Trail Name: Silvey’s Pocket to Dolores River
Best Use: Mountain Biking, Hiking
Best Time for Use: All Year
Difficulty: Intermediate to Expert icon-intermediate icon-expert
Length: 3.73 miles (6 km) from parking to Coyote Wash entrance. 3.34 miles (5.4 km) to Dolores River from Coyote Wash entrance 3.8 miles (6.1 km).
Start Elevation: 5,817 ft (1,773 m) at upper Sylvia’s pocket parking. 5,211ft (1,589 m) at Coyote Wash entrance. Maximum Elev Gain and Loss from Start Elev: 0 ft, (0 m) gain – 739 ft. (-225 m) loss
Trail Surface and Use: A lightly used 2-track road and County Road to Coyote wash, then a rarely used cattle trail/bush whack through the wash to the river.
Trail Head Access: Suitable for 2WD auto to top of Silvey’s Pocket, 4wd to Coyote wash from there. Extended wet weather will make vehicle access difficult. Trailhead is about 21.5 mi (34.6 km) from CO Hwy 141.
Trail Head Coordinates: 677,245E; 4,227,870N UTM WGS84 Zone12
Best Feature: Remote tranquil area with unique beautiful scenery, red and yellow rock cliffs, limitless potential for exploration, deep canyons The bulk of the trip is within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Dolores River Wilderness Study Area (WSA).
Cautions: Remote, no cell service, no defined trail down to the river, multiple stream crossings with some quicksand, and potential for flash flooding. No services, and often no one to be found in the valley all the way back to the highway. Know how to navigate. Be self-sufficient. Road conditions may vary.

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Description: From Highway 141, turn west/northwest on CR 20R in Gypsum Valley. Continue 21.5 miles (34.6 km), crossing the Dolores River into Little gypsum valley. For 2wd, park at the opening to the left before the road drops into Silvey’s Pocket. 4wd may continue another 3.73 miles (6 km) to the entrance of Coyote Wash, and begin hike from there. Follow the drainage for about 0.75 miles (1.2 km) until you enter Coyote Wash and then continue down the Wash until the Dolores River is intercepted. Another option is to turn upstream at the Wash and ascend for about 2.8 miles (4.5 km) to the bottom of the Coyote Wash Cyn 1 Trail. Ascend that trail to Wray Mesa. This trip would require a lengthy shuttle, or have two parties that meet somewhere in the middle and exchange vehicle keys.