A Ride with plenty of mining history and a spooky legend.
If you're looking for an incredible ride with a mix of tarmac and gravel, you'll love the endless forest service roads cutting through the mountainscape that stretches between Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek. And if you have an interest in spooky paranormal, you'll especially love everything about Gold Camp Road.
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Gold Camp Road is a dream destination for those looking for a spectacular gravel ride with few cars and some incredible scenery as you climb North Cheyenne Cañon up to the historic, old-west gambling town of Cripple Creek at 9,494 feet. Along the way, you'll pass plenty of abandoned mines and remnants of lively little spots where miners spent their hard-earned gains on booze, gambling and other vices.
You'll also pass seven tunnels, literally carved through the mountainside, and in most cases barely wide enough for a single vehicle. While the collapse of tunnel number 3 has contributed to the reduction in overall vehicular traffic along Gold Camp Road, it's also the source of folklore around this spooky destination.
As legend has it, tunnel number 3 caved in when a school bus collided with with the wall, killing the driver and all of the children aboard. No one is really sure what exactly happened. Were they killed when the tunnel collapsed? Or did they perish after being trapped inside? Either way, it has led to some terrifying paranormal activity in the area.
Stories have it that hikers have reported hearing eery laughter near the tunnel. Dusty cars, able to get close enough to the now fenced-off tunnel opening, have been covered with child-sized handprints. People say they've felt tugging on their clothes and have even claimed to find scratches on their skin with no recollection of abrasive impact during their hike.
These are only a few of the creepy tales that make the Gold Camp Tunnels one of the most haunted places in Colorado.
So, whether you’re feeling bold, or just looking for a beautiful and isolated ride, you'll find Gold Camp Road will check all the boxes of a memorable Colorado ride.
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Words by Tony Kelsey / Photos by Adam Pawlikiewicz
