Devil's Canyon

Great trail for new off roaders

Really nice easy trail. Some rut out and a few climbs.

We found it more of a 4 than a 3 in current condition. One section later in the trail we had to take the new alternate route to get around some serious washout ruts. Other than that section it was fun as hell. We hit it in a 2016 Ram Rebel with air suspension.

Beautiful views. Most of the trail is relatively easy. A couple cruxes are starting to push 4. Our friends got a stock JKU w/ 32" tires up it, though it took a couple tries to find the right line in the worst of the ruts. My frontier (2" lift, 32" tires) needed a little speed to make it without using the locker. Take your time and please don't cut alternate routes as it looked like some ATVs had.

This was my very first trail in my new truck ('00 Dakota) and what a blast! It was a really good confidence builder for me and learning my truck. I won't lie, I basically took this route in a figure 8. But, being a Tuesday afternoon, the only others I saw on the trail were some elk and chipmunks. I went through waypoints 1-6, then came back from the lookout point at 6 and took the loop around to 7. Then came back around and got stuck at 14. Here's where I got stuck and had to back up, and go back down the way I came in. It was very steep, lots of erosion and I kept slipping. If I aired down, I'm sure I would have been able to make the crawl. So be ready for that Either way, what a ride.

Fun trail that's close to Denver that makes for a solid few hours of exploring. There is also some good dispersed camping with good views of the surrounding mountains and most of the sites are far enough away from others that you won't have to worry about hearing your neighbors if you have any. As for the trail itself, the only real challenge was at Waypoint 13 but it's easy to get around the rock/drop-off if you so choose. I went right over it and didn't have any issues after spotting it and having good tire placement.

Difficulty was spot on for my factory JKU -- enough challenges to be interesting, but not so much that I ever bottomed or scraped. I got a faily early weekday morning start, and I never saw another soul on the trail.

As many have stated, fun little trail close to Denver. Appears to get a lot of use on the weekends as a result. We didn’t get there until close to 1pm and saw a ton of people on the side of the road airing back up. Keep in mind there really isn’t a parking lot for this trail and it’s short and easy enough to stay aired up if you don’t mind the rougher ride. Seemed like it had plenty of solid camping spots too.

Great trail! 2 or 3 challenging spots. Some narrow tree areas. Few tiny run off creeks. Lots of good camping spots throughout. Great views.

As a "long time listener, first time caller" new overlanderer, not really sure what "moderate" means so I'll give it a "spot on". Most of the trail was chill... except when it wasn't! Which to be fair was only really two sections. But those two sections, one before waypoint 7 & one after (I think), got my newbie blood pumping... it was awseome! Even got my first scratch on the sliders going uphill got to around 20+ degree lean with DEEP ruts & a narrow tree alley. Trail was mostly dry, with just a little water run off. Not to much traffic. Aired down to 15 psi & the Chevy Colorado, with a 2.5" lift just billy goated up & down this thing. Will be back!

Open for the season! Please stay "on" the trail!

Gate is closed for the season.

So I got my 99 Ford Explorer fitted with a lift, nice off-road tires, and some lights and thought this would be a great trail to test out some of the new parts. I don’t know what happened between now and when these pictures were posted but much of this trail seems riddled with tons of rocks that stick up a good 6-12” and other parts look like they’ve been almost washed away with some dips almost causing me to scrape the underbody on the dirt (between waypoints 7 and 8 is absolutely some of the worst). I would definitely not recommend going down this trail if you’re not fitted with at least a 3” lift and a recovery device of some sort in case you roll onto the side. I wish I would’ve taken pictures, but I wasn’t expecting it to be like it was, some parts of the trail were straight up and we got stuck several times on tree roots that had been unearthed. Overall is a great trail but I would highly recommend it be considered a higher difficulty now, maybe it wasn’t so bad when it was originally mapped but it’s certainly changed.

Snow is starting to accumulate. See you in 2022! Will update with snow melt reports as they happen in the spring!

Surprisingly great trail! We had plans to do Red Elephant Hill on Sunday, so wanted some place a little more accessible to get to, camp, and then get out early the next morning. We decided to do the full trail on Saturday and so glad we did. What a fun trail and the views were pretty amazing! We had a very windy night, with zero sleep, and did wake up to a decent snow storm on Sunday morning. Needless to say, the trail conditions were completely dry Saturday and then snow covered and icy Sunday.

