Trail Log · Saturday, June 6, 2026

Yansing Gulch to Mt. Princeton

1Yansing Gulch7.3 mi
2Pomeroy Lakes5.5 mi
3Mt. Princeton12.1 mi

Trails in order, from Johnson Village

The upper Arkansas Valley and Chalk Creek, between Buena Vista and St. Elmo, Colorado. Yansing Gulch in the morning, then Pomeroy Lakes and Mt. Princeton off Chalk Creek, on trail 8:24 AM to 3:19 PM in Sucia, a 2021 Jeep Wrangler JLU Sport.

Distance70.1 mi

Moving time6h 33m

Total time6h 54m

Climbing10,700 ft

High point12,130 ft

Steepest pitch23% downhill

onX track on a UTM zone 13N 2 km grid. Chalk Creek, the Hancock Pass road and both mountain roads were driven out and back, so the track traces over itself. Hover the track to read elevation and time.

Elevation

Feet along the track, from onX’s elevations (USGS 10 m model)

Yansing Gulch
Pomeroy Lakes
Mt. Princeton
Roads between

The day

8:24 AM–3:19 PM · moving 6h 33m, stopped 21 min across 9 stops

Yansing Gulch
Pomeroy Lakes
Mt. Princeton
Roads
Stopped

Three trails, one long loop of roads

Yansing Gulch first, east of US 285 near Johnson Village: up from the staging area, around its loop and back down. Then south past Nathrop and up Chalk Creek to St. Elmo, up Pomeroy Gulch to the lakes, and back down the valley to finish on the Mt. Princeton road.

Yansing Gulch1.8 mi up from the staging area to where the loop splits, 3.9 mi around the loop counter-clockwise with a high of 8,896 ft, and 1.6 mi back down.
Pomeroy Lakes2.7 mi from the Hancock Pass road at 10,573 ft up Pomeroy Gulch to the lakes at 12,126 ft, and back down the same way.
Mt. Princeton6.1 mi up the switchbacks from 8,649 ft to the top of the drive at 12,130 ft, the high point of the day, and back down.
Roads between13.8 mi from Yansing Gulch south past Nathrop to Chalk Creek, 10.9 mi up Chalk Creek to St. Elmo and 2.6 mi on to the Pomeroy turnoff, then the same roads back down.

Trail review

From our run, the track, and the published guides

The trail

Yansing Gulch, long known as Chinaman Gulch, is a rock-crawling loop east of US 285 near Johnson Village; Trails Offroad gives it 4.9 stars from 56 reviews and calls it “a very popular, difficult rock crawling trail ideal for testing the limits of modified vehicles,” with “multiple lines from intermediate to extremely difficult.” onX lists a two-part gatekeeper, the Whale’s Tale and the Waterfall, “a tricky short climb up a rutted v-notch ledge.” Up Chalk Creek past St. Elmo, Pomeroy Lakes climbs Pomeroy Gulch past the Mary Murphy Mine to “a secluded lake tucked beneath barren, windswept peaks,” in Trails Offroad’s words. Mt. Princeton is the easy one: switchbacks and a traverse across an avalanche chute to a ridge near Tigger Peak, well above timberline.

Our run

Saturday, June 6: three trails around Buena Vista in one day. Yansing Gulch came first, up from the staging area and around the loop counter-clockwise, topping out at 8,896 ft; the steepest pitch of the day, 23% over 100 m, is on the loop’s way back down. Then south past Nathrop and up Chalk Creek to St. Elmo, and up Pomeroy Gulch to the lakes at 12,126 ft. Back down the valley, the Mt. Princeton road climbs to 12,130 ft, the high point of the day. About 10,700 ft of climbing in all.

Good to know

Trails Offroad recommends running the Yansing Gulch loop counter-clockwise. onX says traffic is two-way up to the creek-bottom split, then one-way around the loop.
Trails Offroad lists Yansing Gulch as open year-round, with minimal snow.
FunTreks says most visitors stay in the lower part of Pomeroy Gulch among the mining-era buildings; the upper stretch to the Mary Murphy Mine and Lower Pomeroy Lake has narrow shelf roads and steep, rocky ground.
4x4Explore says the top of the Pomeroy road may still be snowed in through May, and early snow in October can drift it shut.

Leg by leg

Leg	Road	Time	Distance	Moving	Stopped	Elevation
County roads to the staging area	CR 301 and CR 300	8:24–8:27 AM	0.51 mi	3 min	0	7,808 → 7,831 ft
Yansing Gulch, up to the loop	Yansing Gulch, 6044	8:27–9:14 AM	1.83 mi	46 min	1 min	7,831 → 8,173 ft
Yansing Gulch loop, counter-clockwise	Yansing Gulch, 6044	9:14–10:27 AM	3.88 mi	1h 09m	4 min	8,173 ft, high 8,896 ft
Yansing Gulch, back down	Yansing Gulch, 6044	10:27–10:56 AM	1.60 mi	27 min	2 min	8,176 → 7,829 ft
Back out to US 285	CR 300 and CR 301	10:56–11:00 AM	0.52 mi	4 min	0	7,829 → 7,806 ft
South past Nathrop to Chalk Creek	US 285 and county roads	11:00–11:20 AM	13.82 mi	20 min	0	7,806 → 8,215 ft
Up Chalk Creek to St. Elmo	Chalk Creek road, CR 162	11:20–11:41 AM	10.91 mi	21 min	0	8,215 → 10,055 ft
Hancock Pass road to the Pomeroy turnoff	Hancock Pass road, CR 295	11:41–11:51 AM	2.61 mi	10 min	0	10,055 → 10,573 ft
Pomeroy Lakes, up to the lakes	Pomeroy Lakes road, FS 297	11:51 AM–12:29 PM	2.74 mi	32 min	6 min	10,573 → 12,123 ft
Pomeroy Lakes, back down	Pomeroy Lakes road, FS 297	12:29–1:02 PM	2.72 mi	33 min	1 min	12,123 → 10,558 ft
Hancock Pass road back to St. Elmo	Hancock Pass road, CR 295	1:02–1:12 PM	2.63 mi	9 min	0	10,558 → 10,031 ft
Down Chalk Creek	Chalk Creek road, CR 162	1:12–1:43 PM	11.44 mi	25 min	6 min	10,031 → 8,213 ft
To the Mt. Princeton road	County roads	1:43–1:55 PM	2.82 mi	10 min	1 min	8,213 → 8,649 ft
Mt. Princeton, up the switchbacks	Mt. Princeton road, FS 322	1:55–2:42 PM	6.10 mi	47 min	0	8,649 → 12,125 ft
Mt. Princeton, back down	Mt. Princeton road, FS 322	2:42–3:19 PM	6.03 mi	37 min	0	12,125 → 8,663 ft
Total		8:24 AM–3:19 PM	70.1 mi	6h 33m	21 min	+10,700 ft