Calendar

This scenic driving tour will depart from Porsche Colorado Springs after a light breakfast. We will head to Twin Lakes for Lunch followed by a breath-taking drive over Independence Pass arriving in Snowmass early in the afternoon. There will be plenty of time to enjoy the Limelight Hotel’s amenities before a welcome reception followed by dinner. On Saturday morning, join us for a half day tour up to Marble with BBQ lunch included. We will be back early afternoon, so everyone has time to relax before heading across the square to the Heritage Fire Event (participants have option of purchasing Heritage Fire Tickets or Dining on their own).  This wonderful multiple hour dining event will conclude the amazing weekend.

For those who have not heard of the Heritage Fire Snowmass Event – here is a short description:  Presented by Cochon555, Heritage Fire is a premiere, whole-animal, nationwide food and wine tour celebrating heritage breed livestock and heirloom produce. The afternoon feast offers an endless array of sustainably sourced food from the region’s top family farms and local purveyors, prepared by some of the region’s best chefs.

Preliminary Itinerary:

• Friday 8:30am Meet at Porsche COS for small breakfast followed by safety brief at Porsche COS.
• Friday 12pm Lunch at Twin Lakes Saloon and Inn (food trucks – not included)
• Friday afternoon check in at hotel, rest, evening welcome reception followed by dinner.
• Saturday 11am breakfast at the hotel, optional day tour to Marble via Carbondale, with lunch at the Slow Groovin’ BBQ in Marble. Return to hotel at one’s leisure.
• Saturday 4-4:45pm – Heritage Fire Festival (not included) or dinner out in town.
• Sunday morning, breakfast at the hotel, check out by 11am, drive back to COS at one’s leisure.

Please let the tour host know if any special dietary restrictions

Registration will cover Friday morning small breakfast + goodie bag, lodging for Friday and Saturday night, a welcome reception + dinner on Friday, breakfast and lunch on Saturday, as well as breakfast on Sunday.

• Base Registration for Couples – $1490.00
• Base Registration for Single – $1290.00

Hotel Cancellation Policy – Full price penalty when cancelled less than 30 days prior to event (28 June cutoff).

Optional Covered parking at the hotel is not included ($30/per night)

Heritage Fire Tickets can be purchased directly at: Heritagefiretour.com/snowmass/

VIP Admission Tickets are now selling for $175 (4:00pm entry) and General Admission Tickets  for $125 (4:45pm entry).

Looking forward to those who can join us! 

Join us in your Porsche or other off-road vehicle on the Gold-Belt Byway Off Road Tour.

We will meet at Porsche Colorado Springs at 8 a.m.  Please park next door at Colorado Springs Powersports (945 Motor City Drive).

Please complete the PCA Off-Road Driving Tour Self-Inspection Safety Checklist.pdf before arriving and bring to check-in (required to participate in this off-road tour)

The tour will take you through Phantom Canyon, lunch in Victor and continue along Shelf Road, ending in Cañon City.

This could be considered a group training drive, for club members to go out on their own later in the year for leaf peeping season.

(Leaf peeping is an informal term in the United States and Canada for the activity in which people travel to view and photograph the fall foliage in areas where leaves change colors in autumn. An organized excursion for leaf peeping is known as a foliage tour or color tour.)

Phantom Canyon Road

This road is one of the most scenic and historic drives in Colorado. The route increases in elevation from 5,500 to 9,500 feet and offers the chance to see a wide range of plants and wildlife in their natural setting. The gravel road follows the route of the Florence & Cripple Creek Railroad built in 1894 as a connection from Florence to the goldfields of Cripple Creek and Victor.

The unique bridges and tunnels offer a visual link to the area’s historic past. The road condition and narrow bridges encourage people to slow down and view the scenery. Twelve stations were established along the F&CC Railroad grade to service the trains hauling coal and supplies upgrade and gold ore downgrade to Florence’s smelters. As you drive the route, interpretive displays and signs designate the historic sites along the Gold Belt Line.

EARLY LUNCH STOP Gold Camp Bakery

They offer a wide selection of German and American items. Their German menu selection is not as sweet as the typical American pastries. For lunch they offer sandwiches on their freshly baked breads, salads, soups, chicken pot pies, miner’s pasties. They have a wide selection of cakes, pies and cookies, etc. We can call ahead to order pies and desserts for take home (Address: 112 S 3rd St, Victor, CO 80860).

Shelf Road

Shelf Road transformed an untraveled wilderness into a major route for the stagecoaches and freight wagons traveling between the Arkansas Valley and the Cripple Creek Gold Mining District. The rugged route’s name is ‘THE SHELF’, a five-mile stretch of road that hugs the sheer rock walls of above Fourmile Creek.

Originally called the Cañon City and Cripple Creek Toll Road, Cañon City’s business leaders financed the road. The toll collectors lived in small cabins nestled at either end of the Shelf and collected tolls every time a horse, wagon or stagecoach passed.

The toll varied from 30 cents to $1.75 for single riders, wagons, and stagecoaches. Ranchers driving cattle along the road paid for each head. Eventually, competition from railroads put the toll road out of business. Fremont County purchased the road and opened it as a free road. This road has made for a memorable trip since its construction in 1892 so be prepared for a driving adventure.

State Highway 12 (SH 12), also known as the Highway of Legends National Scenic Byway, in the U.S. state of Colorado is a mountainous state highway through the Rocky Mountains in southern Colorado.

The route travels from La Veta through the mountains to Trinidad. It is included in the Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways system and runs through the San Isabel National Forest.

In 2021, the highway was designated a National Scenic Byway and we’ll be on it Sunday 08 Oct 2023.