The Tincup/St. Elmo/Pitkin loop is a Colorado favorite taking you over three passes, Tincup Pass, Hancock Pass (or Williams Pass) and Cumberland Pass. The three towns are old mining towns and are ATV friendly. The loop does not actually go through the town of Pitkin but passes just northeast of the town.

Starting off from Tincup you head east on FR267 towards Tincup Pass. The road is fairly smooth for the 2-1/2 miles to Mirror Lake. Mirror Lake is a popular fishing spot so bring your fishing pole. After Mirror Lake the road turns into a rocky trail up to Tincup Pass, elevation 12,154 feet on the Continental Divide.

After admiring the view from Tincup Pass it is down the rocky trail to the ghost town of St. Elmo. Many of the old buildings of St. Elmo have been restored. You will want to stop, have lunch, see the sights and feed the chipmunks.

After St. Elmo it is off to Hancock Pass, this year Hancock Pass was closed due to a washout so you had to go up over Williams Pass (just north of Hancock Pass). Williams Pass takes you up to an elevation of 11,780 feet on the Continental Divide.

Since we had to detour over Williams Pass we went ahead and visited the old Alpine Tunnel site on the west side of the Continental Divide. The Alpine Tunnel was a railroad tunnel from 1882 – 1910 when it collapsed. There is still the old telegraph office and some other buildings there.

Continuing down the west side of the Continental Divide on FR839 to FR765. Left on FR765 will take you about 2-1/2 miles to Pitkin but to continue on the loop we will take a right on FR765 towards Cumberland Pass. FR765 is a fairly smooth road all the way to Tincup. Cumberland Pass takes you to an elevation of 12,015 feet with some very nice views.

Down the north side of Cumberland Pass takes you back to Tincup completing the loop. There are several side trails around Cumberland Pass and for the real adventuresome there is Napoleon Pass. It starts about 2-1/2 mile before Cumberland Pass on a side trail marked FT426. This is a very challenging and very fun ride that also takes you back to Tincup but it is on the list of trails to be closed.

Plan on spending the day on this riding this loop as there is so much to see and experience. Once you have made the ride you will easy understand why this ride is one of Colorado's favorites.

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