11 | Silver Thread

Length: 117 miles. Driving time: 3 hours.
Open All Year

The colorful old mining camps of the Silver Thread offer history, scenic beauty, and a heavy dose of authenticity. The heights around Creede and Lake City remain strewn with abandoned mining structures, most of them accessible via rugged backcountry roads. Between the two towns, Highway 149 shadows the upper reaches of the Rio Grande, serving up a bounty of natural wonders – sparkling North Clear Creek Falls, the Slumgullion earth slide, and the shark-like fin of Uncompahgre Peak.

The colorful old mining camps of the Silver Thread offer history, scenic beauty, and a heavy dose of authenticity. The heights around Creede and Lake City remain strewn with abandoned mining structures, most of them accessible via rugged backcountry roads. Between the two towns, Highway 149 shadows the upper reaches of the Rio Grande, serving up a bounty of natural wonders – sparkling North Clear Creek Falls, the Slumgullion earth slide, and the shark-like fin of Uncompahgre.

Features include:

• Main Town: Creede
• Collier State Wildlife Area
• Rio Grande National Forest
• Wheeler Geologic Natural Area
• Rio Grande River. Gunnison River
• Lake San Christobel
• North Clear Creek Falls

Wildlife: Bighorn Sheep, Elk, Golden Eagles, Bear, Beaver