Phantom Canyon

Cañon City, Colorado (Fremont County)

Last Updated: 03/21/2021

5 / 5 ( 16 reviews )

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Information

Nearby Trails

Status:	Open
Typically Open:	Year Round
Length:	24.77 miles
Highest Elevation:	9743 feet
Duration:	About 2 hours
Shape of Trail:	Straight Through
Best Direction to Travel:	N/A
Nearest Town:	Cañon City
Nearest Town w/ Services:	Cañon City
Official Road Name:	67, 86
Management Agency:	Bureau of Land Management
District:	Royal Gorge Field Office

Highlights

Remember the feeling of getting of being a kid while into the log ride at the theme park slowly floating through the scenes of an old ghost town in the southwest? Recapture that feeling by taking this historic gold route through Phantom Canyon which is part of the Gold Belt Byway. The road was initially built in 1892 to connect the nearby town Florence to the gold mines. However, a little over a year later, the road was converted into a narrow-gauge railroad that carried a myriad of items from mining supplies and up to 1300 tons of gold ore every day. Phantom Canyon has its fair share of fatal history, and there are even claims of hauntings along the trail. In 1895, the town along Eighmile Creek, Adelaide, was wiped out during a flood and record books indicate that a train went careening off the tracks in 1901, killing the engineer and injuring another. Even modern drivers have been unable to avoid this curse as deaths have been recorded as late as 2018. Don't miss this storied road along the beautifully scenic part of the Gold Belt Byway.

Video

Route Information

Technical Rating

( EASY )

Waypoints

1. Trailhead Where Pavement Ends (0 mi)

The trailhead starts 5 miles from US-50. This area has a small parking area where a few vehicles can stop before heading into the canyon.

Directions to Trailhead

Starting Point: Canon City, Colorado

Take US-50 E-/Royal Gorge Blvd east for 6.4 miles to Phantom Canyon Road (Paved), turn left. Take the paved portion of Phantom Canyon for 5 miles to the trailhead.

Camping

Dispersed

Trail Reviews (21)

Author:	Jonathan Suitter
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	09/08/2021
Rating:

Great dirt road down from Victor and Cripple Creek areas. Have traveled this road twice now and its a great way to experience some history and views while staying off the asphalt. Love the wooden bridges along route and the tunnel. easily traveled in any vehicle. Grading and smoothing was being completed at the time of my travel last week. 8/30/2021. Well maintained.

Author:	Kevin
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	09/06/2021
Rating:

It's a dirt road. We let our daughter drive the entire road. Great learning for a permit driver.

Author:	Jessica H
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	06/06/2021
Rating:

After a bit of a detour trying access the road (bridge was closed for repair) we got into the canyon around 8am. It was cool but quiet and just beautiful. I really expected more of an arid environment but it was lush, green, lots of wildflowers and water in the creek. We really enjoyed the scenery, rock tunnels and bridges. Definitely want to return and try and snag one of those camping spots near the creek! This was our weekend to explore parts of Colorado we hadn't been too before and we weren't disappointed with any of our choices. The road was easy, well maintained and scenery couldn't be beat!

Author:	Kristina & Raine
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	03/27/2021
Rating:

Beautiful! We really enjoyed this trail & its incredible scenery! Easy to traverse, virtually no snow right now, and what’s there is hard packed & easy to drive on. To see more photos & follow along on our other adventures, check out @ReachesofRaine on Instagram!

Author:	JD Marshall Official Crew
Social Media:
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	03/21/2021

This trail is open, however, CAUTION. Colorado weather is unpredictable this time of year and there may be the occasional fresh snow fall or mud and melting snow. This trail is in an area of the state where snowfall levels have dropped for the season and the majority of the trails are dry, muddy and/or only have a small bit of snow on them. Again, please use caution if traveling on these trails until the dryer season.

Author:	Neal A. Tew
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	02/20/2021
Rating:

THIS ROAD IS MAINTAINED BY FREMONT COUNTY ROAD AND BRIDGE DEPARTMENT.

Author:	JD Marshall Official Crew
Social Media:
Status:	Impassable
Offroaded on:	01/01/2021

This trail is at a high altitude within the state of Colorado and has limited maintainence. As such, this trail should be considering impassable until spring.

Author:	Aaron Phillips
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	09/05/2020
Rating:

Did this trail on Labor Day weekend in the Grand Cherokee that we’ve owned for about 4 days. Pleasantly surprised as to how well it did on this not very hard trail. We did the entire loop of Phantom Canyon, Shelf Road, Seep Springs and County Road 69 from Canon City out to Victor and Cripple Creek and back to Canon City again. Love the scenic trails.

Author:	Rich Brunnworth
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	08/21/2020
Rating:

Ran up the canyon today. Nothing unusual, just a gent with a Tahoe and a flat tire. Stopped to help him, then continued on up the canyon. The weather was clear, a little dusty, being in the canyon there was little smoke from the wildfires. The road was typical, washboard in a couple of places but overall a nice easy drive. A few people camped but there were still plenty of spots left to choose from.

Author:	Steve Harner
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	08/07/2020
Rating:

Drove today with my son. A couple of larger rocks on the east side of the road. Nothing a stock 4x4 can’t handle. A couple of the narrower sections of the trail can be risky if cars are coming the opposite direction. Overall one of my favorite drives in Colorado.

Author:	Brent Vickery
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	05/03/2020
Rating:

Pretty Sunday drive. A fair amount of traffic both ways. We started in canyon city end. Absolutely love the many varied canyons on this road. A lot of dry campers along the creek. Beautiful day with just enough breeze to clear the dust. Everyone was courteous and let faster traffic pass.