Super fun trail, some tricky sections that are getting washed out. Drove the loop clockwise and really glad we did. There is packed snow on the steep sections between WP6 and WP7, Would have been very slippery driving up those sections. Driving down was easy. After WP7 the trail is dry and no problems there.

Went up to see the leaves. Still good views even this late in the year. Not overcrowded. Easy to find campsites. Some nice secluded sites for smaller groups and some open sites with panoramic views for larger groups. Some of the spurs have off-kilter points where you can get a tire off the ground, but nothing bad enough that a stock 4x4 with 4 Lo can't do (I have 31" tires)

As described, moderately difficult trail, perfect for a half day out. Factory high clearance and low range are probably necessary, wide/full size trucks will get pin striping. Any driver aids will help on some of the more technical parts where steep climbs and undulation leave you with a wheel in the air, if not then a good line and momentum will help. A bit rocky in places, so airing down will make the ride more comfortable. The highest parts are just at the top of the tree line but the breaks in the trees provide some great views. Gorgeous at the beginning of fall. Passing could be tricky in some places, but it’s doable. Plan ahead, go with someone if possible, have the offline map available and give it a shot. It’s a good test for a stock vehicle.

Ran trail as described but bypassed WPs 13-15. Plenty of traffic was out to see the leaves, but no issues when sharing the road. As others have mentioned, the short steep section between WP 7-8 is the most challenging part. Was able to go over it in 4lo (no locker available) with a little momentum. Campsite at WP 10 looked amazing. Driven on a stock Nissan Xterra with air downed 32” ATs.

Pretty nice view! Barely enough space to fit my 2011 raptor pin stripping at its best. Not the best trail for full size trucks

Had a lot of fun running this trail. Pretty easy for the most part, except for the rock obstacles. I went counterclockwise and ended up going down hill on the rocks, which was a little sketchy given the erosion. It would have been much easier going uphill had I gone clockwise. Saw plenty of really great campsites. 4Runner Limited, 2.5" lift, 31" tires

Went really well, . Lots of Pin stripping but I do have a wider base than most with the H2. There are a lot of little off road trails which will end up in a dead end. I recommend GAIA or GPX is what I used. Worked perfect. I only used 4 wheel a couple of times, but my buddy in jeep just used his lockers and had no issues at all. Like other comments there are a few spots where you have to think, but it is a great trails to go to.

I ran this trail in a stock Toyota 4runner ORP in 4Lo and pressured down to about 25psi. Probably could have gonna a little lower. I ran it from about 5pm-7pm and did not see another person on the trail (minus someone airing back up at the start when I started). Lots of great campsites and definitely for a newbie like me had me thinking on lines in a few spot. Would have been simply with slightly bigger tires and just a little lift but definitely had a few tricky parts. The trail guide was perfect in describing the route, challenges, campsites, and views.

We took this trail today and we didn’t see another person until on our way out. The views were very nice and the instructions provided here were spot on. There were a couple spots where it helped to have a locker to get through the whole loop. Really enjoyed the views at waypoint 6 and beyond - again the pictures and info provided here were spot on and very helpful

Ran this trail yesterday in the snow! There were already some nice tracks but this would be a trail I'd come back to with a buddy for some snowy adventures! Excellent places to wind through the trees and the clearings at waypoints 6 and 12 were nice places to stop and enjoy the view.

Good amount of snow all the way around the trail. We took a right at waypoint 2 and after a few corners we stop to help a couple of guys trying to get unstuck. Once they were able to continue one of us got stuck too. After a while finally we were able to keep going and get to the opening at waypoint 14. Then it was my turn to get stuck so we just decided to give up. I have a lifted 4Runner with 31s. Maybe we could have made it a bit further but it wasn't worth. We'll come back next spring!

Emailed the FS today asking about this road. It is back open for now. It was closed due to stage 3 fire restrictions. Those restrictions have been lifted and the gates reopened until 12/16 when the seasonal closure begins.

Gates have been closed, we will keep you aware in the spring when trails start opening up!

Due to extreme fire danger, the National Forest Service has temporarily closed all National Forest land in Clear Creek, Jefferson, Gilpin, Boulder, and Larimer counties. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/arp/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD831612

Ran this trail counter-clockwise today. Nice, day with no vehicles to be found. There are a couple of rough spots from folks 'digging' their way up the hills. Overall, a fun trail.

