Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the coming years. In the meantime, keep your eyes open for various activities: in summer
you can sign up for free walks with ACES; in winter weekly ski tours are given.
Independence
(
www.aspenhistorysociety.com
;
Hwy 82; suggested donation $3; 10am-6pm mid-Jun-Aug)
Just 16
miles east of Aspen at the foot of Independence Pass (
Click here
)
, this gold-mining boom
town turned ghost town started as a tented camp in the summer of 1879, when one lucky
miner struck gold on the Fourth of July. Operated and preserved by the Aspen Historical
Society, you can see the remains of the old livery, the general store and a miners cabin or
three.
After its population peaked at 1500 residents, the town fell away during the harsh
winter storm of 1899, when supply routes were severed due to heavy snowfall.
GHOST TOWN
GHOST TOWN
Ashcroft
The
(
970-925-3721;
www.aspenhistorysociety.com
; Castle Creek Rd; suggested donation $3;
)
access point to the breathtaking Castle Creek Valley is the ghost town of Ashcroft, a
silver-mining town founded in 1880. What remains are mostly miners cottages (log cabins
with tin roofs), a couple of broken-down wagons stranded in the waist-high grass, and a
post office and saloon.
At its height in 1893 about 2500 people worked here, but the silver veins were quickly
exhausted and by 1895 the town's population plummeted to 100 residents. To get here,
drive half a mile west of town on Hwy 82 to the roundabout and follow Castle Creek Rd
south for 12.2 miles.
