phantom canyon road

This road is almost magical. Many won't risk it because it is not paved and they are worried that their Mercedes S550 might get dirty. It will, and it will also get rattled. So trade it for the Ford Fusion rent car and get after it, you will not be disappointed. You can start from Victor and head South or from Hwy 50 near Florence and go north. I would suggest that you buy a guide book at any local gas station that gives you the mile by mile history. It is an old railroad line that takes you through tunnels and bridges that bend in the middle. It is not one of those Colorado mountain roads that are very steep or that has sheer rock cliffs to fall off of, That would be the "Shelf Road" several miles to the west. This is the tamer of the two and has a lot more forest scenes. It is also the one I would recommend for my grandmother who does not like the way I drive on flat and level paved surfaces. This road washboards most of the year. It is usually rough and dusty. There probably won't be a lot of traffic on the road, but I would take my time around the sharp narrow curves, because the locals seem to think of it as a race track. This is a short road, but it will take you a lot longer than expected to complete it because of the slow speeds. It is worth the trip if you have a camera and a love of nature. Want more excitement, try the Shelf Road.

This road follows the old narrow gauge railroad bed that went to Florence from the mines. It is narrow in a few spots, which tends to scare some. The rise in elevation leads to different forest types which is interesting. The road leads to Victor, which is strange little town. Very old, no amenities and full of modern day gold miners.

Great dirt road drive away from civization, but not beyond the use of a rental car. We proceeded from Cripple Creek via Victor to Canyon during the best of the Fall colors. The drive is quiet lengthy but very enjoyable. There are two interesting tunnels cut through the mountains, much of the drive has narrow turns only wide enough for a single vehicle to proceed, one at a time, so courtesy is a must. I give the phantom Creek road a thumbs up, however I wouldn't bother with charting a course into the area for just this particular drive as Colorado offers much more scenic locations for touring and off paved road adventures.

We drove this yesterday from Canon City to Cripple Creek, it was part of the Gold Belt Scenic Byway. The road is not for the faint of heart, even though traffic goes both ways, there are sections that are only one car wide. Even though it was a Tuesday, there was a lot of traffic on the road but all the drivers were gracious. Also, be aware that there is a 25 foot length limitation and you are on your own during the winter.That being said, it was a really nice trip. The trees were changing color and there were great vistas. Also, as you get closer to Cripple Creek, there are more aspens and therefore more color. The lower area is a different zone, you go from about 5500 feet to 9400 feet. We took a minivan and had no issues, the road is in great condition now. Highly recommended especially in peak season.

This is another winding and narrow dirt track fron Victor Colorado to Canon City, Co or reverse. But it is a beautiful drive and one should not be in a hurry to finish the drive. There are spots to get out and stretch, numerous bridges and gorgeous rock formations rising above the road.

Beautiful view. Go slow and pay attention and you will be fine. Great tunnels, curves, excellent view and thrilling. Make sure to ask locals to see if it is ok to take the road that day and if it is raining, forget it.

This is a nice relaxing drive down a dirt road with scenic views and interesting placards along the way describing the rich history of this road. Be aware of oncoming traffic as the road is narrow in some spots. Also be aware that there may be cattle in the road at times.

Outstanding scenery and keel vistas. This is also a must do drive for railroad buffs as it follows the old Florence and Cripple Creek RR route up the canyon. We drove up in mini-van so most any dependable vehicle can make the drive, though if in "normal" car, do it when weather is dry. When going from south to north, the road is very good dirt/gravel until just past the "high' bridge. (you will pass thru the two tunnels first). Just past the "high bridge", the road is definitely a single lane, with very blind tight curves and some larger washouts, and the very steep, zero shoulder, high drop-offs.....so go slow and look ahead for traffic. It is really the middle 1/3 of the route that has the "worse" conditions. We went on a Friday morning and only met 5 vehicles coming "down" the hill thru the entire 25+ mile route (and luckily none of it on the shelf portion of road just past the "high bridge"). There were two roadside picnic areas with restroom facilities along the route.

This mostly-dirt road from Canon City to the mining town of Victor is absolutely beautiful! It is meant to be savored, and as noted in another review is not a good option if you are in a hurry. The rock formations in the canyon are amazing, the awesome vistas never stop. There are a couple stone tunnels, and numerous places that are too narrow for two-way traffic. Fortunately, there are many well-placed turn-outs that allow cars to pass. The road is well-maintained which makes driving possible in nearly any vehicle--I'd call it four-wheel beauty in a two-wheel-drive car. Highly recommended!

We were told this would be a great drive to do on our way back to Colorado Springs from visiting the Royal Gorge. Yeah... the guy gave us no warning. We just bipped along, in a Prius no less, without realizing the true danger we could have been in. Take heed on the warnings given below in the other reviews. This is no joke. Somehow we survived and got in no trouble. Do not get caught in here anywhere near sundown. Do not venture in here without a full tank of gas. Do not expect to have any cell service. Do not get caught in any kind of precipitation unless you have a four wheel drive. Do not drive fast. You will hit someone head on and/or fall off the road and die.DO explore the wonder of this incredibly beautiful, remote area. It almost looked like a mini-Zion national park if you've ever been there. The beauty is stunning. Just be careful! And I read where someone said if it's been dry the dust is just too much. Somehow we lucked out and did the drive after it had rained some. We didn't experience too much of the dust. It actually started sprinkling on us toward the end of the drive and I was getting nervous. The Prius did ok but it certainly was not made for that road. There is one way in and one way out. Just watch yourself. It's worth it.