Had a lot of fun on this trail. We took some visiting family members out for their first Jeep trip. Hit the loop clockwise by turning left at the Y. Trail if very tight and not many places to pass. Had to pass a full size truck and came within an inch from rubbing. Over all the trail is pretty easy the rocks and undulations around waypoint 13 wasn't too bad. Used 4 low and no lockers and made it through with no issues. Had lunch at one of the many campsites, the wind at the more exposed ones would make camping a challenge. On the way out we took the B offshoot to have a little fun. The trail is tight and has some moderate sections to work through. Over all, nothing too crazy and a lot of fun with some great views. Finished the trail just before the snow started coming in. Aired up and headed back to Denver. Stock JLU Rubicon, 35 inch tires, 18 psi.

Was pretty excited to go back here to look at the aspens but was definitely too late. There’s still some good color at the start of the trail but the large grove at the open meadow has no leaves at all anymore. Trail is a bit more chewed up right now than it was earlier in the season making it slightly more difficult but nothing crazy.

Nice trail not very difficult lots of good camping spots. Rock section at wp13 wasn’t bad with good lines I made it without issue and without contact with 32inch tires. Looks like it might be a good trail for color change but looks like we missed it by a week or so.

Great trail close to Denver. Limited cars on holiday weekend and great options available for camping. Not too difficult, but minor pin striping in a few spots. Will definitely be back!

Fun little out and back loop with some amazing views along the way. Reminded me of why I love Colorado off-roading. Switchbacks going into the trailhead were a little washed out in some spots but picking the right lines and you will have no issues. I ran this in my 2019 4Runner TRD OffRoad with BFG KO2's and found that only 2-3 times I made slight contact with a small bolder/rock in the trail but it was probably caused by a line picked incorrectly on my part. I do have RCI skid plates under the bottom that really helped and made me feel a little better about the rocks. In the section where there are lots of trees, the trail can get pretty tight. Overall, it was an awesome little loop for sure. Went out that morning, ran the trail and then went back into Idaho Springs for a nice lunch.

Fun! Didn't do the whole thing but went up to the open area and toodled around a bit. Rainy the day we went. My kid easily did the wet trail in stock 2007 4Runner with street tires.

I love this trail. Its just too damned fun. The trees get a bit narrow. I've ran this trail before but today I was the only person there. The trail does get a bit narrow but nothing a little polish can't handle. The branches are still soft. No issues in a lifted GX460. Super fun trail!!!

Great loop with views and some nice ruts to keep it interesting. Did the whole loop in a stock LX470 (Land Cruiser) with 33s in high suspension mode. Locker is needed through the tighter wooded section as the ruts are deep but passable with a few different line options. Will definitely be back to this trail as its a great quick adventure close to the Denver area.

Good trail with a little bit of everything. I went out with my family to test out my new to me 98 XJ along with my other 96 XJ. We ran the trail in reverse for the most part and explored some of the side roads. There are lots of these side trails in places and it is easy to get turned around. There are some larger holes between WP 6-7 that require a run at them if you have open differentials. The climb at WP 13 is probably the most difficult section.

Went today with my stock jk 4 door wrangler and all terrain tires. (Not sure I would run this trail with factory tires)Was definitely rutted through a lot of it, and rocks to climb over. So definitely needed to watch tire placement on a lot of the steeper parts. Needed 4wd to climb the steep parts as well for sure. But we really had no problems and had a great day. We only saw one other person all day.

Ran exactly as mapped, great fun! 2006 Xterra, 2-3 inch lift, 33s, no problems. Didn't air down at all. Used locker briefly once or twice (don't recall exactly where - writing this 3 weeks afterwards). The hill at the end was great fun! Made it up twice without locker, spun slightly. Locker would have made it casual.

Great little trail that is slightly busy with other Jeep lovin friends! Absolutely gorgeous setting right out of Idaho Springs. The trail is a little short but perfect for our day drive into the mountains. Would agree on the Moderate rating. Nothing too difficult but there was a Forerunner that was struggling big time and put himself somehow in a tree at a weird angle. Not sure how but maybe the driver sucked??? The trail has some larger rocks and inclines of about 11%. I didn't see any severe inclines or feel unsafe at anytime. Some off camber slopes that needed attention. While it doesn't specify here you can head into Evergreen by trekking over the pass. This was a fun way to go back to Denver. Recommend this trail. Cheers

Some nice camping at the summit with great views. The trail is short with one difficult spot. Nice weekend with the family.

