Shelf Road

I drove Shelf Road from Cripple Creek south to Canon City on Sunday, February 26th. The road has mixed conditions--dry, mud, and snow in different segments depending upon how much direct sunlight a segment gets. Overall, the conditions are good, and the canyon views make this drive worthwhile.

After a snowy and cold January was looking forward to good weather this weekend and was wanting to take some scenic roads that I wasn't going to have to worry about getting stuck on as we were going solo. The only danger or concern with this road are the people that were driving like they were late to work and going around blind turns way faster than they should have. For the most part though we saw very few people and kept it in 2wd the entire time. There was a fresh rock slide around mile 12 on the shelf road but shouldn't stop anyone as there was enough room to avoid it. Very minimal ice, which was thin and melting (for now) and shouldn't deter anyone from the trail. Combining this with Skyline Drive in Canon City & Phantom Canyon Road makes for a full day of easy trails and a nice loop back to Cripple Creek when the roads and weather are nice.

Trail is open and in good shape. There are some icy spots in the shade. An old 2x4 F-150 on bald tires was stuck at the bottom of one icy hill. For us with with good winter tires the hill was no issue even in 2-HI. We saw a few AWD crossovers making it through just fine. Overall, a great easy trail and one of the limited scenic roads that’s open this time of year.

First trail run of '23 and a nice little historic mine trail to start off with. Definitely nothing challenging and a great Sunday drive, easily done by a 2WD car. Weren't sure if the trail would be impacted with snow but no issues at all, most of it is completely dry with a few areas in the shade that still have some well packed snow but nothing that caused any traction issues. Note, it was starting to snow last night as we left some other trails in the area so conditions could be slightly different after that weather event.

First trail drive from Trail Off-road! Great morning driving. Perfect windows down weather. Views were amazing. Road was good, dry, easy for my F150.

Nice easy drive through some old gold mine ruins. Some camping spots long the way too. I imagine a car could do this especially downhill.

I did this going south then went back north via Phantom Creek. Greta views on the way down. This is a very easy route. a small 2wd car could easily do this. Not too many dispersed camp spots. if going North, the passengers might not like the views down the valley/ravine. Some interesting history markers along the route.

For a scenic drive this is a 5 star for sure. Other than some bad washboard areas in the middle of the route, there is nothing hard here. If heights are not your thing then the southern part will get your heart pumping. Overall it was a beautiful drive that took about 1.5 hrs with a couple brief stops to take pictures.

Shelf Road from Cañon City to Cripple Creek, Colorado The road is unpaved and the cliffs in the area offer some of the best sport climbing in the state.Shelf Road is the most adventurous and rugged drive on the Gold Belt Scenic Byway, crossing over limestone cliffs with twists and turns through the area. The road gets its name because it’s carved out of canyon wall and goes up more than 100 feet in some places. Shelf Road is a rough and mountainous but any vehicle can withstand the drive; however, 4 wheel drive vehicles are probably best suited. Camping is allowed in designated areas and the road also provides access to rock climbing areas near the famous Garden Park Fossil Area. Originally, Shelf Road was a stage coach route that delivered goods to and from Cripple Creek and Canon City. It was one of the first roads from the Arkansas Valley into the Cripple Creek Mining District. Drivers along Shelf Road can still see the toll keeper’s cabin at the bottom of the canyon. And much residual from the years of mining.

Road is dry and in good shape. Creek was raging today. The shelf portion is very wide for Colorado standards, but still demands your full attention.

The road is in good condition, but many (most) portions were muddy due to snowmelt and runoff. Some areas in shadows remain snow packed. Use caution approaching the blind curves.

Easy and scenic! The 'shelf' part is not scary. Various blind corners throughout the route. We drove it to get to The Bank.

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.

Road recently plowed and in great shape. THIS ROAD IS MAINTAINED BY FREMONT COUNTY ROAD AND BRIDGE DEPARTMENT. Included as part of a trek from Springs to the Seep Springs OHV area and spent a night on the Bank trail.

Had fantastic views! J/k, did a night run. Was a great drive with very little traffic. Will need to redo during the day though and see what those views are about.

This trail is at a high altitude within the state of Colorado and has no maintainence. As such, this trail should be considering impassable until spring.

This was a nice trail we see why it is called shelf road narrow is some places but all in all a fun afternoon trail. Nothing too hard did it in my stock nissan frontier

Easy trail and great scenery. We went in late summer and the Aspen were changing to yellow. Beautiful. Took a full afternoon after a picnic.

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.

We drove Shelf Road from Cripple Creek for the first time today. This is a beautiful and scenic drive though my wife did not expect the nearly 2 miles of shelf road and the handle of the brace bar was imprinted on her hand. While this trail isn't technical, it is a pretty drive and we combined it with The Bank for a full day.

While this is a very easy road, there can be some icy areas during winter months. Ensure your confidence does not get too high as even when the snow and ice has melted throughout the trail, there can still be some Icy patches in the shade. While on our way back through to cripple creek, we encountered a couple who slid off the road. Luckily they only sustained minor injuries, but their rig was totaled. Remember to be safe out there.

We drove this trail as part of a scenic tour from Colorado Springs to Canon City. We were the only ones on the road and it was BEAUTIFUL! It was the first trail my wife drove and she had fun! Very easy! No sweat for our stock Subaru Outback. The start of the trail is a little confusing as the GPS coordinates and the Xenia St. seem to be in two different places. But the sign for the trail head was visible from the road, and all was good! Advise: Watch the blind curves and take your time. Don't get caught staring at the scenery and missing the next curve!

Was on my way to to work this morning and there was a few rocks in the road on the stretch of the shelf. As I got to the County Line where Four Mile Creek goes under the road, Four Mile Creek was actually going over the road where the concrete is at. With all the heavy rains every night there is a lot of water. There was debris of trees and branches from a heavier flow last week. The water was not very deep and not flowing very fast. The teller County part of Shelf Road does have standing water in some parts of the road. The road is rough and washed out in places. If you you are going up and have to move over due to another vehicle coming down I would advise being very cautious when getting near the edge of the road as it will be very soft with all the rain that we have had. I travel this road everyday to and from work year round.

After a recent rockslide, Freemont County has announced that the road is now open again as of yesterday. Picture Courtesy of Freemont County.

We drove up from Canon City starting about an hour before sunset, and had just enough time to get to Cripple Creek by dusk. Above the beginning of the shelf road, we only met a few other vehicles, all heading down. A couple of cars that had started up ahead of us turned around. There were massive flocks of turkey to be seen in the lower elevations. There's a private residence near the top, above the mine pictured in the guide, and just above the drive to it, there's a shaded uphill section that's muddy from snowmelt, and could still be icy if temperatures are right. Had no issues though; still on winter tires. If you drive up like we did, note that the shelf road from which this route gets its name is on the driver's side of the canyon, which puts the passenger in the sky seat... my copilot is still learning to trust me and the vehicle, so keep that in mind if you have slightly nervous passengers. Great write up, and made for a nice excursion. We'll go back another day when we have more time to stop and explore.