Trailhead / Access

Access to Hole in the Wall can be found in the Mountain Shadows area. There is no trailhead for these trails. There is a church parking lot but I am not sure if they allow parking for the general public and there are gates and it is posted that the gates are locked at night. I park on the street leading to the church. There is also parking about 2 blocks away at the Chipeta school on Flying W Ranch Road. It is a short hike from there to the trails.

From I25, go west on Garden of the Gods Road to 30th Street then turn right. The first left will be Flying W Ranch Road. Take Flying W Ranch Road to Stoneridge Dr. Turn left and take this to Fieldstone Road. Turn left here and park. Walk through the church parking lot along the left side to the end where you will see rocks blocking access to the jeep road to prevent vehicle access.

Trail Summary

There are not a lot of trails in this area. There is the dirt road which forms a U shape through the area and also climbs up onto the scar itself. To the right, it follows heads north to the Flying W Ranch(FWR) property. To the left, it loops around and climbs up on the lower slopes of the Rampart Range and then heads north. There are a couple of small single tracks that cross the middle sections between the two parts of the Jeep road. These small trails have some great views. The trails sections total about 4-5 miles. A loop would be about 3 miles. To the South, the roadway forms a loop on the scar and in the valley below. It also leads to the Navagator property.

Trail Description

Starting from the parking lot, proceed along the east side of the lot to the dirt road. Follow the dirt road for about 1/4 mile where it will split. To the right, the dirt road will head north to the Flying W Ranch (FWR) property.

At about 1/3 of a mile along this route, there is a single track on the left just before an old gate. This is a good trail to follow for awesome sights. Soon after starting up the trail, you will pass through a narrow rock passageway. It will then open up and continue to the north and west. The trail is fairly good and there are frequent signs that horses have passed this way. I think FWR people use these trails for riding. Mostly this is up hill through scrub oak and open space.

At about 3/4 mile the trail splits. The left trail does not go very far before it ends. Follow the trail to the right. After reaching the top of the hill, the trail enters a nice open meadow. There is a very faint trail just past the 1st large clump of scrub oak that leads to the left. It is qute faint but gradually gets more distinct. This trail has a lot of washout on it but looks to have been frequently used in the past but I do not see sign of current usage. It will end at a dirt road that is the road if you had gone left at 1/4 mile. This is about 1.1 miles.

If you do not take the 1st trail branch in the meadow but proceed straight, The is another trail that goes to the left. As before the trail starts out faint and gathers definition as you proceed. This trail has signs of activity with current horse prints. Like the first trail, it climbs to the west and joins the dirt roadway a bit further up the road from the first trail.

If you do not take either trail but continue on the main trail, it will end at the road leading into the FWR. I think there is grazing land on the other side of the road and to the east. I am not sure if there is public access into some of the area further north. It look like it is possible to cross the road and pick up a dirt road just east of the intersection that leads up to a water tank.

Back at the 1/4 mile point, if you go to the left on the road, you will so a short steep climb up to another split in the road. To the right, the road will climb and head north for about 2 miles. About 1/4 mile it splits and the right fork heads north for about 1 1/2 mile. Here there is a cattle crossing and the road enters grazing land. You are west of FWR at this point. There is a roadway/trail just to the west at this point that turns and head south but climbs up to the top of the ridge. I have not followed this yet but the maps show it climbing up to the top.

To the left, the road climbs up onto the scar. This forms a loop with the section of trail that drops down at the into the valley at the intersection just above the short steep climb. Also, the road can be followed further up the scar to the top of the ridge.

There are a lot of options in this area for hiking. Most of them follow the roads but the couple of single tracks have some great views also and worth the effort to follow. I have outline 5 different routes through this area on the Google earth maps to try and visually show where everything goes.