We recently took the 27 mile Phantom Canyon Drive from Cannon City, Co. to Cripple Creek, Co.It was a really beautiful drive. I imagine in the fall it is even more beautiful. We stopped to take pictures along the way. The only trouble which occured was when we tried to picnic... the flies cued in on us in a matter of seconds... They were starving, they actually ran us back to our car picnic and all... We passed several cars along the way. Be sure to watch ahead on some of the curves and be cautious so as to not collide with an oncoming car. We tried to watch and let passing cars pass us as we were busy looking. It seemed some local people took this drive as a drive to and from the above cities. I would also, much better than the well traveled roads. I worried before this drive if our suburban was going to be too big. All information I could find on it said don't take large vehicles. We did fine, but for sure no trailers, campers, or towing anything. I also might not take this drive after a big rain, I'm sure the rocks might wash down and possible block the road. This is a nice drive with alot of beauty to see, a wooden bridge and an old rock tunnel to travel thru. It does have a couple of picnic areas and bathrooms along the route. Thanks to trip advisor for the suggestion to travel it. We did see a huge rocked well ? we could not get down to this to see it up close, thought it was really big to be a well but wondered what it was. Enjoy this drive, it is worth the time.

Awesome road!, but do not take it if you are in a hurry, it is supposed to be a shortcut between Canyon City or Pueblo and Cripple Creek and Victor but you get there faster staying on the highways. I would not recommend it when you are runnig out of daylight!

We debated taking this road, as had scant info and couldn't tell which road south from Cripple Creek/Victor was the "Shelf Rd" and if that was the same as Phantom Canyon Rd, etc. Anyway, we took the plunge in mid-June, leaving Victor around 6 pm. It took about two hrs, and I wish I'd had assurance that it wasn't going to be difficult or dangerous, b'c I could have relaxed and enjoyed it more!! Fabulous scenery, well maintained gravel road with typical wash-boarding in most places, but nothing terrible. We drove it in a Volvo station wagon with AWD but any car could do it. Some places are very narrow and you have to white knuckle it worrying if someone's coming 'round the bend. But we wished we'd stopped far more and taken advantage of the remoteness and beauty. Took about two hours going south from Victor to Canon City.

While living in CO - and since, while visiting - we made a point of driving this road every chance we could. Can't wait to do it again!I agree about taking it very slowly and getting OUT OF YOUR CAR OFTEN to LOOK UP!!! It's worth it! The rock formations, the coloration, the flora - and goodness - the fauna - are all delights you simply won't appreciate except by getting out and *being* in this wonderful environment! I'd like to be of help (I hope) here with a few rules we always follow before driving out in any "remote" area; hope these help:YOU MUST REMEMBER:- this is a "remote" area; no to virtually-no cell service. Let someone know where you are going and when you plan to return!!!!!;- pack in the usual CO necessities: 2 extra gallons of H2O per person; food to last 2 days per person; first aid kit; emergency blankets; a shovel; salt/non-clumping kitty litter; LED Alert Light (preferably attached to a hand-crank dynamo/battery setup with weather radio - DO NOT USE "LIVE FIRE" ALERT FLARES IN THE BACK COUNTRY AND IN SUCH DRY CONDITIONS!), etc.- have plenty of backup juice in your camera (s) - and phones, especially if you use them for photography as well!;- plan a picnic lunch and go all out; take your time and enjoy it, and even enjoy the task of cleaning up every last scrap afterward;- definitely take advantage of the info available in Florence / Cañon City regarding the drive - it really enlivens an already-wonderful jaunt;- I'd like to reiterate and expand upon another person's comment that motorhomes and wide-bodied vehicles (including doolie pickup trucks and/or Hummers) are terrible ideas on this road. A) You are very likely to be hit on one of the blind curves, and if not that, then, B) Your vehicle will be either overweight for certain of the bridges and/or too wide to negotiate portions of the RR tunnels. Remember *narrow* gauge is *not* wide (generally, 3'6") and the trains had roughly 1.5 to 2.5 ft overhang on either side. So, at minimum 6'6" and max 8'6" wide plus a little clearance for wiggle. - ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY DO NOT ATTEMPT WITHOUT CHECKING THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR THE DAY!!! AND, CHECK IF POSSIBLE BEFORE YOU ENTER THE CANYON AREA; FLASH FLOODING DEVASTATES THIS ROAD AND FREQUENTLY DISLODGES BOULDERS FROM HIGH ABOVE. The canyon was made by the creek, and the railroad was, finally, done in by a flash flood - this is no joke. We decided to try after a "floody" day, and while the road was basically passable if you knew what you were doing, we barely squeezed by boulders in the middle of the road - while driving a mid-sized car!

This is a scenic mountain drive. The road is gravel / dirt yet one any vehicle is capable of driving. It had rained the night prior so dust was minimal. If you stop in Canon City Visitor Center they have a nice map with added details. Some areas are well marked others are a bit hidden but if you pay attention the road has many little gems to see, hike and explore.