About 16 miles north of Leadville on Hwy 24, just over Tennessee Pass, lies the former US Army facility Camp Hale. Established in 1942, it was created specifically for the purpose of training the 10th Mountain Division, the Army’s only battalion on skis. At its height during WWII, there were over 1000 buildings and some 14,000 soldiers housed in the meadow here.

After the war Camp Hale was decommissioned, only to be brought back to life again in 1958, this time by the CIA. Over the next six years, CIA agents trained Tibetan freedom fighters in guerrilla warfare, with the goal of driving the communist Chinese out of Tibet. In 1965 Camp Hale was officially dismantled, and the land returned to the US Forest Service. There's little to actually see here aside from some dilapidated buildings (and you'll need to know where to look for those), but it is a popular spot for mountain biking, hiking and cross-country skiing.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Matchless Mine

12.16 MILES

This is where silver magnate and Colorado senator Horace Tabor made and then lost millions in the 1880s, and where his glamorous and sensational wife,…

2. Healy House Museum & Dexter Cabin

12.24 MILES

Two of Leadville’s oldest surviving homes are decked out with the owners’ original gear, plus period pieces resembling what they may have enjoyed. The…

3. Leadville Heritage Museum

12.27 MILES

This middling museum includes an art gallery, Victorian artifacts from the late 19th century, a 10th Mountain Division display, dioramas explaining early…

4. National Mining Hall of Fame

12.28 MILES

Although it sounds both cheesy and dreary, this is a surprisingly informative museum, with mineral displays, gold-mining dioramas, a mock-up coal mine and…

5. David May Monument

12.59 MILES

The stone tablet commemorating the first ever May Department Store anchored in front of 314 Harrison Ave is a cool sight for anyone who has ever been…

6. Tabor Opera House

12.61 MILES

Built in 1879 by multimillionaire Horace Tabor, this was once one of the premier entertainment venues in all of Colorado, if not the West, and hosted the…

7. Lomax Placer Mine

14.74 MILES

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 used in placer…

8. Betty Ford Alpine Gardens

14.8 MILES

The highest botanical gardens in the US. Stop by for a soothing stroll past rock gardens, native alpine plants and collected species from as far as the…