Buena Vista Heritage Museum
Buena Vista, CO 81211
719-395-8458

Ghost Towns and Historical Places

Perhaps you've heard of such names as Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, The "Unsinkable" Molly Brown of Titanic fame (Margaret Brown), Baby Doe Tabor, the Cole-Younger Gang, and "Soapy" Smith. Surprisingly, all of these personalities and countless more just as famous, infamous (and even some not-so-famous), are an integral part of the amazing history of the Upper Arkansas Valley.

Untouched ruins, as well as restored ghost towns and mining camps, are found throughout the Valley. If you're a hiker, mountain biker, ATV enthusiast or 4-wheeler, there are ruins left over from the mining boom era that are located in spectacular areas at elevations well over 12,000 - 14,000 feet above sea level. Other locations, including the various Historical Districts like Twin Lakes and St. Elmo, can be easily accessed by passenger vehicle. One of the nations most amazing engineering feats, the famous Alpine Tunnel (which brought the railroad from Buena Vista, through the ghost towns of St. Elmo, Romley and Hancock, and then through the mountain to Gunnison on the west portal) is accessible via the old railroad bed and is one of the State's most spectacular walking hikes.

 

Tours of Mines

Early development of Colorado was, in great part, the result of gold discoveries when literally thousands of hopeful prospectors flooded the area with pick and shovel - later when the gold boom passed, it was the silver boom that exploded. As techniques improved, fortunes were made and paupers became millionaires overnight. Lake County brags a newly paved biking/hiking trail that winds through restored mining gallows and ruins. The Silver Kings self-tour can be made by auto, and explores many of the biggest producing mines in the Leadville area.

Jeep tours and guide services are available for those not experienced in trekking to the high elevations themselves, and offer spectacular trips to the high country that many will never see on their own.

Jeep and ATV rentals are available for self guided touring.

Southern Chaffee County hosts The Lost Mine… one of only 13 historic mines in the State of Colorado open to the public for an amazing and educational tour inside, showing the crystals and caverns left behind from early day mining.