Animas Forks is one of Colorado’s best-preserved mining ghost towns, perched at 11,200 feet where three forks of the Animas River meet high in the San Juan Mountains. Weathered cabins, a two-story house with a bay window and the remains of a big mill sit in a wide alpine basin about 12 miles northeast of Silverton on the Alpine Loop.

According to the Bureau of Land Management, the first log cabin went up here in 1873. By 1876 the camp had about 30 cabins, a hotel, a general store, a saloon and a post office, and by 1883 roughly 450 people lived in town. Animas Forks even had its own newspaper, the Animas Forks Pioneer, from 1882 to 1886. Winters were brutal: in 1884 a blizzard lasted 23 days and dropped 25 feet of snow, and residents dug tunnels to get from building to building. Most people spent the cold months in Silverton instead. The Gold Prince Mill, built in 1904, brought a short revival, but it closed in 1910, parts were moved to Eureka in 1917, and by the 1920s Animas Forks was a ghost town.

Today the site is protected by the BLM and draws more than 100,000 visitors a year along the 65-mile Alpine Loop, which links Silverton, Ouray and Lake City. Walk among the restored houses and cabins, peek through the windows, and read the interpretive signs that explain how families lived at this altitude. The road from Silverton is usually passable by two-wheel-drive vehicles in summer, while the routes beyond town over Engineer and Cinnamon passes may require four-wheel drive. Make it a full San Juan day by driving the Million Dollar Highway or riding the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad into Silverton.

The BLM lists the Alpine Loop as best from May through October, and summer brings wildflowers and plenty of jeep traffic to Animas Forks. Snow closes the high passes for much of the year, so check current road conditions with the BLM Gunnison Field Office or San Juan County before heading up. See blm.gov for details.