Three Ghost Towns of Rocky Mountain National Park
Most people visit Rocky Mountain National Park to see its beautiful scenery. But the park also has plenty of history—including three ghost towns within the park’s boundaries, all of which you can hike to on your next visit to the park.
Lulu City
The largest of the three ghost towns in Rocky Mountain is Lulu City. Founded in 1879, within months the city had dozens of stores and 500 residents. The prospectors arrived in search of silver, but unfortunately for the prospectors, the boom times did not last. The mining operations proved
prohibitively expensive. Within four years, the city had been abandoned. Today, you can hike to what little remains of the town along the Colorado River Trail.
Dutchtown
One night in Lulu City, a group of Dutch miners had a little too much fun. After their drunken evening antics, Lulu City decided they were done with these particular miners and ran them off. The Dutch miners, however, were not going to be dissuaded from prospecting for silver. Instead of leaving the area, the Dutch miners established their own town in the mountains above Lulu City. Like Lulu City, the town was short-lived. Today, you can see the former location of Dutchtown along the Lake of the Clouds Trail.
Gaskill
After Lulu City and Dutchtown were abandoned, one town devoted to silver mining remained: Gaskill. From 1880 until 1886, Gaskill survived in the Kawuneeche Valley. Although it lasted the longest, Gaskill never had a population of more than 50 people, which was far fewer than Lulu City at its peak population. The location of the ghost town of Gaskill is in the Kawuneeche Valley, along a four-wheel drive road. If you want to visit Gaskill, check with park rangers because the road to the town is not
always open.
101 Travel Bits: Rocky Mountain National Park
Are you heading to Rocky Mountain National park soon? Check out 101 Travel Bits: Rocky Mountain National Park to find out the fun facts behind the park that will help make this vacation your best ever!
