Tarryall Road Condition?

[Aum]

Anyone have recent information on the condition of Tarryall Road (Park County Road 77) in Colorado from US 24 to US 285?  I'm considering including it in my route  to the BMO MOA Rally in Great Falls next June. The 2019 Butler Map for Colorado tags the road with a "Rough Pavement" warning.

 

Mike

[TEWKS]

If the link below works it appears to be patches like this. Mount Evans is kind of in the neighborhood, well worth a side trip IMO.  https://goo.gl/maps/EhTkuFx5yoxobBa5A

 

https://goo.gl/maps/xB32V54yV7V9aUmUA

[roadscholar]

6 hours ago, Aum said:

Anyone have recent information on the condition of Tarryall Road (Park County Road 77) in Colorado from US 24 to US 285?  I'm considering including it in my route  to the BMO MOA Rally in Great Falls next June. The 2019 Butler Map for Colorado tags the road with a "Rough Pavement" warning.

 

Mike

 

I think you'd be fine even if you're on a touring bike. It's been about 10 years but I rode it two up S. to N. on an 1150GS, it had some potholes and was a little rough in spots but nothing to hold you back. Some of it looked about like Tewks photo then but that was the worst of it. I read the same thing on Butler Maps in about 2010 so maybe they never updated it, I was surprised because the part north of the reservoir to 285 was all new pavement, smooth as glass. At the time I figured they were going to repave the whole thing but different counties sometimes come into play. I liked it the way it was, keeps the traffic down : )   

[roadscholar]

To add, if you do take Tarryall Rd. there are 3 good options to keep heading north from there. One is Guanella Pass that goes from 285 to I-70 at Georgetown, it used to be dirt but was paved a few years ago and is fun and scenic (and there's a good BBQ joint at the bottom). Another is Rt 9 from Fairplay to Breckenridge over Hoosier Pass, nice but a fair amount of traffic. And last, you'll want a GS for this one because it's not paved (although not rough either) is Boreas Pass, it's halfway between the two also ending in Breckenridge. 

 

 

 

Looking out over South Park (yes that one : ) where you'll be coming from.

 

 

[Aum]

On 9/18/2020 at 11:33 AM, TEWKS said:

If the link below works it appears to be patches like this. Mount Evans is kind of in the neighborhood, well worth a side trip IMO.  https://goo.gl/maps/EhTkuFx5yoxobBa5A

 

https://goo.gl/maps/xB32V54yV7V9aUmUA

 

Thanks for the info, TEWKS. Mount Evans is a nice ride with great views at the top.  I rode up in June 2017 while attending the MSTA STAR rally in Colorado Springs. I'm considering it as an option on next year's ride, as an alternate to Tarryall.

 

Mike

 

 

[Aum]

On 9/18/2020 at 1:39 PM, roadscholar said:

 I read the same thing on Butler Maps in about 2010 so maybe they never updated it, I was surprised because the part north of the reservoir to 285 was all new pavement, smooth as glass.

 

Thanks for the intel. You may be right about Butler not updating the latest Colorado map. Researching Tarryall Road online I found several comments on paving projects in the 2013 - 15 time frame, and a USFS PDF from 2013 on a paving project road closure with quite the detour.

 

Mike

[Hosstage]

Smoothe like this?

 

[TEWKS]

PUCKER 

[waynerd]

Mike,

 

I rode this three months ago with a friend who was in from Iowa.  What a really nice stretch of road - I had a blast!  Some good scenery and plenty of twists to give the sides of the tires some action.  The northern "half" of the road has recently been paved and is a dream.  I'm not exactly sure where the transition was but it was noticeable, if only because the repaved section was so nice.  The "old" pavement on the southern part was just fine in my estimation.  I don't remember any potholes or excessive tar snakes, maybe just a little more vibration from bigger aggregate in the older blacktop.  It's all Park County, but I could imagine the partial repaving was to keep the Denver crowd going to the reservoir happy.  Our biggest frustration was the relatively tame 40-45 MPH speed limits along the way...which we dutifully obeyed .

[Aum]

On 9/18/2020 at 2:17 PM, roadscholar said:

One is Guanella Pass that goes from 285 to I-70 at Georgetown, it used to be dirt but was paved a few years ago and is fun and scenic (and there's a good BBQ joint at the bottom). Another is Rt 9 from Fairplay to Breckenridge over Hoosier Pass, nice but a fair amount of traffic.

 

Nice photos. And you must be psychic – my plan is to go over Guanella Pass to I-70, then west to  6 and over Loveland Pass to Dillon.

 

Mike