Colorado Mountain Towns: Telluride, Aspen, Ouray, Silverton and Creede

Colorado's best mountain towns were born in the silver and gold rushes of the 1870s to 1890s, and their Victorian streets still sit right under the peaks. Telluride, Aspen, Ouray, Silverton and Creede each grew from a mining camp into a very different kind of mountain town: a ski and film-festival capital, a world-famous resort, an ice-climbing centre, a railroad town and a theatre town on the Rio Grande.

Telluride: a box-canyon mining town

Telluride sits at about 8,750 feet (2,668 m) in a box canyon of the San Juan Mountains, closed at its head by Bridal Veil Falls, Colorado's highest unbroken waterfall at 365 feet. The town was founded as Columbia in 1878 and renamed Telluride in 1887. Silver and gold mining was its only industry until 1972. In June 1889 Butch Cassidy robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank here of $24,580, his first major recorded crime.

The first ski lift arrived in 1972. Today a free gondola links the historic town with Mountain Village in about 13 minutes, and the Telluride Film Festival, which flourished from the 1970s, keeps the town busy beyond ski season. See the Colorado tourism overview of Telluride and Mountain Village.

Aspen: silver town turned ski resort

Miners settled at the upper end of the Roaring Fork Valley in the winter of 1879, and Aspen, named for the trees around it, was incorporated in 1881. The silver crash of 1893 emptied the town for half a century, until the Aspen Skiing Company was founded in 1946.

Aspen now has four ski areas: Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk (both opened in 1958) and Snowmass (1967). In summer the Aspen Music Festival and School fills the town, and the Maroon Bells, about 12 miles southwest, draw hikers and photographers. Highway 82 over Independence Pass usually closes from late October to Memorial Day. More in the official destination overview.

Ouray: the Switzerland of America

Ouray, at about 7,792 feet, fills a narrow valley walled by cliffs, which earned it the nickname “Switzerland of America”. Prospectors arrived in 1875 and named the town after Chief Ouray of the Utes; at its peak more than 30 mines were working, including Thomas Walsh's rich Camp Bird Mine.

Ouray is famous for winter ice: the Ouray Ice Park in the Uncompahgre Gorge was the world's first ice-climbing park, with dozens of frozen climbs, and it is free to use. Afterwards, soak in Ouray Hot Springs, the largest of five developed hot springs in Ouray and nearby Ridgway. See the Ouray visitor overview.

Silverton: the Million Dollar Highway and the railroad

From Ouray, US 550, the Million Dollar Highway, climbs over steep, narrow mountain grades to Silverton. At about 9,302 feet, Silverton was founded in 1874 and mined silver and then gold until its last mine closed in 1992. The whole town is a National Historic Landmark District, and colourful Victorian storefronts still line its streets, including historic Blair Street.

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, built to carry ore down to Durango, is still running and now carries visitors. In winter, Silverton Mountain, opened in 2002, offers expert-only skiing. More on the Silverton destination page.

Creede: the last silver boom town

Creede, at 8,800 feet on Willow Creek, a tributary of the Rio Grande, boomed late. Nicholas Creede and G. L. Smith staked the Holy Moses claim in 1890, and by December 1891 the population had jumped from about 600 to more than 10,000. Bob Ford, the man who killed Jesse James, was shot dead in Creede on 8 June 1892.

Today Creede is a quiet town of about 250 people and the seat of Mineral County. Its summer highlight is the Creede Repertory Theatre, founded in 1966 by twelve University of Kansas students and now a professional company. See the Creede tourism overview.

Planning a Colorado mountain-town trip

• Best seasons: winter for skiing and ice climbing, late September for golden aspen, July and August for high trails and festivals.
• Altitude: all five towns lie between about 7,800 and 9,300 feet. Drink plenty of water and take the first day easy.
• Driving: Ouray, Silverton and Telluride make a natural San Juan loop. Drive the mountain passes in daylight and check road conditions in winter.

For more ideas, see our winter sports comparison and Travis Burke’s van journey.

Related reading

• Mark Flower’s Colorado: Familiar Places in Changing Light
• Silverthorne’s Ice Castle: Tunnels, Arches and Frozen Light
• Colorado Snowboarding with Hofgaard, Bittner, Botner and Helgason
• The Buffalo Pass Snow Pit: Understanding a 194-Inch Measurement

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