Went out on 6/20 and camped overnight. Subaru Forester in my group went out to waypoint 5 where we camped by the open meadow area but it did not do the entire loop. Did entire loop with stock 2 door JK on M/Ts without issue. There was a steep bypass that connected some campgrounds that I spun tires on but eventually got up. Saw some close to stock TJs make it up as well but a Pathfinder was having a pretty hard time through that section. Most stock 4x4s shouldn’t have any issue running this trail when it’s dry, not sure what the conditions are when wet.

Super fun trail with some nice camping spots. A few technical areas off camber, some rocks and ledges. I stayed in 4 high with the sway bars disco'd.

Did this trail again on 7/13/20. It has been washed out on the backside so it definitely harder then it says it is. Still amazing trail, very diverse, something for everyone. This trail is awesome. Great views. Mid way thru the loop the camping spots are amazing. At the top or beginning of the loop if you go right and then right again instead of going left like the pictures above show there is a pretty sweet rock trail. The hardest part of trail. Did the entire trail in a stock height 2020 TRD OFF-ROAD 4Runner.

Spoke to Clear Creek Ranger today and the trail is still closed due to Elk Calving.

Many parts are covered in snow but still seems entirely passable. I used chains on my front tires, but probably didn’t need them (wife and kids in the car so better safe than sideways) :) We got there towards the end of the day so only did the first part of the loop and up through waypoint 5, but saw another ‘yota who had done the whole thing.

What an amazing view with the Aspen trees.

We ran the trail in my stock 4Runner SR5, there were some pretty severely rutted areas toward the far end of the trail. Just for fun I tried driving in 4-hi with traction control off, I lost traction pretty quickly and was unable to get going. I put it in 4-low and turned on ATRAC and was able to drive right through without any hiccups. We didn't scrape anywhere on the trail until we were turning onto the main road, I saw a car coming so I took it a little quick and scraped my front air dam. I thought that was pretty ironic. There was some great scenery today with the fall foliage.

The leaves in potions of this trail are really starting to turn and look great. Ran this in two lifted T4Rs. Explored almost every trail and offshoot we could find. Would recommend driving down to the spur if you dont mind some offcamber sections. 4WD is required to complete the loop if you follow the waypoints. One rut in the climb between 7 & 8 required a bit of a bump to get over as the trail has been rutted and we dont have lockers.

Did the whole loop, the trail is pretty narrow with only a few places to pass. Very scenic camping is dispersed throughout the trail.

What a fun trail - has everything to test out the capabilities of a stock capable rig without much risk involved. Having low range is helpful, especially at this altitude, for maintaining momentum without having to crash over the rocks and roots. A mix of everything, from ascents filled with wheel drops to flex the suspension and test out the traction control (for those without rear lockers) to steep descents with deep wheel drops that show the benefits of hill-descent control systems (again, for those without lockers). Size-wise, anything wider than ~76 will likely catch many branches along the trail and some side sections might be too narrow for full-size Raptors and Power Wagons. Overall, it's a relatively smooth trail with terrain that can be as challenging as you want to make it. Stock 2009 LR Range Rover Sport (center-lock-only) with Duratracs.

Fun loop. Not too difficult, but a couple technical spots with some nice views of Mt Evans. Did it in a stock 2008 FJ Cruiser.

took stock 2012 Sahara wrangler and was just fine. definitely bumpy with all the rocks and ruts, but some good views. had to back up a few times to find a spot to pull over for other vehicles and it was tight, but got by. was in 4H the whole time.

Great trail. Could easily bring stock 4x4's if you know what you're doing. Brought up my stock, and I mean bone stock, 2000 Jimmy and it killed the trail with a few placed rocks here and there. The trail is extremely rutted out and the farther you go into the valley the worse it gets. Make sure you have the experience or a capable vehicle!

Lots of fun! Ran with my 98 Grand Cherokee, 2.5" lift and worn 29" tires and it ate up everything the trail had to offer; we tried to hit every branch we could find, which took about 3 hours. One particular section has a very steep, rocky hill, which we ended-up going downhill on, but going slowly and taking it as easily as possible, we didn't have any hits on the skids or diffs. I did end-up coming home with some new pinstripes, however.

