Bachelor Loop Interpretive Site. Hov stage area. — Attraction in Creede

Very nice scenic drive north of Creede. It's mostly just a regular gravel road, but it can get a little rough and muddy in spots, especially after some rain. You'll want a vehicle with at least a little bit of ground clearance. If you drive the loop counter-clockwise, as we did last autumn, the climb out from the mine is very steep. It had just rained for the previous 24 hours, so I appreciated the peace of mind of having 4WD for the climb.

Some good autumn yellows at the higher elevations. Beautiful view of Creede from the west side of the loop. Only took a couple hours at a leisurely pace. Highly recommended if you're staying...

The directions were not clear and we ended up on a trail ... not meant for cars. It was extremely rough, narrow, wet, broken branches and rocks in the road ... steep, sharp turns ... three branches hanging out into the road. We finally turned around for fear of car damage or becoming stranded with no cell service to call for help!!! However, I did get some really pretty pictures of scenery ... though nothing that the Bachelor Loop promised us. Needs to be better marked. What happened was that we stopped at the wooden signs that said, "Stop and read this." We did and then we continued on the road ahead past the signs past...

Worth the trip lots of neat old mining buildings to see and the scenery is great. Wildflowers are everywhere. Take it backwards starting at Creede cemetery if you're not sure your "road princess" SUV or 2wd can handle the steep climb so you can take easy going down instead of up. Our Subaru Ascent did just fine and would have gone up just fine too. You will want a vehicle with more clearance than an Impreza has though. Lots of pull outs, never had a problem getting around other vehicles on the narrow spots. Worth the hour or so we spent...