Outside Denver-Part 6-Small Towns

There are many small towns that you can visit for a day and see the beauty of Colorado!

 

Cripple Creek- Cripple Creek was once a gold mining town that is located near Pikes Peak. You can enjoy the beautiful mountains and the scenery. Many years ago, the mining town attracted hundreds of people who wanted to find gold and become rich fast. You can visit the Victor's Gold Camp and Mining Museum where you can see how powerful machines were used to find gold. Admission is free. 

 

The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine is a gold mine that you can visit and learn about gold mining and how to extract gold. 

You can also go to Cripple Creek Jail Museum which allows you to see how prisoners lived in the gold town.

Lastly, there is a railroad through the town where you can tour and enjoy the breathtaking view of the Rocky Mountains!!

Leadville- Another mining town you can visit that was once a silver mining place. You can hike, mountain bike, fish, camp or visit the beautiful Twin Lakes, where you can see the gorgeous view of the scenery.

You might want to take the Leadville Colorado and Southern Railroad where you can enjoy the view of the Arkansas River Valley and the mountains. As the season starts to change to fall, the scenery will be not only beautiful but gorgeous!!! 

Visit the Heritage Museum to learn about Leadville's past and take a mine tour to feel and understand how it was to actually extract silver in the 1800s. There are numerous vintage stores that you can visit and shop in!

Georgetown- Georgetown is another former silver mining town where you can enjoy fishing in Georgetown Lake. 

Take the fun Georgetown Loop Railroad on an extremely old train that will take you up to Silver Plume, where you can see the greatest gold and silver mines!!!

If you want, you could also take a tour of the historic downtown of Georgetown, where you can enjoy the beauty of 19th century buildings....


Hot Sulphur Springs- If you want something completely different, you might want to take a dip into the hot springs around the Rocky Mountains. 

You can visit the Hot Sulphur Springs Resort where the heat of volcanoes is released out of the ground. Enjoy and swim in the natural hot springs that have many good minerals and are believed to be good for your skin. Be like the Ute Indians who believed that water could heal or just spend a day enjoying the spa and have fun!!!