Colorado ghost towns offer a peek in the foggy windows of a once-rowdy brothel, an ATV trek on roads no one bothered to pave on their way out of town and stories of intense standoffs in gulches will remind you why this was the Wild West.
Colorado’s mining boom put the state on the map as one of the most lucrative places to be in the late 1800s. Promises of riches brought gold-starry-eyed workers in by the droves as newcomers quickly assembled towns near medal-laden landscapes on grassy meadows and rocky hillsides.
Some of these towns, like Breckenridge, Leadville and Idaho Springs, remain some of Colorado’s top destinations, while the not so lucky faded into some of the coolest ghost towns of America. Visiting these eerily quiet spots revives Colorado’s boom time as modern-day adventurers wander through abandoned streets once teeming with rambunctious saloons, outlaw showdowns and a lucrative industry that bolstered — and built — the West.
Colorado Ghost Towns You Can Visit
Here are a few of the state's most accessible options, where there are still buildings to see. Be careful. Many of the abandoned buildings are unsafe to enter, and many are privately owned or protected by a local or state historical society. Taking souvenirs is strictly prohibited. Take all the photos you like, though.
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. Just off Highway 82, the Aspen Historical Society gives tours of the short-lived town that was deserted by miners via wooden skis made from cabins in 1899.
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