RM ORS #05-04 Aspen Valley

RM Off Road Series (ORS) #5: Rampart Range Rd./Balanced Rock Rd./Mt. Herman Rd.

This cache is the fourth of eleven in my #5 series of off-road caches located along the Rampart Range/Mt. Herman route. This route runs about 36 miles from Garden of the Gods ending in Monument with a 7 mile side trip to Balanced Rock.

Cache Information
This cache was originally the Giant Boulder cache but it got muggled and the area has become a trash pit so I placed a new cache, changing the location. To get to this cache, park on Rampart Range Road near the coordinates and take the short walk to the cache. On your way to the cache, you will see a view of Pikes Peak just above a grove of small aspen trees.

RM Off Road Series #5 Complete Cache Listing (South to North)

1.   Pikes Big View
2.   Nice Point of View
3.   WOW!
4.   Above the Aspens
5.   Pikes Peak-A-Boo
6.   Lone Rock
7.   Sea of Trees
8.   Balanced Rock
9.   Granite Overlook
10. Boulder Valley
11. Sentry

Trail Information

Rating/Description
The Rampart Range Road and Mt. Herman Road portions of this route are rated easy and can be done in almost any vehicle with decent ground clearance although an SUV, Truck or other off road vehicle is recommended. There are sections of the trail that have minor erosion and Mt. Herman Road has some rocks. If you decide to take the side trip to get the three caches up Balanced Rock Road, you will need better ground clearance and may want to have 4WD because the road is badly rutted. Disclaimer: You need to decide for yourself if it is safe to make the trip in your vehicle. Also note that rain and snow can change the road conditions considerably making it unsuitable for less equipped vehicles.

The trail starts just inside Garden of the Gods off of route 24 from Colorado Springs. From there, you will stay on the wide easy Rampart Range Road until you cross Mt. Herman Road. From there, you can either take Mt. Herman Road down to Monument, or keep going and turn on Balanced Rock Road. If you do the Balanced Rock Road portion, you will backtrack to Mt. Herman Road and take it down to Monument.

Winter Months
This trail should be open in the winter, weather and snow conditions permitting. I made this run around Christmas time last year and with the exception of a few icy sections, it was no problem.

Time/Distance
The Rampart Range and Mt. Herman portions of the trail are approximately 36 miles and should take about 3 to 5 hours driving time. The round trip to Balanced Rock from the Rampart Range/Mt. Herman intersection is 7 miles and should take about 1 hour. You will also need to include time for finding the caches, exploring, sight seeing, lunch, etc.

Trail Waypoints
See waypoint list on the Pikes Big View cache (the first in this series).