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Colorado is full of fascinating ghost towns located throughout the state, mostly up in the Rocky Mountains. There are certainly some very well-preserved ones, as well as old communities that are disappearing more each year.
- Dunton Hot Springs. This is hands down our favorite ghost town in Colorado. Prepare to be surprised. Not only can you explore the grounds of this former mining community in southern Colorado but you can actually stay the night in one of the restored former mining cabins.
- South Park City. No, this isn’t the South Park with the funny TV show. South Park City, located in the city of Fairplay, has been restored and turned into an open-air museum, which you can walk through to learn about the area’s history.
- St. Elmo. St. Elmo is one of Colorado's best-preserved and also most popular ghost towns. It is located just past Buena Vista is on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Animas Forks. This is another one of Colorado's most popular ghost towns. Animas Forks, in southern Colorado (12 miles southeast of Silverton and four hours south of Aspen) is famous, as much as an abandoned town can be.
This is a list of some notable ghost towns in the U.S. State of Colorado. A ghost town is a former community that now has no year-round residents or less than 1% of its peak population. Colorado has over 1,500 ghost towns, although visible remains of only about 640 still exist.
- Independence. Independence sits close to 11,000 feet on Independence Pass, a steep and nail-biting passage for stagecoach travelers headed to or from Leadville and Aspen in the 1800s.
- St. Elmo & Tin Cup. West of Buena Vista, St. Elmo is one of Colorado’s best-preserved ghost towns. With wooden storefronts and a dusty main street, it looks straight out of a John Wayne movie.
- Vicksburg & Winfield. North of Buena Vista you’ll find the tree-lined streets of Vicksburg, located in a steep clear-creek canyon. A little farther on this scenic route, you'll come to Winfield, where not much remains but the spirits of disappointed miners.
- Carson. Visitors to Carson often think they’re the first to discover the high-altitude town when they see its undisturbed buildings and remote, tricky-to-get-to location near the Continental Divide (from this point, rivers east of the divide flow to the Gulf of Mexico; those west flow to the Pacific Ocean).
- Independence. This small town is located high in the mountains near Independence Pass. Gold miners were drawn to Independence in the late 1800s.
- St. Elmo. Forty antique buildings still remain in this Colorado ghost town. St. Elmo, located west of Buena Vista, sits at 10,000 feet in the Collegiate Peaks.
- Vicksburg. The Vicksburg Mining Camp was founded in 1867 due to gold found in the creek bed. Trees, planted by the first miners to reside in Vicksburg, still line the abandoned streets.
- Animas Forks. To reach the Colorado ghost town known as Animas Fork, rent an ATV or other four-wheel drive vehicles in Silverton. Located at 11,200 feet, this high elevation town was founded in 1873.
Jun 7, 2024 · Experiencing the state’s Wild West past is one of the best things to do in Colorado. This post covers 21 ghost towns that still exist today, from well-preserved sites to relics being reclaimed by nature. Keep reading — I also share a few lesser-known spots that even most locals don’t know about!
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Jun 15, 2023 · Nothing is more fun than exploring ghost towns in Colorado! Check out these top abandon ghost towns and how to get there.
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