Bettyboop10

Will the unpaved part of the Phantom Canyon Road be passable now? We will most likely be in that area around the 1st of April and driving a rental Ford Escape (or similar). One thing I read said when it is wet it should be avoided. How wet is wet?

Thanks for your advice. We will be staying in Colorado Springs and only traveling south.

janisj

I don't know if the road is passable or not -- maybe someone else will . . .

However most rental contracts prohibit taking the vehicles on unpaved roads.

Nelson

The CDOT site says the road is dry right now:
http://www.cotrip.org/roadConditions.htm

Change the display of "All" roads to "CO 67". No one knows what it will be like next month.

But janisj does have a point about the rental contract. May want to look into that before taking the risk.

fmpden

The issue is taking rental cars, especially four wheel drive SUVs, off-road. As long as it is on a state or county maintained gravel road, you can drive on it. Phanton Canyon Road is well maintained and follows an old railroad bed so it would not be consider off-road. If dry, you would have no problem. However, it does get as high as 9,500 ft. which means snow. My GUESS is that the road would not be available on April 1 simply because we have had so much snow in the mountains this year. Save it for you next summer trip to Colorado. Not sure where you can get up-to-date info on the road status.

Nelson

P.S. That might not have been the correct part of CO 67, shown on the CDOT site, you may want to double check that.

But it's a good site to have at hand if you will be driving around Colorado in April.

janisj

fmoden: they just need to make sure. I have seen rental contracts that specifically prohibit driving on any unsaved roads -- not just off road.

Bettyboop10

We will take all of your advice and check with the rental company. I appreciate the information on the web link and will keep checking back.

Thanks to all. Certainly will be receptive to any new info you get.