RM Off
Road Series (ORS) #5: Rampart Range Rd./Balanced Rock Rd./Mt.
Herman Rd.
This cache is the tenth 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
You will reach
this cache after you start on your way down Mt. Herman Road toward
Monument. To get to this
cache, you will have to either drive on the side trail that starts
at N39 04.167 W104 57.629 or park there and hike a short distance
to the cache. The side trail is a little adventurous to drive
on which is evident by damaged bumper that is sitting near the
start of the trail. Don't try to drive it unless you have low
range 4WD and good ground clearance. From the cache site, you
have a good view of the boulder valley below.
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).
Additional Waypoints
W1YH66 - Start of Side Trail
N 39° 04.167 W 104° 57.629
RM ORS #05-10: Boulder Valley
| Difficulty: 
| Terrain: 
Boulder Valley
10