Colorado · Cross-country skiing

Rattlesnake Junction Road

Rattlesnake Junction RoadPhoto: John Sowell, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
1.6 mi
distance
59 ft
climb
8,299 ft
high point
Easy
difficulty
Jun–Sep
best months

Rattlesnake Junction Road is a short, easy cross-country ski route on Bureau of Land Management land in Colorado's Gunnison Field Office, about 1.6 miles long with a total elevation gain of 59 feet. The road starts at roughly 8,284 feet and reaches a high point of about 8,299 feet, with the steepest stretch at about 0.94 miles in, where the grade reaches 5 percent. Winter is the natural season for this route. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Gunnison, which sits about 677 feet lower, show January highs around 26°F with lows near -6°F, while July highs reach about 80°F. Temperatures on the road run cooler than those figures. The road sits close to several other outdoor spots. The Sawtooth and Skyline mountain biking trails are each about 0.3 miles away, and the Back In trail is about 0.4 miles off. Climbers can find Bubba Gump Boulder about 1.2 miles away.

Local outfitters

Not on Roamze yet. Their page has how to reach them.

  • Best time to go · Jun–Sep

    Best time to visit Rattlesnake Junction Road

    Best months: June–September. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.

    1. Jan

      26° / -6°

      7 wet

    2. Feb

      30° / 1°

      6 wet

    3. Mar

      44° / 14°

      5 wet

    4. Apr

      56° / 23°

      5 wet

    5. May

      66° / 30°

      6 wet

    6. Jun

      76° / 36°

      6 wet

    7. Jul

      80° / 44°

      10 wet

    8. Aug

      77° / 43°

      11 wet

    9. Sep

      70° / 34°

      9 wet

    10. Oct

      60° / 22°

      6 wet

    11. Nov

      44° / 11°

      5 wet

    12. Dec

      28° / -3°

      7 wet

    Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Gunnison 3sw, CO, 4 mi away at 7,622 ft. The station sits about 700 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Keep exploring — more snow worth the drive

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