Author:	Jeremy Wynia
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	04/26/2020
Rating:

Nice Sunday drive. Took the family out and wet camped closer to the Canon City end of the road. It was absolutely prefect. Nice weather, a perfect camp site that had no one in it. I think this had to go with the extremely rutted entry to this particular spot and then a petty rocky drop to 3 lower camp spots. You need some ground clearance to make it down to the camping spots. Camped right on the creek in a spot with some nice trees and a large grassy spot to pitch the kids tent and a large level spot to park the truck for the RTT. The roads were petty much all clear and free of snow. The canyon is absolute beautiful. Will certainly do it again.

Author:	Mike
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	03/08/2020

Drove the canyon with my kids on Sunday, March 8, 2020. Fun, mellow, scenic drive. Little bit of snow and ice in the shadows and on the upper portion of the road. Loved the tunnels and bridges. Quite a few people camping in the lower portion of the canyon. Will drive it again in the fall.

Author:	Bruce D McFarland
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	02/08/2020

Fresh snow, but passable. Was stating to melt, and getting very slushy

Author:	JD Marshall Official Crew
Social Media:
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	08/16/2019
Rating:

Jen and I went out to do a major overhaul on this trail guide and Jen LOVED it. She's a big fan of canyons and landscape features along the trail and this didn't disappoint. We stopped and had lunch at the Dunneville rest stop and waited for a large storm to move past us in the afternoon. The scenery is fun to see on this trail, but the cool stuff to look at is right in front of you here around the trail itself.

Author:	Tracy Barker Official Crew
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	02/22/2019
Rating:

I drove Phantom Canyon Road on Friday, February 22nd. The road had been graded/snow plowed, so there was little snow on the road itself (most in spots shaded by mountains or trees). This is a beautiful drive, so take your time and stop frequently to view the panorama.

Author:	Jonathan Warford
Status:	Temporary Closure
Offroaded on:	12/25/2018
Rating:

Between mile 7 and 8, (Heading North), the trial is closed until January 3rd, 2019 for tunnel upkeep

Author:	Larry Webster
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	10/06/2018
Rating:

This is an amazing drive in the fall. The colors are fantastic, and it's 2wd the entire way. there is a nice rest stop area with bathrooms and the tunnels and bridges just add to the amazing views of the canyon.

Author:	Nolan Urban
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	07/04/2018
Rating:

Fun little road, did it in 2WD just dirt/gravel mix. Great camping spots pretty much anywhere you go though there's a few areas where you see "No Trespassing Signs" and then campgrounds as well. We did the trail from Canyon City to the HWY 67 (South to North.) Lots of campers in about the first 2 miles, pretty sparse after that. Creekbeds were dry with the exception of a few places (and those were loaded with trout I didn't have the heart to catch since they're trying to survive the drought) but overall excellent day to be alive and free in 'Merica. Where the red steel bridge is is your indicator that there is amazing photography opportunity (Waypoint 10-12) available with small rocks along the side you should scramble. Thanks for all the information on this little road, I love this site!

Author:	Hosedragger
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	06/24/2018
Rating:

Great Sunday drive for the family when you need to get out of the house and do something. The road was wide open and very accessible, but be aware of on-coming traffic when approaching corners and both of the tunnels. The rock formations are amazing and well worth the drive. Very easy and absolutely non-technical drive that any stock vehicle can do. Most of the vehicles we encountered were minivans from Missouri, good times.

Author:	Tim
Status:	Open
Offroaded on:	10/07/2017

The fall colors were still out but not as vibrant as probably a week earlier. The trail itself is in good shape, lots of traffic with people out to see the fall colors. The trail can be done in just about any type of vehicle the main issues only being washboard sections along the trail. The group I was with, we ran the trail from Victor to Canyon City but it can be ran in either direction. Several narrow areas that you need to watch out for on coming traffic as only one vehicle can get through at a time, especially the two tunnels. Overall a nice trail to run especially in the fall to see the leaves.

Questions & Answers (3)

Q: This road is maintained by the Fremont County Road and Bridge Dept. Calling it IMPASSABLE is inaccurate. Consider a new status option of something like CHECK STATUS or UNKNOWN.

–Neal A. Tew (02/20/2021)

–JD Marshall (02/21/2021)

Q: Talked to the Fremont Sherif and he said it is a county road and was not be legal but you can cross the road. He suggested to ride Penrose Commons, Texas Creek or Sleepy Springs all had lots of trails

–Steven Landgraf (06/09/2019)

–Greg Stokes (06/25/2019)

Q: Is this road open to UTV and is there a area to dump out and leave the rig at the south end? Think Victor has a good place to eat lunch? Or would Shelf road be better?

–Steven Landgraf (06/06/2019)

–Ryan Boudreau (06/07/2019)

Writer Information

JD Marshall

Mapping Crew - Colorado

Jen & JD moved to Colorado from Chicago in May of 2015 for work and brought with them a 2001 stock Jeep Wrangler that had been garage bound for two years. Within a month of arrival, all rusty 170,000 miles of it was shaking on Colorado trails and they've never stopped. As time as gone on, their 2001 TJ had to be traded and a 2015 Jeep JK has been added to the family. JD works as a Systems Engineer for a cable company and Jen runs a business from their home during the week to pay the bills. When the weekend hits, they're almost always hitting the trail. When Sunday night rolls around, the question turns to, 'so what's next week?!'.

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