Leadville Travel Guide

Situated at an elevation of 10,152 feet above mean sea level, the historic town of Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the United States. What began as a busy, silver and gold mining center in the 1860s during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush is now a major tourist destination milking on natural beauty and glimpses of a glorious past. Located at the headwaters of the Arkansas River, right within the Rocky Mountains at this high altitude provide beautiful scenic and picturesque surroundings especially during the spring and winter seasons. Leadville was officially founded in 1877 setting off the Colorado Silver Boon and had by 1880 become the world’s largest silver camp with a population exceeding 40,000 people. The Tabor Opera House hosted Oscar Wilde during his lecture tour in 1882, around a time when Leadville was a famous site of many mining swindles.

With the end of the century, however, fortunes declined, although followed by a small gold boom. World War II brought hordes of American soldiers from the nearby Camp Hale after Leadville Town acted to curb prostitution. The Leadville Historic District including the premier historic structures and over 67 mines were earmarked and enlisted in the U.S. Register of Historic Places in 1961. With cold winters and mild summers, Leadville is well known for its festive atmosphere sporting a number of events and competitions throughout the year including many running, mining, skiing and bicycle racing activities. The striking, award winning Victorian architecture of downtown Leadville which was mostly built between 1880 and 1905, along with numerous museums located in this region are very well maintained and essentially preserved so as to transport you into a magnificent and glorious historic past. A trip to the Rockies with near and dear friends is worthy and bonding, with a little help from this historical heritage.