About this event
2023 Fall Colors Off-road Tour
DATE: Saturday, October 7, 2023
TIME: 8:15 AM BE ON TIME. Drivers meeting at 8:45. First Depart at 9 AM
LOCATION: King Soopers
25637 Conifer Rd
Conifer, CO 80433
REGISTRATION FEES: $25 per vehicle
Our tour starts in Conifer CO. We start from the King Soopers in Conifer where there are bathrooms, and a Starbucks. But you may have to get on the road a bit early if you are coming from the metro area, as we plan on starting the tour at 9am. (see schedule below)
Situated just west of the Tarryall Reservoir in Park County, you will find Eagle Rock, one of our destinations for this tour. Like many parts of Colorado, the Tarryall area is rich in mining history. The original town of Tarryall was near Jefferson CO. and was home to many miners looking for new gold mining opportunities in the area. The Tarryall region was named by miners when gold was discovered in the creek bed back in 1859, and it seemed like a good place to stay for a while. Gold nuggets were fairly plentiful all along the creek, and most the size of large peas. Gold miners who reached the area later and found it already claimed nicknamed the area “Grab-all”, as the first group of miners was extremely possessive of the rich gold strike they’d found. The latecomers actually moved further on to settle in the Fairplay area, obviously so named as a dig at the Tarryall mining crews.
The Tarryall area is now mostly known for cattle ranching in the area and the reservoir that created fishing and wildlife habitats. The dam that created the reservoir was built between 1929 and 1931. The water from the reservoir was originally intended to be used as a fish hatchery, remnants of which can still be seen today. The reservoir is located right along Tarryall Road, which is the center of the 27,861-acre Tarryall Rural Historic District.
Our tour will take us around the Eagle Rock and Baker mountains with an easy two-track, scenic drive while enjoying the beauty of the area and hopefully fall colors.
From there, we will head south toward Lake George and Florissant. We will end our tour at the Iron Tree Restaurant & Funky Town Brewery – A cozy atmosphere, welcoming staff, and delicious food make this brewpub a great stop. They make most of their sauces, including a very tasty ketchup, breads, beers, and desserts in-house so it’s perfect if you’re craving a home-cooked meal. Lunch is not included in the tour, but we highly recommend it. Feel free to skip lunch and choose another place to dine. Please note, the section between Tarryall Reservoir and our destination will be our lonest segment without any established bathroom breaks (unless you find a tree). Expect close to 2 hours between bathroom breaks.
After lunch, you might want to explore the Florissant Fossil Beds just south of town, or venture over to Eleven Mile Canyon where you might get a glimpse of various waterfowl in the canyon. The canyon also has a couple of old railroad tunnels to drive through and the canyon is very scenic and peaceful. There is a small fee to enter the canyon.
Or if you want to try your gambling luck, head over to the Cripple Creek gambling district for a game of poker or slots. Cripple Creek is about 25 minutes to the south. There is more to do in Cripple Creek than gambling, check out those attractions as well.
If you want a scenic return back to the Denver area and do more off-roads, consider taking forest road 211 in the pike national forest towards Cheeseman reservoir. It is a beautiful newly smoothed out dirt road which passes through grand valleys and a big part of the Hayman burn area. It ends at county road 126 just west of Deckers. Cr126 goes up towards hwy 285 at Confer for a nice loop back to the start.
We are collecting money for the Wounded Warrior Project. For more information visit the website:
Wounded Warrior Project please donate generously.
Important Details:
- For member’s children under the age of 18, a minor liability waiver form must be printed in color and signed by a parent(s) or legal guardian(s). The minor liability waiver form is available at: rmr.pca.org/files/event_chairs_2018/Minor_and_Parent_Form-WAIVER-PCA2009.pdf.
- For all passengers in your vehicle, a PCA Insurance waiver must be submitted. Use the link below: Over age 18 PCA Event Waiver
When you check in at 8:15 AM you will be assigned to a run group and given a colored dot sticker to place on the upper driver’s side of your windshield, signifying which run group you will be driving in during our tour.
Co-chairs – Shaun Seela shaun@ssmail.us & Christopher Shealy shealy.christopher@gmail.com