Chinaman Gulch Trail

Chinaman Gulch cuts through Colorado’s mining heartland, where prospectors once hauled fortune-seeking dreams up impossible grades to reach the California Gulch diggings. The trail starts innocently enough from Highway 91 south of Leadville, but quickly turns nasty as it climbs the eastern flank of the Mosquito Range. You’ll navigate loose shale shelf roads with no guardrails and thousand-foot drop-offs, passing rusted mining equipment and collapsed cabins that tell the story of boom-and-bust cycles. The notorious Devil’s Elbow switchback at mile 7 separates pretenders from the real deal — it’s a hard left turn on a narrow shelf with rocks jutting into your line.

This is solid intermediate territory requiring decent ground clearance and aggressive tires. Stock trucks will struggle on the loose rock sections above treeline. Best tackled June through September when snow clears, though afternoon thunderstorms can turn the shelf roads into skating rinks. No permits needed, but fuel up in Leadville and carry recovery gear. The payoff is unfiltered high country solitude and some of the finest fourteener views in Colorado — if you can handle the exposure getting there.