Robertson Rambles Recommends: Leadville, Colorado

An unpretentious mountain town with jaw-dropping views in every direction, great trails, a homey downtown, and friendly people – Leadville has lots to love. Here are some of our favorite experiences during our stay here from 1 June-9 July 2019.

this is a map of most of the places mentioned in our review – click on any for details

Lodging

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We stayed at El Capitan Lodge off of Highway 24 toward Red Cliff, about a 20 minute drive from Leadville. This private rental home was a wonderful base for our adventures. We had incredible wildlife sightings from the house and road, including a black bear, porcupine, red fox, pine marten, snowshoe hare, and lots of deer. Owners Greg and Melanie Dennis crafted a beautiful space that was comfortable and elegant. This is just one of several ultra-efficient off-grid homes that they have built in the area – see the Fiddler Creek Company website for more of their handiwork and behind-the-scenes photos of how the homes were constructed. They offered us a great deal on a long-term rental and we were privileged to stay in such a lovely place. Most evenings we walked down to the meadow for the sunset, and the 10th Mountain Division Hut Vance’s Cabin is a short hike out the front door. When we first moved in I had to laugh because about half of their library consisted of books we have on our own shelves at home – they truly feel like kindred spirits. They knew we were embarking on a year of travel, and explained that they had taken a semester off when their oldest was going into seventh grade (just like Owen) to travel Mexico in a camper van. This was the first time Alex and I had lived outside the city limits as adults, and we all loved this peaceful retreat. Our little Honda Civic had no problem on the long dirt road to the house, either. Owen will take you through a whole video tour of the house if you like. The grounds also have a rustic treehouse and a fire pit for roasting marshmallows.

Dining

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Our go-to place to meet friends, reward ourselves after a long hike, or grab a quick bite was High Mountain Pies. Yummy pizza with lots of covered/shady outdoor seating and a little frisbee golf course in the backyard – what more could you ask for? Favorite pies: Margherita (Cedar), Carnivore (Owen), Bacchanalia (Erin – roasted grapes on pizza! Who knew? Delicious…), anything and everything (Alex). Favorite beer: Laughing Lab. For an upscale treat, we found the food and ambiance at Treeline Kitchen to be outstanding. The service was uneven the night we were there, although we were very impressed by an exceptionally poised 9th grade server. City on a Hill Coffee Shop does it all: good coffee/chai, baked goods, sandwiches, and local art. Alex knew the featured photographer from the ultrarunning community. For gigantic cookies, try Cookies with Altitude. They have a little whiteboard in the window that lists who they are giving free cookies to that day. We saw “fathers,” “pilots,” and (lucky for us) anyone who could solve their riddle. Woohoo! And, for ice cream D’Love Gourmet Coffee and Ice Cream isn’t noteworthy but will get the job done. If you do find yourself there, it’s worth springing for the warm ice cream cookie sandwich.

Trails

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Record snowpack meant that lots of trails weren’t accessible yet when we were there. A major exception was the Mineral Belt Trail – 11.6 miles of well-marked asphalt trail ringing most of Leadville. Alex ran the whole thing and the boys and I ended up hiking it all in sections. Great for biking or running (or kids on bikes and adults running, as we often did), it also has interpretive signs about Leadville’s mining heritage, and great views. Our favorite segment was from where it crosses 7th street clockwise down to California Gulch Road – we did a car shuttle a couple times. The Colorado Trail is wonderful for singletrack. We accessed it at Camp Hale, along Highway 24, and at Tennessee Pass. And, if you’re up for it, Colorado’s highest peak, Mount Elbert, is just outside of town. At 9.5 miles roundtrip with 4,700′ feet of elevation gain, you’ll need to hit the Northeast Ridge route early to be down before the afternoon thunderstorms roll in. To get an early start we camped near the Mount Massive Overflow Parking lot, which is between the Elbert and Massive lots, and allows dispersed camping.

