China Wall Road

I went to the "gate swing" with Sam from Stay the Trail and a group from Colorado Four Wheelers this morning. Colorado Four Wheelers adopted China Wall many years ago and does stewardship/maintenance on this road every year. This year they've done some dozer work, and got a new segment (used to be closed) re-opened. I had to get back to Springs for work, but snapped a few photos.

Open for the season!

Closed! 5/23/2021 potential opening 6/15/2021

Wanted to go on my second trip, but the trail is closed, sadly.

This trail is always an adventure. The rock obstacles can get intense, but take the right lines and you will be fine. Spotters are helpful.

We were out today to update this map writeup. New pictures and video are coming soon. Waypoint 6 is not closed but you cannot drive down by the creek and the trail now ends at a fenced loop. Some parts of the trail seem to have gotten filled in since we were there last, but the rating remains the same overall.

Ran the trail and camped out for the night near Box Canyon. The trail is in good condition and traffic on the trail was light.

I ran this my Landcruiser 100 (2.5" lift) along with a stock Wrangler Sport and Grand Cherokee Overland. This is definitely a good trail to push stock or lightly modified rigs close to their limits. The Overland struggled climbing back up the first rock obstacle, scraping skid plates, exhaust and dining a wheel. All three of us needed spotters to get through in both directions. The Wrangler and Landcruiser both climbed the wall with no troubles. The Overland driver wisely chose to bypass that element. Unfortunately, we missed the turn off for waypoints 9 through 14 due to navigation difficulties. The trail was not terribly crowded, through there were a number of motorcycle and ATV users. It was a great day nonetheless.

Fantastic trail that will test you, your spotter, and your rig. We enjoyed our camping spot nearby the rock obstacle on waypoint 4. We didn't have lockers but I could see how they would help.

Fun trail to really test the Jeeps ability. It was definitely tougher than what I though it was going to be, but everything went well. Plenty of people camping and a few other Jeeps out today. I would recommend having at least one locker if you’re going to do the whole trail. China wall definitely looks bigger in person!

Closed until June 15th. Both entrances. Don’t even try.

Forest Service has closed China Wall area. Gates across road at each end.

I would say this trail is over-rated when it comes to difficulty. I would rate this a 3-4. Most of the trail is a smooth dirt path with the exception of 3 rocky sections that are not difficult at all when using a good line. I would recommend this trail to those who are just getting acquainted with wheeling.

Ran the full trail with no closures. The wall was fun and had that pucker factor. I highly recommend high clearance for this area especially the rock obstacles and the steep descent on 204. We didn't try coming back up 204 and just exited at the northern gate.

Closed to motor vehicle at gate ,not sure why ,went to the other side and the map said the same thing "loop closed " sad

Ran the trail from Hwy 24 via La Salle Pass, down to Tarryall Creek then back up north towards Tarryall Rd. The wife’s Tacoma, 3in lift on 34s, did well. The long-bed factor made some obstacles challenging. My 4Runner with 3in lift and 32s did just fine; no skid scrapes. I did the Wall just as easily; the wife didn’t attempt it due to lack of departure angle. We wanted to camp down by Tarryall but realized they closed off all of it to vehicles.

Outstanding trail and beautiful area -- definitely in our top 3 in Colorado (out of about 20+ we've completed). We ran this single-ship today in a 4-door '18 JL Rubi with 3" lift and 35s -- lightly hit only once on right rock rail. IMHO the 5 rating is well-deserved, so any stock vehicles that don't have pretty high clearance will very likely take some significant hits along this trail for sure (I know because I used to drive one). First picture (Point 4, 3.2m) is a fun challenge and I agree with the recommendation of having a spotter to assist. China Wall (2nd & 3rd pictures, Point 5, 3.6m) is AWESOME; as recommended on this website, I started to the left and ascended with a very slight right angle, maintaining my left tires on the ridge you'll see in the rock. Worked like a charm! Picture 4 (Point 10, 6.4m) took some work because vehicle wanted to slide sideways to the right in the top portion, making it difficult to get aligned properly for the descending right turn (had to back-up several times). Again, a great challenge! By the way, Tarryall Creek looked like a raging river...spectacular!!

Gates were opened this morning and the trail is open for the season.

Seasonal Closure now in effect

The trail is open all the way through but please note that the Forest Service has laid some logs along certain parts of the trail, especially near the river. These areas that are blocked off are not authorized trails and is the start of the Forest Service's efforts to close off those areas as they are close to the water and residences on the other side of the river. Do not move these logs or drive over them. The Forest Service plans to replace them with fencing later this summer and trailsoffroad will be out there to update this writeup at that time.

