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State hub · Colorado
Colorado's ghost towns are mostly mining camps. Gold and silver strikes from the 1860s through the 1890s put camps high in the Front Range, the Sawatch and Elk ranges and the San Juan Mountains, and many emptied when the mines closed, often after silver lost its value in 1893. Coal camps in Las Animas and Huerfano counties, railroad and stage stops, and farm towns on the eastern plains make up most of the rest. Wikipedia's list puts the state's total above 1,500 ghost towns, with visible remains at only about 640.
In our index, Park, Gunnison and Chaffee counties have the most sites. What survives depends on altitude, ownership and care. Animas Forks at 11,185 feet and Independence at about 10,900 feet still have cabins because the Bureau of Land Management and the Aspen Historical Society stabilized them. Saint Elmo kept its main street and a few residents. Other towns are gone: Kokomo lies under mine waste, and nothing is left of the uranium company town of Uravan. Some townsites are private land even inside a national forest, as part of Independence is.
Town guides
Our complete guides, most-read first: history, what's left, current access, photos, maps and directions.
GuideChaffee County
A gold and silver camp of 1880 near 10,000 feet in the Sawatch Range. Its main street of false-fronted wooden buildings still stands, a few people…
Prowers County
A square mile of barracks on a low hill south of the Arkansas River, where more than 10,000 Japanese Americans were held from 1942 to 1945. The…
GuideSan Juan County
One of the highest mining camps in North America, where the forks of the Animas River meet. The Bureau of Land Management owns the townsite and has…
GuideWeld County
A farm colony founded in 1910 by and for Black Americans on the plains east of Greeley. It peaked around 1920 and was nearly empty by 1940. A few…
GuideGunnison County
A mining camp of 1879 named for a tin cup of gold, known early on for killing its marshals. It never fully emptied: the old town is now mostly summer…
GuidePitkin County
A silver camp that for a few years in the 1880s was bigger than Aspen. Its log buildings now stand in a high meadow on national forest land, looked…
GuideGunnison County
Crystal’s summer cabins stand beyond the famous riverside powerhouse. Both the village and the mill include private property.
GuideGrand County
Low-grade silver and difficult transport ended Lulu City’s mining hopes. The site is now reached on foot in Rocky Mountain National Park.
GuidePitkin County
Independence’s brief gold rush left log cabins and mill remains beside Colorado 82. The historical society maintains a self-guided trail through the…
Watch
High mountain mining camps, old main streets, and surviving cabins. Explore the history, maps and access notes before you go.
Where to start
Open attractions, living towns and true ruins, with their current status.
Chaffee County
Gold and silver camp of 1880 at 9,961 feet, 20 miles southwest of Buena Vista. St. Elmo's main street still stands, with three full-time residents and a general store open in summer.
San Juan County
Silver camp at 11,185 feet on the Alpine Loop, 12 miles northeast of Silverton. The BLM owns the townsite and has stabilized its nine standing buildings. Best visited May to October.
Pitkin County
Silver camp of 1880 that briefly outgrew Aspen. The Aspen Historical Society runs it on national forest land, 11 miles up Castle Creek Road; $5 per adult at an honor box.
Pitkin County
Gold camp founded in 1879 at about 10,900 feet, about 16 miles east of Aspen on Highway 82. Self-guided cabins and mill ruins; the road over the pass closes in winter.
Gunnison County
Silver camp of 1881 on the upper Crystal River, home of the Crystal Mill powerhouse. Six miles east of Marble on a road that needs four-wheel drive. Its few residents live there only in summer.
Weld County
Colony for Black homesteaders founded in 1910 by O.T. Jackson, east of Greeley off US 34. It had 200 to 300 people by 1920 and 12 by 1940. A few buildings remain.
Grand County
Silver camp of 1879 in the Kawuneeche Valley, abandoned by 1885 and now inside Rocky Mountain National Park. Three cabin ruins and other traces remain.
Prowers County
World War II camp where more than 10,000 Japanese Americans were held, near Granada. A National Park Service site since 2024, open in daylight, with a rebuilt barrack and guard tower.
Near a city
Driving distance and time from downtown, routed over OpenStreetMap roads. Dirt roads are usually slower than the estimate.
Directory
Every town, camp and settlement in our Colorado index, with its county. A ◦ marks sites already on the map.
No sites match. Try fewer letters or another county.
Plan a trip
The high camps are summer and fall trips. Saint Elmo sits near 10,000 feet and Animas Forks above 11,000, and the BLM calls May to October the best time for the Alpine Loop. Highway 82 over Independence Pass usually closes in late October or early November and reopens just before Memorial Day weekend.
The state tourism office says a regular car reaches Saint Elmo. The BLM calls the road from Silverton to Animas Forks passable in summer in two-wheel drive, while the tourism office recommends four-wheel drive, and the road on over Engineer Pass may need it. The Marble chamber says the road to Crystal needs four-wheel drive with 8 inches of clearance, and a backcountry tow costs $3,500.
Colorado's 2.8 million acres of state trust land are closed to the public unless leased for recreation. Some townsites are private even inside national forests, and Rocky Mountain National Park needs a timed-entry reservation from late May to mid-October. Treat gates and posted signs as closed.
The state counts 23,000 inactive and abandoned mines, and has safeguarded over 10,500 hazardous openings since 1980. Old mines hold deadly gas, unsafe ladders and near-freezing water. Leave artifacts where they lie: digging on state land needs a permit from the state archaeologist, and on federal land the Archaeological Resources Protection Act lets officers seize the metal detectors and vehicles used in looting.
FAQ
Wikipedia's list says more than 1,500, with visible remains at only about 640. Our index lists 388 sites in 56 of the state's 64 counties. Park County has the most, with 41, followed by Gunnison with 37.
There is no official ranking. The state tourism office calls Saint Elmo one of Colorado's best preserved and Animas Forks one of the best preserved in the West. Ashcroft and Independence also keep standing cabins, cared for by the Aspen Historical Society.
Nevadaville, above Central City, is about an hour from downtown. Caribou, near Nederland, and Dearfield, on the plains east of Greeley, are about an hour and a half away, and Saints John about two hours. Independence and Saint Elmo are about three and a half hours, so plan them as full-day or overnight trips.
Yes. The state tourism office says a regular car reaches Saint Elmo. Independence sits beside Highway 82 when the pass is open, Amache is just outside Granada, and Dearfield is off US 34. Animas Forks and Crystal are rough-road trips; outfitters in Silverton, Lake City and Marble rent off-road vehicles.
Mostly late May to October. Snow closes Highway 82 over Independence Pass from about early November to late May, and the BLM says the Alpine Loop roads to Animas Forks are best from May to October.
Some are. Part of Independence is private, many old buildings are privately owned or held by historical societies, and state trust land is closed to the public. The tourism office warns that many abandoned buildings are unsafe to enter.
Abandoned