Colorado BDR Central Segment — Gunnison to Salida via Cochetopa Hills and Marshall Pass

The central push of the Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route between Gunnison and Salida takes you over Marshall Pass at 10,846 feet on a route that was once a narrow-gauge railway corridor for the Denver and Rio Grande — you’re driving the old railbed for stretches of it, which is surreal once you know. The Cochetopa Hills section is high rolling grassland and aspen parkland, wide open and exposed, with long ridgeline views toward the San Juan Mountains to the southwest and the Sawatch Range above Salida. The surface is mostly improved gravel forest road with stretches of rougher two-track; the pass itself gets muddy and occasionally snowbound at the shoulders of the season. Tomichi Creek drainage provides the main navigation corridor heading east before the final climb.

A stock 4WD handles this in good conditions — it’s not technically difficult, but the elevation, remoteness, and fast-changing afternoon weather demand respect. Gunnison National Forest manages most of the route; no permits required. Fuel up in Gunnison before departing; there’s nothing in between until Poncha Springs outside Salida. July through September is the prime window, though early July can still have snow on the pass. Dispersed camping throughout the national forest is available and outstanding. This is one of the more approachable BDR segments but still delivers real backcountry solitude — the kind where you see more pronghorn than people.