Crampton Mountain

The little-known Crampton Mountain trail is on an isolated patch of BLM land in the Royal Gorge Field Office, tucked away in a rural neighborhood near Canon City. It climbs up and over the flank of Crampton Mountain, then descends into a remote valley on the other side. It is a moderate rutted dirt trail with a few rocky patches but no real obstacles. Its real attraction is the panoramic views of the surrounding rugged mountains. The views are particularly spectacular from the end of the Crampton Mountain Overlook spur, BLM 5900.

The trail starts at an easy-to-miss turnoff from a graded county road in a rural residential neighborhood, with a BLM trail sign as the only indication you are entering public lands. The road climbs sharply up the west side of Crampton Mountain with pleasant views of the surrounding ranching community before topping out at a saddle on the mountain's north flank. It then wraps around the mountain's east side, following a winding ridgeline as it gradually descends into the valley below. Vegetation along the trail alternates between scrub oak and evergreen forest, with beautiful views of nearby rugged canyons and mountains. If you wish, you could hike the old, closed roads that intersect the trail to reach the summit of Crampton Mountain.

At the bottom of the valley, the authorized route intersects and follows another road for a short distance. That road continues to both the north and south to access parcels of private land, but those sections are not legal routes on the BLM's travel plan. The legal motorized route turns off on a faint track to the east, following an eroded gully before dead-ending at a fence line at the head of another gully. Maps show another road looping back around to the north along the top of a hill above, forming a lasso shape, but this other track has faded away and is difficult to find. It's best to turn around and drive back out the way you came.

While dispersed camping is allowed in the area, and a few places could be used for camping (notably the grassy meadow at the low point of the trail), there are no established campsites along this trail.