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Old 08-17-2019, 06:41 AM   #1
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How Late in the Year?

How late in the year can I travel US 50 through Colorado and make it to Utah before I have to head south? I am considering a time frame of Oct through December? I know there is no way to know for sure but wonder what other late trips you have experience in the two states? My thought is to take off and once I find weather bad head south!!!
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Old 08-18-2019, 09:34 AM   #2
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We are traveling through Colorado to Utah in late September on I-70 and returning in mid-October. Your question is a good one and I hope someone can address the weather conditions in the mountains west of Denver in September-October timeframe.

Safe travels!
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Old 08-18-2019, 12:45 PM   #3
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Old 08-19-2019, 05:59 AM   #4
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I am testing the waters to see if I would be the only one to do this in this time frame!
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Old 08-24-2019, 01:26 PM   #5
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Weather is going to be a day by day question. We once ran I-80 West and almost got caught in snow in early September! It is not a smooth ride like in flat country where the temp is steady but things on the passses will often be totally different than the flat.
And then there is also the personal factor of what we each may consider out of range. Some use the RV to go snow skiing while I'm more inclined to short sleeves! How do you feel about chaining up the beast? Is that out if you come to needing to go over a pass full of snow? There is snow on the ground around Monarch Pass right now in August, so it can get on the roads pretty much any time it feels like it in September.
They keep the plows handy but that doesn't help much if you get caught as I don't like being in front nor stuck behind.
Mid June this year?
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Old 08-24-2019, 07:47 PM   #6
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As I look at a road atlas I see that your options for turning south from I-70 between Denver and I-15 in Utah are quite limited. US 50 and CO 141 from Grand Junction, CO; US 191 into the cluster of national parks in southeast Utah; US 89 just before reaching I-15; and a couple others that head deep into the mountains and park areas. All appear to be 2 lane highways that may be good for carrying RV traffic in the summer but look rather questionable for driving in possible winter conditions.

We drove I-70 from I-15 to Denver a few weeks ago. The scenery was spectacular and the road good, but I don't think we'd chance it with threatening winter weather. That said, since that stretch is drivable in one day and if there was a reliable forecast of good weather for 2 - 3 days MAYBE I'd try it - if I really needed to.
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Old 08-24-2019, 08:01 PM   #7
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It can snow in the high Rockies on any day of the year! The first snow in the lower elevations will usually start around mid to late October. You will just have to keep an ear to the weather forecast day by day. Good Luck!
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Old 08-24-2019, 09:41 PM   #8
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Agreed, at elevation in the Rockies - any day of the year = snow chance. Once riding my Harley through the park from Estes Park westbound I got in a really heavy snowstorm in mid July. Just the way it works at elevation. Watch the weather reports, look for a dark cloud on the top of a mountain and be prepared to overnight (or longer) as necessary. Having said that stuff people drive through the Rockies all the time. Heaviest snow months start in Feb - March. In April we got hammered with two feet just outside Denver, then a week later a foot at the AF Academy. The snow is not so bad, hail storms are something else altogether.
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Old 08-25-2019, 06:43 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by homeless View Post
How late in the year can I travel US 50 through Colorado and make it to Utah before I have to head south? I am considering a time frame of Oct through December? I know there is no way to know for sure but wonder what other late trips you have experience in the two states? My thought is to take off and once I find weather bad head south!!!
It can snow anytime from September on in the mountains. Monarch pass and others on US50 can become very slick, however if you watch the weather for the next days travel you should be OK. It always possible that it will not snow until November, you just never really know. CDOT also has weather warnings out online at Cdot.gov. Have a good trip and watch the weather.

Thanks
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Old 08-25-2019, 10:23 PM   #10
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Snow in Colorado

As a 15 year resident of the San Juan Mtns here in CO, just south of 50.....most of the advice above is good. Yes, it can snow any time here and I have seen flurries on the 4th of July, but I’ve rarely seen snow stick to the highways for more than a night from June 1 to Sept 21 and if you can wait a day if snow falls on a pass, Wolf Creek, Monarch, Slumgullion, Spring Creek, you should be able to make it through safely the following day any time between April 1 and November 15. I would suggest that you avoid Red Mountain Pass between Ouray and Durango any time unless you are comfortable driving tight hairpin turns without guardrails. 50 is a gorgeous trip and 149 and the road south from Telluride are very scenic side trips. Have fun and stay safe.
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Old 08-26-2019, 08:01 AM   #11
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I find it requires a bit of "retraining" for the way we watch weather. You've mentioned heading South if weather threatens but I find I have to turn it around in my head and not think North/South but more elevation.
Sometimes the safe area is not South but DOWN as the snow will often be forecast more above a specific altitude. So if it says snow above 7000 and you are at 8000, the safe move may be North, East, or West, as long as you don't need to go high. You may find good is only 20 miles NORTH!
But it does bear watching as it can get bad in a hurry and that takes all the fun out even if it's just fighting/wondering about the water freezing. Being aware is step one and you have that covered but I missed how early some of the state parks, etc. shut down the water for the year. We found that was kind of iffy even in September in lower Wyoming.
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Old 08-26-2019, 08:25 AM   #12
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Big question is how tied to a schedule are you. If you are not in a hurry, I would camp on the Arkansas river between Canon City and Bella Vista a few days and leave when you get a good weather window. As I remember CDOT has a good website for road conditions. There will be dry road and wet only road days fairly often into December. Then it becomes in what temps are you comfortable camping?
If you are going in October, you can call Blue Mesa Escape (aka Outpost). They close sometime in October, are at 7800 feet, and have a gorgeous view of Blue Mesa Reservoir and mountains. But you can get from Salida to Montrose (5800 feet) in 3 hours (130 miles). And take into account that it will get cold at night, so you can travel later if staying at a campground with electric or boondocking it with a good propane furnace.
Oh, and late September is great fall color time in the Rockies. Enjoy your journey.
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Old 08-26-2019, 11:03 AM   #13
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We live at 8000' in Evergreen, CO and go all over the state in the winter using www.cotrip.org to get weather conditions on all of the roads including camera pics of the various mountain passes and highways.If you're planning on taking US50 all the way to Montrose and then going south on US550 BEWARE. US550 from Ridgeway to Durango has two high mountain passes (Red Mountain pass, 11,075' & Molas pass, 10,910') which have very heavy snow and are tricky, particularly between Ouray and Silverton, even with my 17' Winnie Drop. Watch the weather when you get to Montrose and consult www.cotrip.org before turning north or south to go to Utah.
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