Lost Canyon

4.6/5 (19 reviews)
Buena Vista, Colorado (Chaffee County)
Last Updated: 05/15/2021

Trail Information

Highlights

Situated in the San Isabel National Forest, halfway between Leadville and Buena Vista, Lost Canyon is a fantastic day drive for any 4wd vehicle. Home to some great primitive camping, this off-road trail delivers some of the best overall views you can find in the area. You can observe multiple, 14,000+ foot peaks on this drive and also gaze down on several of the largest bodies of water in the area including Clear Creek Reservoir, Twin Lakes, Mt Elbert Forebay, and even Turquoise Lake. During the fall, this trail provides spectacular aspen viewing because of the plethora of Aspen all along the trail. If scenery really isn't your thing, try your luck at gold panning and hope to strike it rich in the popular Cache Creek.

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

4.6/5 (19)
300
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 09/30/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

Nice drive through the aspens until we got to Waypoint 5 and there is a Road Closed sign and an old military vehicle parked in the middle of the trail. You can get around it and it looked like people had been proceeding past it but we turned around there. Decided we didn't want to get shot by whoever owns the militia compound at Waypoint 5. Update: After reviewing the MVUM we decided to go back up and past Waypoint 5. Definitely stay right at Waypoint 7 as there is a chain across the road to the left. There is no dangerous washout on the road to the right. Looks like it has been repaired. Stunning views at the top. Don't let the grouch at Waypoint 5 scare you.
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 07/19/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

First time on this trail and thought it was nice. You no longer need to stay right at waypoint 7. You can now follow the actual road and avoid the off camber washout. As Patrick mentioned below, it’s evident the nearby property owner had the road illegally blocked before, but now the obstructions are gone. You will see a small berm this person built across the trail and a road closed sign on your way down at waypoint 9 but these attempts to close the road are invalid. Saw no less than 30 mountain bikers (on a Tuesday), and there are plenty of blind corners so watch out and take it slow downhill.
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 06/14/2022

Nice easy trail all the way up. We were delayed coming down by a fallen aspen tree. Glad my hubby had tools and winch😉
Open
Rated 4/5
Visited: 07/03/2021

We ran a Recon run of this 7/3/2021 for upcoming Mile Hi Jeep Club Event All4fun July 30th to Aug 7th. The trail can be done without 4x4 the rateing was setup before they closed the best parts of this trail. The veiws are still spectacular and it is worth running but trail can be done in and hour or two with stopping for pictures and lunch. I rated this a four star trail from the views alone. The trail would make a great greenhorn run for beginners to get their jeeps dirty.....
850
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 06/19/2021

Trail is open all the way to waypoint 9 where there are posted signs that say no motorized vehicles beyond this point.

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