The hike is Class 1+, the road is 5.14d
Handies Peak is sold by its touts as a good beginner's 14er, but I wouldn't recommend it for that as much as others. However, it was a nice hike with thankfully clear weather, and the views are great.
The main problem is getting to it. Compared to, say, the drives to White Mountain Peak (in CA) and to the DeCaLiBron (in CO), the drive to Handies is next level. The route is described here and the last four miles are a real b, especially the last little bit to the parking area. It was made a bit more difficult because it had rained heavily the night before, leaving large pools in the road. I couldn't avoid them completely because they were mostly almost as wide as the road, but I tried to have one side of my car on dryer ground. Also, I have a Subaru Forester, not a Jeep or a truck. If I had to do it again, and hopefully I don't, I'd watch the map and park about a mile or less from the upper parking lot.
The night before I slept in my car at the Grizzly Gulch trailhead, but before parking there I'd driven further up the road a bit. I decided to drive to the trailhead the next day rather than sleeping at the top parking. I did, however, have a nightmare related to the part of the road that I'd driven up.
The whole area was thick with ATVs, and Lake City has shops that rent them. So, you can consider that or renting a Jeep if you want to save your car.
There are several turnouts along the road, but the last bathroom is at Grizzly Gulch.
While the trail itself was Class 1 for me, I think some who aren't Master Hikers might use their hands in a couple of spots, so I'm rating it Class 1+. For that reason and because of the road, I'd suggest beginners/non-Master Hikers consider Sherman or Bierstadt instead. Both are easy to get to; while Bierstadt has some Class 2 I don't think it would faze most beginners. OTOH, the trail on Handies is very hard to miss; there's only one fork that I remember, and it has a cairn.
Also, my Polar HRM, FWIW, says the RT distance is actually 6.32 miles.
After doing Handies I'm getting closer to being acclimatized, but I think I'd be further along if I'd done it the way that's worked two years running: spend a week above 5k', with progressive hikes to 8k', 10k', and 12k'. On this trip the first nights I just slept at 6k' and 7k', then I jumped up to sleeping at 10k' and doing 13k' the next day. I don't think sleeping at elevation is as good as hiking to the same altitude because your heart/respiration rates slow down while sleeping.
Then, that afternoon I went to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
