Window on Winter: Rich Mountain Scenery in the Colorado Rockies

The window of a century-old miner’s cabin frames a peak in Mayflower Gulch, near the Copper Mountain ski area in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. ©Ken Aikin

There’s gold in them thar hills—but it’s covered in snow. During the Colorado gold and silver rushes, the beautiful mountains of Mayflower Gulch were valued for their precious ore; today, the ski industry is far more lucrative.

However, there’s no fee to enjoy Mayflower Gulch. A scenic snowshoe or cross-country ski trail—located just six miles south on Highway 91 from the Copper Mountain ski area—offers a relatively easy, four-mile route. Its payoff for skiers, snowshoers, and hikers is a spectacular view of the Ten Mile Range.

A natural amphitheater, created by a horseshoe of jagged mountains, makes a stunning backdrop for ruined miners’ cabins from the early 1900s. The blend of natural scenery and the ruins of the old Boston mining camp make this a fascinating trip. Keep an eye out for tailings from old mines and a dilapidated ore chute.

Looking through a dilapidated cabin window, you behold a wealth of high-altitude wilderness, but in past the century, folks came here with dreams of finding gold and silver. For skiers, the exhilaration is in the snow on a sunny, Colorado day.

Click here for info on the Mayflower Gulch trail.

The jagged schist-rock ridge with 13,995-foot Mount Fletcher is a great spot for Telemark ski runs. ©Ken Aikin

—Laurel Kallenbach, freelance writer and editor