Texas Creek
Trail Map - click on map to view at full size
GPS Coordiantes
38°24'38"N 105°34'57"W
Rating 3-4
Texas Creek is not a difficult trail with any signature obstacles but has some stunning natural scenery and is a lot of fun. From the parking lot at the beginning of the trail to the end of the route on 6040A there is about a 2800 ft. gain in elevation. The 6040 series of trails has some rocks, off camber situations, and a significant increase in elevation that can be easily navigated by a capable high clearance 4WD vehicle.
Directions
From Colorado Springs travel south on Nevada Avenue or Hwy115 to US50. Go West on US50 to Canon City and travel for another 26 miles. Turn to the right just after Barry's Den at Texas Creek. Cross the Arkansas River and the Rail Road tracks to a parking lot on the left which marks the beginning of the trail.
Trail Description
In the 4WD community Texas Creek is known more as an ATV, or motorcylce park than as a 4WD trail. This is probably due to Texas Creek not having any difficult or signature obstacles that imprints in the mind of the 4 Wheeling crowd. In a sense this perception is not fair to a fun location with stunning natural scenery, lots of potential and a true Colorado history. In the Texas Creek Park watch for the big horn sheep herd in the area, the abundance of volcanic rocks or simply enjoy God's incredible creation from the vantage points along the trail.
In the 1880's the area around Texas Creek was the headquarters for the notorious McCoy outlaw bunch and was the site of some hostilities between General Palmer's Denver Rio Grande and the Santa Fe railroads.
Before starting on the trail you will want to air down at the parking lot to minimize the bouncing around you and your passengers will receive due to the abundance of rocks on the trail. From the parking lot head north on the creek bed or FCR27. In less than a mile the FCR27 will veer to the right but you will want to take trail 6040 up a slight rise. FCR27 then becomes a country road that will take you over a small pass and into a valley with a small creek. This branch of FCR27 is really scenic and leads you to the beginning of an ATV trail.
From the slight rise that starts trail 6040 you will continue to drive on a trail that passes many significantly sized boulders, rises approximately 2800 feet in elevation and will eventually lead to a scenic lookout point over the Arkansas river near Table Mountain. There are many scenic stops along the way that you can pull over to take photos.
When traveling in the Texas Creek park be on the watch for motorcycles and ATVs and when appropriate pull over to let them pass. These vehicles travel at a greater rate of speed than our SUVs and it doesn't take them long to pass us.
On the map attached to this webpage stay on the green colored trails, which are designated for 4WD vehicles. If you find yourself on a trail that looks very narrow be sure to check that you haven't accidently turned onto a trail reserved for an ATV or motorcycle.
There are camping locations in Canon City, along the Arkansas River and primitive camping is allowed in the Texas Creek Park as long as you camp more than 100 ft from the trail and 300 ft from any water source.