Ran this today in a stock 5th gen 4Runner. This trail was quite difficult and narrow enough in spots that I was not able to avoid pinstriping. Between waypoint 6 - waypoint 7 is where it is most narrow and there are very few spots for passing. This is where it was narrow enough to not avoid pinstriping due to how grown in it is now. Waypoint 7 - Waypoint 10 was the most difficult part of the trail where it was very rutted in spots and was often 3 wheeling with the locker engaged, but still in 4 high. Lines had to be picked carefully here for stock height. I am not sure if this was recently rutted or out this bad or not. The trail overall was fun, but was more than I was wanting to do in stock form. Waypoint 7 was a great camping spot which is what is pictured below.

Ran half of the trail in reverse from outline above. Some rutted areas between waypoints 7, 8, and 9. My wheeling partner was running a bone stock Jeep Sport on 29's. We were about halfway between waypoints 8 and 7 and decided to turn back due to a few ruts that were a little too deep on the downhill. It was officially the second day of summer and there was a passing snow squall. Nothing stuck to the ground, and honestly, it wasn't even snowflakes. It was more like mini dippin dots falling from the sky. Kinda cool to watch. We came across at least 8 other vehicles and one camper while on the trail. It's a good run in the woods mostly. Some views. Fun trek and would do it again.

Trail is dry, snow-free and in summer condition.

incredible wild flowers.

Spoke to Clear Creek Ranger District today and they said the gates for this trail were opened on 6/15. Conditions are wet, but minimal snow.

As of now, this road is still closed.

Went up to view a comet and meteor shower late on the night of the 15th into the 16th. Only went to waypoint 6, but gate was open and trail wasn’t too bad. Parts were just plain dry but there were some sections in the shade that had snow/small patches of ice. Not sure how the loop looked but the meadow was completely dry.

Just completed this track today. There is some snow on the shady sides of the mountain and it is fairly muddy and slick. A few challenging climbs on the second half of the track between waypoints 7 and 10 as the mud and snow add difficulty. Really a fun drive and seems like there are plenty of decent camping spots. I'd love to come back in the summer and try it when it is dry and get a night of camping in.

There was a good 4-6" of snow over the whole area.

I hadn't been there in a long time. Last time was with a Ram 1500 truck. This time Jeep Grand Cherokee. The trees are plenty and everything was green!

Devil’s Canyon is open for the season.

The Forest Service is still listing this trail as "seasonally closed". Will update upon verification.

Maybe it was just the fact that there was an inch or two of snow, but this trail was much harder than I expected. I don't have an extremely capable vehicle (stock Cherokee KL Trailhawk), but I have done a bunch of trails that were rated a 3, and this seemed more difficult than any of them by a decent margin. It's only a few spots, but like a review below says, I think the full loop should be rated higher for sure. Also, it's likely just grown in over time, but the trail is quite narrow in spots. Nothing that is impassable, but be prepared for some new pinstripes, especially with a full size vehicle.

Mostly snow covered until you get up top. Sun-exposed areas of the trail were void of snow. The loop had not been fully traveled in the clockwise direction; there were tracks leading into the loop in the counter-clockwise direction (didn't travel far enough to see where they stopped). Only one set of fresh tracks up the hill between points 12 and 13. The spur at point 4 had not been traveled recently/no tracks in the snow. The warmer weather will keep the climb into the area passable; once it gets cold and stays cold, I suspect it will be icy from the compacted snow. That first switchback/hairpin turn heading in, where there's almost always water trickling onto the trail, was building up the ice.

Just scouted this trail and stayed the night. Very open, great spots to camp, some more secluded then others, several great spots with epic views. Very few people, could be the cold as setting in but did meet a few people who have stayed the night a few times and noted some areas can be more exposed to wind and rain. Overall very easy 2-3 trail, only one semi tough spot, easy loop.

Ran this trail yesterday in my '14 Tacoma OR with 32" tires and 3" lift. Overall, a great fun trail that is more or less easy (2-3) throughout the majority of the trail. Didnt see many other people out, but that could have been because it was a sunday afternoon and everyone had already gone home. Lots and lots of dispersed camping as in the description, seems like a great place to camp on the weekends. Very pretty trail, though not as secluded as some of the others around. However there was one spot on the trail (just before marker #7 going clockwise) that I would consider a 6-7 difficulty. I feel lucky I made it through with no damage. Easily uphill at 30 degrees with rocks and ruts around and above "12. Careful tire placement mandatory! Overall the trail is closer to a 3, but this one spot (no longer than 100 yards) presents a difficult challenge. Can easily be avoided by going counter-clockwise and turning around.