Italian Creek Road and Old Tin Cup – Crested Butte, Colorado

Follow the track log from Crested Butte and drive the first 9 miles of the trip on Cement Creek Road. Most of the trail was through mature pine forests and open meadows. The millions of wild flowers that were in full bloom made this part of the trail a special treat. The trail eventually connects to Italian Creek Road where it splits into the high road and the low road.

The low road goes through a wet boggy area. The track log leads to the high road. Then the trail turns into several rocky and often off-camber ledge roads. On this portion of the trail spotting is helpful to get through safely. After continuing the descent through the trees the group turned onto the highway to Taylor Reservoir and Mirror Lake. At the historic town of Tin Cup we began the Tin Cup Trail that splits into the Old Tin Cup and the New Tin Cup Trails.

The new trail is easier. The track log follows the old trail. On this trip it had been raining, the granite rocks were wet and the trail was muddy. I made it part way through the first obstacle but found it too slippery to keep my wheels on the rocks. I bypassed the upper portion of the obstacle. In a short distance the two trails rejoin and I continued on to historic St. Elmo. St. Elmo is a picturesque town that has preserved the old architecture. I then drove to Johnson Village to air up and head home.