Hermosa Creek Trail

Hermosa Creek Trail drops you into a narrow canyon where the trail becomes the creek bed for miles at a stretch. This isn’t your typical mountain pass — it’s a commitment route that follows an old mining track through dense forest, with water crossings that range from ankle-deep to axle-high depending on snowmelt. The infamous Hermosa Park section forces you to pick your line carefully through house-sized boulders while dodging overhanging branches that’ll peel your gear right off the roof.

This is solid intermediate territory that demands high clearance, skid plates, and a driver who knows when to send it and when to stack rocks. Summer through early fall gives you the best water levels, but even then expect to get wet. No permits needed, but fuel up in Durango — it’s 25 miles of commitment with camping scattered throughout if you need to bail. You’ll earn spectacular views of the San Juan Mountains and the kind of solitude that makes the scraped paint worth it.