Abandoned Towns

Living community · Park County, Colorado

Bailey

A stage stop of 1864 and a railroad town of 1878 on the North Fork of the South Platte, now one of the largest communities in Platte Canyon, about 44 miles from Denver.

39°24′20″N 105°28′24″W
Living community

Bailey is a living mountain community of 9,931 people (2020, as given by Uncover Colorado and Wikipedia), not a ghost town. It has its own post office (ZIP 80421, open since 1878), a high school, churches, restaurants and shops on US 285.

The label

Why Bailey is called a ghost town

Bailey is in a long-running ghost town directory, which lists a historical park with a train caboose, a few old buildings scattered around the area and the giant hot-dog-shaped Coney Island stand. The label comes from the town's past. Bailey began as a stage station and grew with the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad, and a red caboose in McGraw Memorial Park is the railroad era a visitor sees today. Bailey is not on Wikipedia's list of ghost towns in Colorado, and Wikipedia's own article describes a community of small businesses, restaurants and churches.

History

Bailey then

William Bailey settled a ranch on the North Fork of the South Platte River and built a stage station, Bailey's Ranch, in 1864. He added a hotel, and the place took his name. The Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad reached Bailey in 1878, and the Bailey post office opened on November 20 that year. Postcards of 1926 by the Rocky Mt. View Co., shown below, picture a scatter of houses on the slopes, a train and section house beside the tracks, and Mount Bailey above.

The 1945 USGS sheet below shows a compact village around the highway, with a Bailey Ranger Station on its west side. The town kept growing as a mountain home for people working in the Denver area. On March 18, 2006, the Coney Island Hot Dog Stand, a diner shaped like a giant hot dog that began in Denver in 1966, was moved to Bailey from Aspen Park; it reopened there on July 4, 2007. The Glen-Isle Resort just west of town and the Estabrook Historic District to the northeast are both on the National Register of Historic Places.

1864. William Bailey builds a stage station, Bailey's Ranch, and later a hotel.

1878. The Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad arrives; the post office opens November 20.

1926. Postcards show houses, the railroad and Mount Bailey.

1945. The USGS Bailey sheet maps the village on the highway and a ranger station.

2006. The Coney Island Hot Dog Stand is moved to Bailey (March 18).

2020. Population: 9,931.

Today

What is there now

The red caboose in McGraw Memorial Park, July 2019
The red caboose in McGraw Memorial Park, July 2019 · Photo: Lovemedead, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Bailey is lived in all year. Uncover Colorado gives a 2020 population of 9,931 for the easternmost Park County community, and Wikipedia, read October 29, 2026, lists a post office (ZIP 80421), several small businesses, restaurants and churches, and Platte Canyon High School with about 300 students. Bailey Day is a summer street festival. The red caboose in McGraw Memorial Park is the plainest reminder of the railroad. Homes are private; a visitor can see the park, the businesses along US 285 and the river from public roads.

Historic maps

Bailey on USGS maps, 1893–1945

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the map point. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around Bailey, 1893
Platte Canyon sheet, 1893, 1:125,000 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Map & directions

Getting there

Bailey is on US 285 in Platte Canyon, about 14 miles southwest of Conifer and 44 miles from downtown Denver. The route ends at Wellington Lake Road (County Road 68) in the middle of town.

USGS topographic map of US 285 from Conifer southwest to Bailey on the North Fork of the South Platte, with routes drawn on it

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL). Times assume dry roads.

From Conifer14.2 miabout 22 min
  1. From Conifer, take Pleasant Park Road (County Highway 88) and County Highway 73 to the US 285 ramp.0.6 mi
  2. Merge onto US 285 and follow it southwest to Bailey and Wellington Lake Road (County Road 68).13.5 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Road and visiting notes

  • US 285 is the main highway through town.
  • Homes and businesses in Bailey are private property.

Photos

Bailey in photos

Questions

Common questions

Is Bailey, Colorado a ghost town?

No. It is a living community of 9,931 people (2020) with a post office, a high school and businesses on US 285.

Why do ghost town lists include Bailey?

For its past: the 1864 stage station and the railroad that arrived in 1878. A caboose in McGraw Memorial Park recalls the railroad days.

What is there to see?

The caboose in McGraw Memorial Park, the Coney Island Hot Dog Stand that moved here in 2006, the Glen-Isle Resort west of town and the North Fork of the South Platte. Homes are private.

Nearby

Ghost towns and sites near Bailey

Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Colorado index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. Wikipedia, "Bailey, Colorado", read October 29, 2026: William Bailey's ranch and stage station of 1864 and his hotel, the railroad and post office of 1878, ZIP 80421, the Coney Island stand's move on March 18, 2006, Glen-Isle and the Estabrook Historic District, the businesses, churches and high school, Bailey Day, the coordinates.
  2. Uncover Colorado, "Bailey, Colorado", read October 29, 2026: the 2020 population of 9,931 and the elevation of 7,739 feet.
  3. ghosttowns.com, "Bailey", read October 29, 2026: the ghost town listing, the historical park with its caboose, the scattered old buildings and the Coney Island stand; the stand's 1966 start in Denver.
  4. Wikipedia, "List of ghost towns in Colorado", read October 29, 2026: Bailey not listed.
  5. Wikimedia Commons, "Coney Island 2007.JPG": the stand's reopening in Bailey on July 4, 2007.
  6. Wikipedia, "Glenisle", read October 29, 2026: the resort on the North Fork, its National Register listing and its coordinates, about a mile and a half west of Bailey.
  7. Wikimedia Commons, "Red caboose at McGraw Memorial Park, Bailey Colorado", photographed July 31, 2019: the caboose and the park's name.
  8. Historic maps: USGS Platte Canyon 1:125,000 (1893) and Bailey 1:24,000 (1945).
  9. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits

  • A Rocky Mountain View Co. postcard of 1926: a train and section house in front, houses on the slope, Mount Bailey beyond: Rocky Mt. View Co, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • Downtown Bailey on US 285, March 2015: Jcs-colo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Postcard of 1926: the town across a pond, Mount Bailey in the distance: Rocky Mt. View Co, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • Postcard of 1926 looking down the valley toward Bailey, captioned as seen from Lookout Mountain: Park County Historical Society, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • The Bailey sign beside US 285, January 2010: Sonnentagen, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • The Coney Island Hot Dog Stand on its reopening day in Bailey, July 4, 2007: Johnwolfman, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • The Glen-Isle Resort, a National Register site, with its year-round cabins sign: Jeffrey Beall, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Bailey's homes spread through the pines, seen from above, April 2016: Jcs-colo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Area base map, topo and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
  • Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Platte Canyon 1893, 1:125,000; Bailey 1945, 1:24,000.
  • The red caboose in McGraw Memorial Park, July 2019: Lovemedead, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0