Record
About Hesperus
Hesperus is an unincorporated community and a U.S. Post Office in La Plata County, Colorado, United States.
This is a site record: what public sources say about Hesperus, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.
Map
Where Hesperus is

Historic maps
11 historic USGS maps cover Hesperus
Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.
- 1895 La Plata sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1897 La Plata sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1899 La Plata sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1908 La Plata sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1956 Cortez sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1958 Cortez sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1959 Cortez sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1962 Cortez sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1963 Hesperus sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1966 Cortez sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1982 Cortez sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
Directions
Getting there
Before you go
- Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
- Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
- Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.
Nearby
Other sites near Hesperus
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Colorado index.
Sources
Sources
- ghosttowns.com, "Hesperus": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
- Wikipedia, "Hesperus, Colorado": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q5746072.
- USGS GNIS 179135.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).