The Oh My God Road

Climbing steeply out of the north side of town is a narrow dirt track officially named Virginia Canyon Road, but almost nobody calls it that. Its real name, earned honestly, is the Oh My God Road. It winds roughly eight miles up and over the mountains to connect Idaho Springs with the old mining towns of Central City and Black Hawk.

The road dates back to the gold rush era, when it was a vital supply line. Miners hauled goods by horse and wagon over this route to reach the diggings, and stagecoaches rattled along it as well. As the railroads reached both towns, traffic on the wagon road dwindled, and as the mines gave out, it faded further.

What kept it famous was its sheer nerve. In places the road is barely wider than a single car, with no guardrails, washed out shoulders, and long drop offs falling away beside you. It passes the scarred remains of countless old mines, headframes, and tailings piles, a raw open air museum of the gold rush.

Today it is a popular scenic drive for those with steady nerves, offering a slow, white knuckle tour through the landscape that the rush left behind.