yet. It is just a mile away from the Placer Gultch turn, and definitely worth a visit.

This road takes you along Placer Gulch, over the mountain, and down Picayune (also known as Picayne) Gulch. There are plenty of old mining structures to explore. For some history, you can read this page.

This road has great scenery and a fairly quick climb up to about 12,700 ft. The views are spectacular and exploring the mining structures is an added bonus. This courses through the Alpine Tundra, which I always find makes for beautiful views here in the San Juan Mountains.

Here is the GPS route of our trip. We also did Corkscrew Gulch during the same trip, which is included in the route.

Here is a map of our trip that day including Corckscrew Gulch.