Gold Camp Road began as the roadbed for the Short Line railroad, a line built in the early 1900s to move ore and passengers between Colorado Springs and the district that's now home to this resort. The rails are long gone, but the route survives as one of the more dramatic drives in this part of Colorado — and one worth understanding before you attempt it.

What Makes It Different From the Standard Route

Most guests drive up via US-24 and CO-67, a paved, plowed, entirely ordinary highway route that takes about an hour from Colorado Springs. Gold Camp Road instead climbs the old rail grade along the side of the mountain, with wide views back toward Pikes Peak and several old railroad tunnels the road passes straight through. It adds roughly fifteen minutes to the drive and takes considerably more attention behind the wheel.

Before You Go

• Significant sections are unpaved, narrow, and cliffside — a vehicle with reasonable ground clearance is recommended, and low-clearance sports cars should skip it.
• The road typically closes with the first heavy snowfall of the season and doesn't reopen until spring thaw is well underway. Check current conditions before you commit to this route between October and May.
• It is not a road to take in the dark on your first trip. Save it for a daylight drive.

We tell first-time guests to take the standard highway route up and save Gold Camp Road for the drive back down, once they've got a feel for the mountain and good daylight to work with.

What You'll See Along the Way

The route passes several of the original railroad tunnels blasted through the mountainside in the early 1900s, along with long stretches of exposed rock face and, on a clear day, views that stretch back toward Colorado Springs and out over the plains to the east. It's a genuinely different experience from the highway route, not just a longer version of the same drive.

A Simple Rule of Thumb

If your schedule has any flexibility and the weather is clear between roughly May and September, Gold Camp Road is worth the extra fifteen minutes for the drive back down after your stay. If you're arriving with a full car, unfamiliar with mountain driving, or visiting outside that window, the standard US-24/ CO-67 route gets you here just as reliably with far less to think about.

Our front desk checks both routes' conditions each morning during shoulder season and can tell you honestly which one makes sense the day you're heading out.