Officially called Virginia Canyon Road, the Oh-my-God Road connects Idaho Springs to Central City, although the road can be run in either direction. It is a steep, winding, scenic shelf road with plenty of hairpin turns and few guardrails earning it its nickname. Built to connect these two major mining centers, Virginia Canyon Road displays many remnants of the region’s rich mining heritage. Tailing piles dot the hillsides, their red-brown dirt contrasting with the deep green of the pine forest. Perhaps the climax of this mining history is the historic ghost town of Russel Gulch. Many of the town’s largest and most significant buildings are still standing along with many residences, some of which are still occupied.
Trail Difficulty and Assessment
Exclusive for our All-Access Members
Easily identify whether the trail is stock friendly
or not.
View 14 specific concerns along the trail such as
height and width restrictions.
Upgrade from free to our All-Access Membership and get
every detail, waypoint, photo, and more on every single
trail guide.
When you are an All-Access member, our trail guides
come with a short video of the author running the trail
to give you a visual understanding of what to expect.
From Denver, take I-70 west to the second Idaho Springs exit, 240. Turn right (north) on 13th Ave for three blocks, then turn right (east) on Colorado Boulevard. Continue for .2 miles until the road veers to the right, stay left on Placer St. and follow the sign to Virginia Canyon Road.
The views are nice and a car could easily drive this route. The road is maintained at a good width for full size vehicles, with room to pass in many areas, and paved at the highest point. It should probably be renamed to 'Well, that wasn't too bad' trail.
I realize when I post a review I’m admitting that I’ve run this, intentionally, but it is fun, provides great views and gives you an idea what it took to make a living 150 years ago. Could be run in a Corvette if you had to, but gets you access to many non-Corvette trails. I’d give this a trail rating of 0.5 if there was such a thing, your average ski-area parking lot has more texture, but let’s round it up to a 1.
essentially an unpaved county mountain road. super dusty and you'll want to roll your windows up any time you pass or trail another vehicle. there's a great climb in vertical, from start to finish and some cool mining remnants to see on the way. great views every direction, once you're high up. this is a good road to take your off-road averse, city-slicker family & friends on, who might be scared of more adventurous trails.
Graded gravel road in good condition. Anything could drive this unless there were adverse conditions. Fun way to get between Idaho Springs and Central City.
Legitimately just a well-maintained dirt & gravel road (that even has a seemingly random 1 mile section of asphalt in the middle of it). Hadn’t taken it top to bottom in quite some time and I’d forgotten that that’s definitely the direction to go for views and thrilling your passengers. Really nice to run it just after some light rains had rolled through as it virtually eliminated dust from opposing traffic (which you should absolutely expect, especially on weekends.)
This is a great dirt road to take with the family with some nice views. There was some snow on the shady parts of the trail, but nothing severe enough to need anything more than a 2wd car.
Don't get fooled by the name: The Oh-My-God Road isn't scary at all. The road is well plowed in winter, therefore it is in no way a challenging drive. Every 2wd car with decent all-season tires could do the trail. The draw of this road, however, are the stunning views and the rich history you see along the way – the most important being the old mining structures and the "ghost" town Russel Gulch.
After finishing the trail you pretty much end up directly in Central City which is close to a bunch of other trails.
Fun track through Idaho Springs. Did this after South Spring Gulch. Mostly dirt, some pavement. Some snow and ice on the road but not much. Air down if you want but not too much because you will be on paved roads for some time.
Beautiful drive up this mellow but bumpy dirt road. Views of Mt Evans and it's subordinate peaks in the distance. Tons of mining and ghost town history along this route. Be sure to check out the spurs for an up close experience of the old structures and abandoned equipment. Awesome alternative from the highway to Central City.
Trail is dry and in good shape for a dirt road. The sheer number of mines and tailings is pretty awesome even if the trail isn't all that entertaining. Connect it with the other copious trails around and you'll get a bit of history and views along with more fun offroading,
Very easy scenic drive that covers a lot of mining history and ruins. I wouldn’t really consider this an off road trail. It is just a dirt shelf road that passes many old mines. It’s a fun way to get up or down from Idaho Springs to Central City/Blackhawk area. Any 2WD passenger car can travel this road.
Absolutely beautiful trail with amazing views from the shelf road. Took this from Central City down to Idaho Springs and this will definitely be the trail I take visitors on to see how beautiful this state is without anything to sketchy for new riders.
Great little road over to Central City from Idaho Springs. Road is in good shape and no issues today. Ran into quite a few bikers and hikers bot road is wide and easy to share. Has some very nice views and a few mines as well which is fun with the kids.
Stage 3 fire restrictions have been lifted as of 6am, 11/10/20. The forest is no longer fully closed. Areas within fire perimeters remain closed. See closure maps here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/arp/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD844558
Expect winter conditions on trails. Some trails may be impassable due to snow.
Due to extreme fire danger the Ntional 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
I rated this one a four because there’s some value in it’s easy difficulty for beginners. The trail’s highlights are the old mining structures and buildings. But there are a few pretty sweet views to be had also. It’s proximity to Denver is also a plus. Very wide and dry. Good for a family morning ride.
Took my young sons out for their first off road, granted this is an easy one but it was perfect for their age, and the views were spectacular!! Lots of abandoned mines and old buildings. Was surprised to see the paved road in the middle, seemed random. This connects you from I-70 to central city and other roads.
Great beginner off-road trail that provides some pretty sweet views. There are a few old mining structures, and you've got a great view of Idaho Springs on the way up (I took it from Idaho Springs to Central City). It's mostly packed dirt/gravel, with a few small areas that are actually paved. It's probably considered very easy in terms of technical off-roading.
Just south of Central City you pass by a tiny town with some cool buildings (some habited, some abandoned).
Very short trail, but you do get to see a bunch of old cool mining structures. I would recommend going down Pewabic road a little bit. I used this trail to go from Idaho Springs to Central City. I then used Central City parkway to pick up some spectacular, although paved views on the way back to I70 Denver.
Rode the trail this morning early! The air was chili and the sunlight spectacular! It's a very easy ride! Saw no one on the trail and forgot to take some photos!
This definitely a road and not a trail but its also a right of passage for people who just moved to the area. Its best features are the views but also it is an easy way to connect to various trails in Idaho Springs and Central City.
Nice day with nothing special to report. The road appears more paved than before and there is a lot of new asphalt.
From the Community
Exclusive for our All-Access Members
Ask the author of a trail guide any questions you may have and
get a direct answer from the author and the community! One of
the many perks that come with an All-Access Membership.
Bill is an off-road enthusiast with nearly 30 years of 'wheeling experience. At one time he had a streak of about 20 years of 4-wheeling at least once a month. He likes anything from easy, dirt roads to difficult trails but stops short of extreme. Over the years he has traveled over 700 different trails, mostly in Colorado and Utah. He loves finding and exploring new areas and sharing his knowledge with others. He has been the coordinator of Calvary 4-Wheelers for many years.
By clicking "ACCEPT", you agree to be the terms and conditions of each
policy linked to above. You also agree to the storing of cookies on
your device to facilitate the operation and functionality of our site,
enhance and customize your user experience, and to analyze how our
site is used.