Sights in Central Mountain Region
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Edwin Carter Museum
An award-winning museum that sheds light on a pioneer lured west by the Pike's Peak Gold Rush in 1858-9. He reached the blue river valley in 1860. An original environmentalist he noticed the impact of mining on wildlife early on, documenting genetic deformities (such as two-headed animals) he suspected were linked to leaching toxins.
He must have seen the handwriting on the wall because he became a taxidermist to preserve the wildlife he encountered in the area. At its height he had a collection of 3000 pieces, and displayed them in his house, which is now a museum. The 12ft ceilings, an anomaly in his day, were there to display his collection. What you'll see here is the…
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Ashcroft
- Aspen, USA
- Sights › Ghost town
The best access point to the 20 miles of groomed trails in the stunning 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 2500 people worked here, but in 1893 the silver market crashed and the town's population plummeted to 100 residents within two hours.
There's a fine picnic area down by the creek, and a series of displays profiling famous residents, and local transportation and communication of the day. Preserved by the Aspen Historical Society, it's well …
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Aspen Center for Environmental Studies
The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) is a 22-acre (10-hectare) wildlife sanctuary that hugs the Roaring Fork River. With a mission to advance 'the ethic that the earth must be respected and nurtured,' the Center's naturalists provide summertime guided walks, eagle demonstrations and special programs for youngsters at the top of Aspen Mountain and mid-mountain on Snowmass.
Guided walks on Snowmass depart daily at 10am. In the winter, snowshoe and ski tours are available in various locations, and its weekly slide shows may give you some respite from the frigid outdoors. You can take a self-guided tour of the preserve (with snowshoes in winter, if you prefer) su…
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Rio Grande Park
Aspen's biggest public park runs along the river, and is bisected by the Rio Grande Trail for 2.1 miles. The park is home to an enticing skate park, outdoor basketball courts, a huge athletic field perfect for football or frisbee, an art museum and sculpture garden, and the John Denver Sanctuary.
Set in a grassy riverside meadow and punctuated by boulders that form a natural amphitheater, the sanctuary is a popular sunbathing spot. Some of the stones are engraved with Denver's lyrics including 'Rocky Mountain High.' This peaceful place, with the mountains looming beyond, may even tempt your snarky, protopunk brain to reevaluate the late artist's musical impact. Or not.
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Independence
- Aspen, USA
- Sights › Ghost town
Just 16 miles from Aspen at the foot of Independence Pass, 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 had peaked at 1500 residents, the town fell away during the harsh winter storm of 1899 after supply routes were severed due to severe snowfall.
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Colorado Ski Museum
This humble but surprisingly informative museum takes you from the invention of skiing in the Norwegian military in 1767 to the Colorado ski pioneers who, in 1887, rode 10ft to 14ft wood-skis they made themselves. You can see these vintage skis and boots (and snowboards for that matter) among the well-curated exhibits.
There's a room dedicated to the Tenth Mountain Division, a high alpine WWII unit who trained in these mountains, as well as the fledgling Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.
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212 Gallery
An amazing, forward-thinking art gallery. When we came through it had an exhibit featuring Daniel Beltra's aerial photos of the BP oil spill, which lent the event an ominous beauty, thanks to the polarized filter on his lens. Ten percent of proceeds of the limited-edition large-format photos went to help the clean up. The large-scale bronze sculptures were striking and the Aurora Robson sculptures were stunning and original.
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Aspen Volunteer Fire Department Museum
This gleaming new firehouse has a three-story wing devoted to shedding light on what is still largely a volunteer force, a force first organized in 1881. There's a timeline mural on the wall and a fantastic restored fire wagon from late 19th century. From the second and third floors you can peer down onto the current fleet. A 15-minute spin around the museum satisfies the little boy within and without.
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Aspen Art Museum
No permanent collection here, just edgy, innovative contemporary exhibitions featuring paintings, mixed media, sculpture, video installations and photography by artists such as Mamma Anderssen, Mark Manders and Susan Phiipszmark. Art lovers will not leave disappointed. Visit in August and you can experience its annual artCRUSH event, an art auction and wine-tasting extravaganza.
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Rotary Snowplow Park
Not much of a park but notable for its display of a vintage narrow-gauge rotary plow and the locomotives that powered it up the famed, rugged, gut-wrenching Boreas Pass railroad (that track is one of the last remaining swatches) to keep gold-mining production open. This rail was a lifeline to miners, indie and corporate alike. Kids will dig it here.
reviewed
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Lomax Placer Gulch
Here's a chance to pan for gold, learn how old mining-town chemists assayed the valuable claims and check out the actual sluices and flumes they used, as well as sniff around a miner's cabin, complete with wood-burning stove, musical instruments, snowshoes, pack saddles and anything else they might need to temper boredom and support their survival.
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Blue River Plaza
A beautifully landscaped riverside plaza with ample seating looking out onto the numbered peaks. There is sculpture, an old 19th century wagon, a small toddler sandbox and a murmuring stretch of the Blue River; the Breckinridge Welcome Center and bike path are just off the plaza. It's a fine place to sip coffee in the sun.
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Barney Ford Museum
Barney Ford was an escaped slave who became a prominent entrepeneur and Colorado civil-rights pioneer, and made two stops in Breckenridge over the course of his incredibly rich, tragic and triumphant life. The museum is set in his old home, which he built behind the boarding house. It's a can't-miss site.
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Tin Shop
Set in a historic home and part of the Breckenridge Arts District, this live-work studio space is offered to working artists to live, work and share their art for a week, two weeks or a month. Resident artists open their studio doors to the public and may sell their work here too.
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Summit Ski Museum
A relatively new addition to town, this small museum celebrates the first ski town in Colorado - that would be Breck - and the first century of Summit County skiing. There's a documentary video, vintage skis and gear, and the obligatory exhibit on the 10th Mountain Division.
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Wagner Park
A patch of green just off the Mill St mall, edged with cedars and a couple of shimmering aspens, and views of the Red and Aspen mountains. Football goals (both types) are set up, there's a playground area for little ones and plenty of space for a game of frisbee.
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Quandary Antiques Cabin & Ceramic Studio
Part of the Breckenridge Arts District, this small ceramics studio is set in an old log cabin. It's open to the public three days a week. Out front are a gathering of excellent lodgpole, multi-media totems created by artist Harriet Hoffman and her students.
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Breckenridge Arts District
A block-long stretch of historic Breckenridge where you'll find the blossoming of a bouregoning arts scene. There's a live-work art space for visiting artists, a ceramic studio open to the public and a yoga studio. It's not much, but it's a start.
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