Water and Rock
Tunnel Drive, Canon City, Colorado
June 6th, 2026
Tunnel Drive is one of the most popular Canon City outdoor attractions for good reason.
It’s accessibility, stunning aerial-like views of the Arkansas River valley, soaring rock features, and of course the tunnels themselves, force everyone from the most jaded tourist to the most spoiled local, to pay attention.
Positioned in the shadow of Fremont Peak on a shelf above the river below, this broad level path winds softly through the canyon, broken by two large, perpendicular crags traversed by tall, trestle style bridges. Tunnel Drive was first constructed in 1892 as part of an agricultural water diversion system that lasted to the 1970’s. Since the 2000’s, when it was converted to a pedestrian and non-motorized use trail, it has continued to attract thousands of visitors each year.
Audacious geological wonders stand around like beautifully bored super-models accustomed to the open mouthed stares of strangers. Encounters with the resident herd of Big Horn Sheep are routine, making more than one smart phone addict an instant documentarian. At sunset, acrobatic bats hunt the tunnels, whizzing by your face with total disregard for your irrational fears.
Photo Credit: Martin C Welch
Arkansas River, Canon City, Colorado
Yet with all these wonders, the river is the star. Always moving. Always present yet never the same. At times full of dazzling light, other times dark and purposeful. Sometimes raucous and violent, other times seductive and gentle. Also, it is the river and its sublime irregularity, that allow us to appreciate the permanence and reliability of the rock.
“Rock, Paper, Scissors”, or “Rochambeau” (Ro-Sham-Bo) as some may irritatingly call it, is a game in which one of the scenarios is a Rock defeated by Paper. Obviously, this is absurd. Rock can be thrown right through paper with minimal effort and a Rock wrapped in Paper can still bash your brains in.
The real champion here is Water. Rock and Scissors, when thrown in water, sink to the bottom to erode, rust, and become lost. We all know what happens to Paper in water.
It was water that formed the Royal Gorge, that holds the key to life on Earth, and without which none of us have more than about three days left. Despite this, without the Rock to hold its position and provide its banks, water lacks direction and can even turn destructive.
What is immediately apparent when walking this trail, is that everything works together to form something much greater than the sum of its parts. Next time you visit Tunnel Drive, take time to appreciate this contrast and the harmony in which this amazing local ecosystem functions!
Photo Credit: Martin C Welch
