As some of you may know, Barrett Lake is a fun trail located about 35 miles east of Placerville and north of Highway 50. For years, this 4 mile one way in and one way out Jeep trail had been know for being one of the toughest in the Eldorado National Forest and even had a 72" gate at the entrance to prevent full size rigs from accessing it. On July 30, 2012, the trail was officially closed along with 41 other trails in the area due to a law suit filed against the U.S. Forest Service by the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation regarding motorized routes that intersects meadows. Fortunately, this was order was fought and with the help of the Hi-Landers Four Wheel Drive Club, the issues which lead to the trail closure were addressed and the trail has been re-opened. In addition to a bridge over the Jones Fork Silver Creek, rolling dips were constructed around two meadows, stream channels were stabilized and the old sections of trail that were eliminated were restored back to nature.
For the first time since it was closed over 3 years ago, Cindy and I got a chance to run the Barrett Lake Jeep Trail and thanks to the new gate at the trailhead which now measures 86", we were able to do it in Moby. Here are a few pics from our recent first run of this newly re-opened trail - I hope you enjoy.
Coming up Wrights Lake Rd. and right off of Highway 50, there is a sign that will let you know if the Barrett Lake OHV Trail is open or not without having to drive the 8 miles to the trailhead to find out. You should be warned that this trail IS subject to closure and WITHOUT notice primarily due to weather and trail conditions. I would recommend that you call the number you see on this photo BEFORE heading out to the trail just so there aren't any surprises.
The Barrett Lake OHV Trail is located next to Dark Lake which is just north of Wrights Lake. There are a few parking spots here that you can air down and disconnect at but I personally would recommend that you stop at the Rockbound Trail parking lot as there is ample space for a big group, restrooms and a dumpster.
This is a shot of the old gate that used to be at the start Barrett Lake OHV Trail that I found on the Hi-Landers Four Wheel Drive Club website. Back then, it used to be only 72" wide and pretty much impossible to run in a built up Jeep JK Wrangler with full width axles.
Here are a few shots of what the new gate looks like today. As mentioned, Cindy and I have physically measured it and found it to be 86" in width. Essentially, this is about as wide as Moby is with his full width axles and running ATX Chamber Pro II bead lock wheels and 13.50 wide tires.
Here's a shot of Moby right in between the two posts.
Close up of how close we squeaked by.
Shot from behind.
And we're off!
About 100 ft. from the gate, you come across a rock garden that serves as a gate keeper. A 4-door JK running 35's or a 2-door running 33's shouldn't have too much trouble here especially if you have lockers but, IF you have troubles here, you might want to consider turning back.
Here's a few shots of Moby making his way through. Remember, Moby is running 40" tires and they should help give some scale to the boulders here.
Of course, Moby is also running EVO DTD coil overs.
Here's a shot of the first of many spots where you will come close to trees on the trail.
About a half mile in, there is a stupid rock garden you can take on. I call it "stupid" because there's nothing natural about the placement of these boulders which measure about 36"-48" in diameter and all of them move quite a bit. I'm just a mall crawler and so I typically avoid man made obstacles like this as they typically prove to be nothing but trouble.
At about 1 mile in, the trail splits off from the original route and heads toward the northwest and over a granite hill.
On the other side of the granite hill, there's a brand new bridge that crosses over the Jones Fork Silver Creek. This bridge was put in place to prevent vehicles from fording the creek at a point further to the east.
The turn getting onto the bridge is tight and the bridge itself is pretty narrow.
A few more shots of the bridge.
Coming off the bridge and turning east up and over the granite slab and along the creek to get back to the original trail.
About a 1/3 of the way in, there still isn't too much in the way of big rocks but, there still are a few that you can have fun on.
Mortimer Flat is approximately 2 miles into the trail or just under half way to Barrett Lake and from up here, you are afforded some impressive views of the Crystal Range.
Moving on, there are a few rocks here and there that you can get a little flex on.
You can even find a few rocks that'll put your tires to the test. Fortunately, Moby is running Toyo MT's and they can take the abuse just fine.
More photos below...
For the first time since it was closed over 3 years ago, Cindy and I got a chance to run the Barrett Lake Jeep Trail and thanks to the new gate at the trailhead which now measures 86", we were able to do it in Moby. Here are a few pics from our recent first run of this newly re-opened trail - I hope you enjoy.
Coming up Wrights Lake Rd. and right off of Highway 50, there is a sign that will let you know if the Barrett Lake OHV Trail is open or not without having to drive the 8 miles to the trailhead to find out. You should be warned that this trail IS subject to closure and WITHOUT notice primarily due to weather and trail conditions. I would recommend that you call the number you see on this photo BEFORE heading out to the trail just so there aren't any surprises.
The Barrett Lake OHV Trail is located next to Dark Lake which is just north of Wrights Lake. There are a few parking spots here that you can air down and disconnect at but I personally would recommend that you stop at the Rockbound Trail parking lot as there is ample space for a big group, restrooms and a dumpster.
This is a shot of the old gate that used to be at the start Barrett Lake OHV Trail that I found on the Hi-Landers Four Wheel Drive Club website. Back then, it used to be only 72" wide and pretty much impossible to run in a built up Jeep JK Wrangler with full width axles.
Here are a few shots of what the new gate looks like today. As mentioned, Cindy and I have physically measured it and found it to be 86" in width. Essentially, this is about as wide as Moby is with his full width axles and running ATX Chamber Pro II bead lock wheels and 13.50 wide tires.
Here's a shot of Moby right in between the two posts.
Close up of how close we squeaked by.
Shot from behind.
And we're off!
About 100 ft. from the gate, you come across a rock garden that serves as a gate keeper. A 4-door JK running 35's or a 2-door running 33's shouldn't have too much trouble here especially if you have lockers but, IF you have troubles here, you might want to consider turning back.
Here's a few shots of Moby making his way through. Remember, Moby is running 40" tires and they should help give some scale to the boulders here.
Of course, Moby is also running EVO DTD coil overs.
Here's a shot of the first of many spots where you will come close to trees on the trail.
About a half mile in, there is a stupid rock garden you can take on. I call it "stupid" because there's nothing natural about the placement of these boulders which measure about 36"-48" in diameter and all of them move quite a bit. I'm just a mall crawler and so I typically avoid man made obstacles like this as they typically prove to be nothing but trouble.
At about 1 mile in, the trail splits off from the original route and heads toward the northwest and over a granite hill.
On the other side of the granite hill, there's a brand new bridge that crosses over the Jones Fork Silver Creek. This bridge was put in place to prevent vehicles from fording the creek at a point further to the east.
The turn getting onto the bridge is tight and the bridge itself is pretty narrow.
A few more shots of the bridge.
Coming off the bridge and turning east up and over the granite slab and along the creek to get back to the original trail.
About a 1/3 of the way in, there still isn't too much in the way of big rocks but, there still are a few that you can have fun on.
Mortimer Flat is approximately 2 miles into the trail or just under half way to Barrett Lake and from up here, you are afforded some impressive views of the Crystal Range.
Moving on, there are a few rocks here and there that you can get a little flex on.
You can even find a few rocks that'll put your tires to the test. Fortunately, Moby is running Toyo MT's and they can take the abuse just fine.
More photos below...