While in the Leadville or Buena Vista area, you may want to find an easy hike that includes some of Colorado’s gold mining history. The Cache Creek area provides a perfect opportunity for such an experience on the Colorado Trail.
By the way, to learn more about gold prospecting in Colorado, check out our website: www.findinggoldincolorado.com and our books, Finding Gold in Colorado: Prospector’s Edition, and Finding Gold in Colorado: Inspiring Images.
Trail Description: From the Cache Creek Mining Area parking lot, start hiking south behind the gate on the powerline maintenance road at the edge of the parking lot. After hiking about 0.2 miles, you’ll find the junction with the CT. Turn right and start hiking uphill on the CT. Look out for bikers who enjoy this part of the CT. This hike alternates between hilly and flat stretches. At first, you’ll find yourself walking along an old dirt road, with two tracks alongside each other. Look to your right to see signs of gold mining that took place in Cache Creek over 100 years ago. Note the drop-offs where miners used hydraulic mining techniques, stripping the dirt away from the sides of the stream banks, searching for gold. Today’s prospectors back near the parking lot are more restricted to pans and sluices, with no mechanical equipment allowed.
After about a half-mile on the CT, meet an old road and a seasonal stream. Continue to your left to head uphill on a narrower trail across a sagebrush-covered hillside. Look to your left to see signs of an old beaver pond which is now a lovely meadow with the telltale ridge of an old beaver dam. Keep an eye out for wildflowers and for raptors in the skies above. The trail then reenters forest and climbs uphill to the camping and parking areas described as the beginning of the previous hike in this chapter. Across Lost Canyon Road is a lovely meadow for a lunch break. At this point, turn around to head downhill.
Features: Signs of early mining history, wildflowers, and a relatively easy hike with a little elevation gain.
Terrain: Alternating climbing and flat sections with only a couple of seasonal creek crossings.
Difficulty: Easy.
Getting There: From Leadville, go south on Highway 24 about 18 miles to the town of Granite. From Buena Vista, go north on Highway 24 about 17 miles. Turn west onto FR-398, Lost Canyon Road. This dirt road only has room for one car and climbs a steep hill at the beginning so take your time and be considerate if another car comes along. Once you have reached the top of the hill, you’ll be driving across a large flat sagebrush area and will get to FR-398D, Powerline Road. You’ll know you are there because the powerlines follow the road, and you’ll see signage for the Cache Creek Mining Area. Turn left onto FR-398D and follow the road until it ends. You’ll drive down and up a couple of dry creek beds, so you make want to be careful depending on the type of car you are driving, although we see people with all types of cars at the parking area.
Parking: To access this hike you will park at the Cache Creek Mining Area. At the end of the road is a gate blocking the road at the edge of the Cache Creek Mining Area Parking Lot. This parking area has some out-of-date signage and a couple of portapotties. You’ll likely find gold prospectors camping along the road and trudging to the creek in this historical mining area which is still open to recreational gold prospecting.
Note: This road is blocked at the first gate until the week before Memorial Day each year, and it’s a mile to the regular parking area, so don’t come before then. The road is closed for the winter starting in early November.
Length of Hike: 1.4 miles each way.
Elevation: At turnaround high point: 9,760.
Day Hiking the Colorado Trail 