Foothills
Clear Creek County
22 Porch Notes tied to Clear Creek County — the local details that change from one part of Colorado to the next.
Money and taxes (1)
Home and property (1)
Water and land (1)
Outdoors and wildfire (7)
Outdoors and wildfire
Ancient bristlecone pines grow at Mount Goliath
The Mount Goliath Natural Area on the Mount Blue Sky road protects a grove of old bristlecone pines near treeline, with a short loop trail and a nature center.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Dispersed camping here has rules and a mix of private land
The Clear Creek Ranger District of the Arapaho National Forest allows dispersed camping under day limits, but it is checkerboarded with private land, so it is on you to know where you are.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Fishing rules in Clear Creek country change by the water
Fishing along Clear Creek and nearby state wildlife areas follows state rules that can differ by stretch of water, so it pays to check before you cast.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Grays and Torreys are two 14ers reached by one rough road
Grays and Torreys Peaks, a pair of 14,000-foot summits on the Continental Divide, are climbed from the Stevens Gulch trailhead reached by a rough road from Bakerville off I-70.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Mount Bierstadt is the 14er most people reach from Guanella Pass
Mount Bierstadt, a 14,000-foot peak in the Mount Evans Wilderness, is climbed from the Bierstadt Trailhead on the Guanella Pass road south of Georgetown.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
The Georgetown bighorn herd is easy to watch from the highway
A well-known herd of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep lives on the slopes between Georgetown and Silver Plume, but the Georgetown State Wildlife Area that protects them has seasonal access limits.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
The road up Mount Blue Sky may need a reservation
The scenic byway up Mount Blue Sky from Idaho Springs uses a timed-entry reservation system during the busy season, so a visit takes planning.
Read note ->Cars and driving (3)
Cars and driving
The "Oh My God Road" Between Idaho Springs and Central City
Virginia Canyon Road, the unpaved "Oh My God Road," climbs past old mine workings between Idaho Springs and Central City with wide mountain views.
Read note ->Cars and driving
Why there are two ways over the divide here
At the western edge of Clear Creek County, traffic can cross the Continental Divide either through the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel on I-70 or over the older Loveland Pass on US 6.
Read note ->Cars and driving
Winter driving on I-70 through Clear Creek County has rules
Interstate 70 climbs through Clear Creek County toward the Eisenhower Tunnel, and in winter the state can require vehicles to meet a traction law.
Read note ->History and culture (9)
History and culture
A French hotel in a silver town: the Hotel de Paris
The Hotel de Paris in Georgetown is a French-styled hotel and restaurant that Louis Dupuy created from an earlier building during the silver boom, now run as a museum.
Read note ->History and culture
Georgetown and Silver Plume are a protected piece of mining history
The towns of Georgetown and Silver Plume and the railroad between them form a federally recognized historic district tied to Colorado's silver-mining past.
Read note ->History and culture
Georgetown's Christmas Market keeps an old-world December alive
For two December weekends, Georgetown's historic streets fill with roasted chestnuts, horse-drawn wagons, and a children's Santa Lucia procession at an event Historic Georgetown has run for more than six decades.
Read note ->History and culture
Go Underground at the Phoenix Gold Mine
A family-run mine above Idaho Springs walks you into a real gold tunnel and lets you keep whatever you pan out of the creek.
Read note ->History and culture
The Argo Mill and Tunnel tell Idaho Springs' gold story
The Argo Mill and Tunnel above Idaho Springs is a preserved gold-era landmark that once drained and processed ore from mines across the district.
Read note ->History and culture
The Georgetown Loop is a railroad built to climb a wall
The Georgetown Loop is a restored narrow-gauge railroad that loops over itself to climb between Georgetown and Silver Plume, with a historic silver-mine tour on the route.
Read note ->History and culture
The Hamill House shows a silver baron's Georgetown
The Hamill House in Georgetown is a preserved 1800s home of a wealthy silver-era figure, now cared for as a historic house museum.
Read note ->History and culture
The hot springs that put the "Springs" in Idaho Springs
The steaming geothermal water that drew a prospector here in 1859 still feeds a soaking spot you can visit today.
Read note ->History and culture
Why Idaho Springs exists: an 1859 gold strike
Idaho Springs grew up around an early 1859 gold discovery on Clear Creek that helped launch Colorado's gold rush.
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