Tincup Gulch
Maps:
USGS 7.5' Map:	Cumberland Pass
Statistics:	Difficulty: Number: Miles: Altitude: Obstacles: Time: Moderate 5 FR 765.2A 1.00 10,180 to 12,440 ft. Steep Hill 2-3 hours
County:	Gunnison
Adopted by:
Managed by:	Grand Mesa/Uncompahgre/Gunnison National Forest Gunnison Ranger District	216 N. Colorado Gunnison, CO 81230	970-641-0471
Summary:	Tincup Gulch is an easy road to many old mine sites. It has one steep hill climb near Cumberland Pass.
Attractions:	Scenery, History
Seasonal Closure:	Natural - Tin Cup Gulch is closed by heavy snows
Best Time:	June - Best, possible snow drifts July - Best August - Best September - Best, fall colors October - Best
Trail Heads Accessed:
Camping:	There were no dispersed camp sites in the upper area of Tincup Gulch. The lower section had a few sites, but Tincup has a camping ban along roads close to the town.
Base Camp:	This would be a good area to base camp to explore the roads in Taylor Park and around Pitkin.
Fall Colors:	Average - There are some small aspen groves.
Navigation:	From Parlin, CO head east on County Rd 76 for 14.7 miles. Continue onto Main Street in Pitkin and go 0.7 miles. Main Street turns right and becomes 9th Street. Turn left onto State Street and go 0.3 miles. Continue onto County Rd 76 for 0.4 miles. Continue onto Forest Service Rd 765 for 3.0 miles. Forest Service Rd 765 turns slightly right and becomes County Rd 765, continue for 0.9 miles. Continue onto Forest Service Rd 765 and go 6.2 miles. Head east on Forest Service Rd 765.2A which heads up into the tundra. From Gunnison, CO head north on CO-135 N/N Main Street for 10 miles. Turn right onto County Rd 742 and go 23 miles. Turn right onto County Rd 765 and go 1.9 miles. Turn left to stay on County Rd 765 and go 6.1 miles, through the town of Tin Cup and pass the road to the Tin Cup Cemetary. The very next left turn is Tincup Gulch, FR 765.2A.
History:	Discovered in the early 1880's the Gold Cup mine was a large operation south of Tin Cup which produced $7,000,000 in gold and silver. It kept producing through the mild recession in the mid 1880's and didn't close down until 1917.
Description:
Tincup Gulch runs from the top of Cumberland Pass down to the town of Tincup. It heads east from Cumberland Pass across the tundra to climb a steep hill on the side of Napoleon Mountain. This section of the road is the toughest. There are two areas with loose rock and steep inclines to climb. Once at the top you will have views in all directions. Steep hill photo by: Adam M Last section of the steep hill photo by: Adam M Cumberland Pass from the top of the steep hill photo by: Adam M After the steep climb the road becomes less difficult and heads down hill along Gold Hill to the east and Duncan Hill to the west. This is Tincup Gulch. You will find many roads that cross and intersect in the gulch. There are also quite a few mines, including the Jimmie Mack mine. One of the mine areas photo by: Adam M One of the roads heads along the west side of Duncan Hill. It will end at an opening on the side of the hill with views of Tincup down below. Also along this road is a mine tailings where people find lots of quartz crystals. View of Tincup in the valley with Taylor park in the distance photo by: Adam M Back to the east side of Tincup Gulch along the side of Gold Hill is the Old Gold Cup mine. Not much remains at this site. There are large tailings and some machinery to see. Winch and steam pistons at the Old Gold Cup mine photo by: Adam M From the main upper basin of Tincup Gulch the road will head down the main draw of Tincup Gulch through the thick forest. The road is fairly wide with no real views due to the trees. At the lower part of the road you will leave the gulch and run along the ridge of Duncan Hill before coming out just south of the town of Tincup. Road through the forest photo by: Adam M
Data updated - November 16, 2018     4WD Road driven - September 2, 2018     Copyright 4X4Explore.com - 2000-2018