Included in these photos is a roll-over that occured on the same day they opened China Wall this year. It's a reminder to be careful on that obsatcle and that rolling over is very possible. Don't take on the wall without a spotter.

Pictures used with permission and courtesy of Colorado Four Wheelers.

Trail was opened by the Forest Service today.

The trail is now closed for the season and scheduled to reopen in June.

Ran China Wall on Saturday, November 18th, with a group of 15 rigs from Colorado Land Cruisers (Colorado Springs). Weather was clear and sunny so the snow from the previous night was melting quickly. We started at the Trailhead as described in the guide, and had lunch at Waypoint 6 (Tarryall Creek and camping area). We were off the trail by 3pm. Most of the snow had melted by this time (except on north-facing slopes or shaded areas). No problems with traction nor difficulty on any rock obstacles. China Wall is always a good time!

We did a check up on the trail. The Forest Service did far more than install seasonal gates. They have closed a number of bypasses and some areas that have degraded, like the muddy area near the China Wall main obstacle. The Forest Service has made it very clear where you can and can't go. Please Stay The Trail.

This trail was easier on new 35's, though we found ourselves on a bad line down the curvy descent. I can't recommend having a spotter for this trail enough. It will save you body damage or a scrape on the ground. On top of the closure work on the trail, there was also some repair work and some of the deep rutting has been filled in.

There was no snow to be found and the weather forecasts in the area are not calling for anything anytime in the next few weeks. We saw only some dust in a few tiny spots in the shade, but it is cold at night in Lake George and we saw evidence of the creek icing over when we were at the bottom of the trail near the campsites.

This trail remains a constant barrage of obstacles and we took a number of new waypoints today for this trail. Stayed tuned this week for updates to this trail and added obstacles and information!

Stay the trail and other organizations were out at China Wall today to do some trail repair and put up seasonal gates that will now officially close this trail yearly starting on January 1st. For now, enjoy the trail until this season is up! From Stay The Trail: "Stay The Trail was joined by the Colorado Four Wheelers and the South Park Ranger District for some work on China Wall today. Big thanks to Rugged Ridge for helping to fund the materials. Please remember that the seasonal closure for Bighorn Sheep in this area is January 1st. Until then the gates are open and the trail is in great shape thanks to another successful club adoption!"

Followed the FunTrecks guide for China Wall. Most of the trail is very easy with occasional moderate obstacles. There was an optional approach on the way down a steep hill leading to Tarryall Creek that tested the capabilities of the Jeep, but that approach would be easily avoided. There were numerous campsites near the creek that would be wonderful for a weekend. Overall this trail is a good one to cut your teeth on if you are newer to offroad driving. It is also an excellent area to camp.

Had a great time. This was my first time on this trail. Two of us, each in Tacomas, ran the trail. There were a few spots that were difficult for a first timer with low experience, but with a good guide to help find the right lines it was not an issue.

First time on this trail. Lots of fun! My TRD Tacoma (3" lift, 33s, high clearance bumper, no sway bar) had no issues with any of the obstacles. Had to be careful of line selection a few times, but a spotter helped a lot with that. We also go a stock base model Nissan Xterra up the trail! The only obstacle it didn't do was China Wall itself. However, I don't recommend taking a stock vehicle. It got sketchy a few times with no flex and ground clearance. Almost flipped it on the first non-optional rock obstacle. All in all it was a great trip!

Nice day with little traffic for a weekend. It was dry enough at the time that we likely didn't need to air down for the rocks but did for ease of travel.

This was my first time running this trail and had a great time! The trail was easy enough for a stock JK and Toyota Tacoma pick up to make it through the entire trail but had good obsticles for more built rigs. every large obsticle has a legal go around except the whoop dee dos which is passable with most stock 4x4s. overall super fun trail and a must do if in the area.

I visited China Wall on February 20th, 2016 as a scheduled trail ride with Colorado Land Cruisers (Colorado Springs). It was a beautiful day, with mild temperatures (high 40s, low 50s) and sunshine. Trail conditions were very good, as recent snowfall had melted on 90% of the trail. Trail segments in shade or on north-facing slopes were snow covered. It was mild enough that I permitted my 16-year old son to drive (see that smile!) a few segments. China Wall is popular with hikers, mountain bikers, and campers in the summer months. Put this trail on your 2016 "To Do" list!