The turnoff for Slide Lake and access to Homestake Peak is 1.78 miles south of Tennessee Pass on US24 at these coordinates: N 39° 20' 50.26" W 106° 19' 56.46". Elevation 10,155 ft. Turn west onto CR 19. Drive through a sparse, residential neighborhood and from the highway, go 1.0 mile to an intersection. Turn right, continuing on CR19 which is signed with an indication for the Wurtz Ditch Road which is FR705. CR19 will take you in .8 mile to a pass which is actually the continental divide and the county line for Eagle & Lake Counties. At this pass, FR145 heads off to the left while the Wurtz Ditch Rod continues straight ahead. Take FR145, which will climb uphill to follow the ridge crest somewhat. Up to this intersection, 2WD vehicles should be able to make it, but FR145 definitely becomes a 4WD road. As it makes the climbing section, the road is very rough and narrow. Drivers in city-style SUV's may be inclined to give up for fear of what they may be getting into. But farther on, as the road levels out some, conditions become a little better. From the Wurtz Ditch intersection, it's just over 3.0 more miles to the Slide Lake TH. In 2007, we found a picnic table, fire ring and some parking space. It would be possible to camp here overnight. Shortly before arriving at the trailhead and back a little over .3 mile is the 10th Mountain Division Ski/bike hut. This is a very nice hut that can sleep 16 people with a couple more private rooms. The gentle surrounding terrain with very low avalanche hazard makes this a great winter cross-country skiing area. If you cannot drive all the way to the trailhead, walking this road goes quickly. It's not steep at all.
As mentioned above, there is camping at the trailhead, though no facilities and there are at-large, primitive sites along the way in on FR145. Most will come once the road levels out some. The nearest National Forest campgrounds are located back at Turquoise Lake, west of Leadville.