Books

The Lake County Library has a great short-term library card program. They ask that you leave a $25 deposit, and then they’ll issue you a card with full borrowing privileges. They asked if we had any proof of address, and I only had a photo on my phone showing the address and phone number. The librarian murmured, “EAGLE County…” but still issued us a card. We are in the habit of ordering items from other libraries, so by our second visit Tammy the librarian knew me by name. When you’re ready to leave town, you can return your all your materials plus card and they’ll refund your $25. Book Mine in town has an eclectic combination of new and used books, including lots of local interest volumes and field guides, but the main draw is the three friendly pups who lounge by the front door (Elf, Thaddeus, and Wally). The owner let our boys give them treats, too.

Shopping/Souvenirs

Harperrose Studios is an artist collective with lots of beautiful (and moderately-priced) items by Colorado artists. They also host meet-the-artist nights, but we never made it to one. The Rock Hut is part free mineral/paleontology museum and part curio shop. It also has lots of small items good for a kid’s allowance budget.

Place to Throw Rocks into Water

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Turquoise Lake is part of the whole Leadville experience (you can see it on the library card above). When we first arrived in town, most of the campgrounds and day use areas were still closed – the exception was the Maid of Erin Day Use Area. Twin Lakes is further afield, but I preferred its backdrop and sandy beach. This is yet another place you can pick up the Colorado/Continental Divide Trail.

Festival

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We went to the BBQ and Brews festival, too (which was just meh), but Leadville went all out in serving up a sweet, small-town Fourth of July with activities most of the day. We hurried down from the cabin and the boys and I made it just in time for the start of the Firecracker 5K run/walk (Alex was climbing Mount Elbert on his own). A little while after that finished up, the parade started up. We watched from a shady spot in front of City on a Hill, and ended up being right across from where the Mayor was providing the commentary, so that was great. A little after that, we headed to the hospital where a free community BBQ included hot dogs, brats, chips, seltzer, cake, and a live band playing Americana music. You could also tour fire trucks and see the medevac helicopter up close. We spent the afternoon at the cabin with friends, then headed back into town at dusk. Some friends had warned us that the fireworks in Leadville tend to stop and start a few times, so there were a couple occasions where others started to leave and then the next round was fired off. Mount Elbert made for a stunning backdrop (it’s off to the right of the photo above). You really couldn’t ask for a more family-friendly way to spend the day.

Unique Local Activity

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There are lots of places where you can pay to pan for gold kind of a canned tourist activity, but near Leadville you can also just find gold flakes in the water of the Cache Creek Placer Area. It’s worth it to stop by The Rock Hut in town to buy some glass vials for your finds (the flakes we found were very tiny) – I think they cost about 50 cents a vial – plus a pan that has ridges to help the flakes separate out. We got their cheapest version, a plastic model that cost $10. They also had some gold panning kits that included instructions, tweezers, an eyedropper, and some other accessories. We did have a pair of tweezers with us, and the eyedropper would have been helpful. It’s on BLM land with dispersed camping nearby. We were all surprised by how much sparkle there really is in the water there.

Community Project

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We were lucky enough to be in Leadville while a community art project was going on. We helped add mosaics to Zaitz Park (which is where the public restrooms are in town – good to know!). It was a really fun way to collaborate with locals and feel like we have left a little part of ourselves in Leadville. A few years ago they did a similar project that can be seen along the north side of 5th Street just west of Harrison. That one shows the geological layers around Leadville, and is worth a stop just to admire. There are several great murals in town, actually.

Local Character

I didn’t take any photos of him, but you can’t be in Leadville long without running into the town’s official Town Greeter, Jim Duke. He’s unmistakable: long white beard, top hat, and aviator goggles. Just another thing that makes it a special town.

Additional Practicalities

• Laundromat: Mountain Laundry (also has showers, although we didn’t try them)
• Groceries: Safeway
• Liquor store: Mount Massive Liquors has a better wine selection than Leadville Liquors
• Camping options: Turquoise Lake is the main area, but we also found nice public campgrounds at Camp Hale and closer to Red Cliff at the Hornsilver Campground.

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Leadville ended up being a lovely way to kick off our year of adventuring. We’ve only experienced it during a small part of the year, though. What else should folks know about what to see and do here? Have you visited in the winter? Please comment and share your Leadville stories with us!