Rating - Most Difficult
This is an extremely difficult trail and if you drive a vehicle on this trail you should expect and prepare for vehicle damage. Carnage Canyon is the most difficult trail that the CSC4W club travels. The obstacle at the end of the trail is so difficult that we have to winch even the most modified of the club's vehicles out of the trail.
Directions
From Colorado Springs go west on highway US24 for about 75 miles until it joins US285 in a T intersection. Turn South and go about 11 miles to CR301 and take turn south again. When the CSC4W club travels to Carnage Canyon we will travel just past CR301 to the Gunsmoke Truck Stop where we regroup and then drive back the .5-mile to CR301. From the intersection of US285 and CR301 travel a couple more miles until you see signs warning you that you are on Prison Property. This time you will turn east onto a very narrow passageway between 2 fields. At the end of this passageway you will come upon a large parking lot with the Chinaman's Gulch trail to the left and Carnage Canyon to the right.
Trail Description
Carnage Canyon is a very short trail and is only slightly longer than a mile in length but is so difficult it takes the club several hours to traverse. You will not want to drive this trail unless you are led by a spotter that is very famliar with the obstacles on this trail. Do not confuse this trail with one outside of Boulder with the same name, which is significantly easier. The BV in the name is used to indicate this is the Carnage Canyon Trail outside of Buena Vista.
While the entrance to the trail is very intimidating it is not the most difficult obstacle on the trail. Heed the sign at the beginning of the trail, that your vehicle needs to have at least 35 inch tires, lockers, a winch and a spill capture kit to travel this trail.
The signature obstacle of the trail is a significantly sized v notch that is appropriatley called the Can Opener. If you do not traverse this obstacle correctly a rock will perform a can opener type operation on your vehicle.
By far the most difficult obstacle on this trail is the exit. The exit of the trail used to be a 8 ft sheer rock wall that required all vehicles to be winched out of the trail. This rock wall has been worn down on its right side significantly over the years to the point that now the most radical of the rock buggies can climb the loose dirt and Volkswagen sized boulders out of the trail. Everyone else will still need to winch out of the trail.
Ratings and descriptions provided by FunTreks - used with permission
GPS Coordinates: 38°47'32.1"N 106°05'00.7"W