Area Information
Leadville typifies the Colorado boomtown. It all started about 1859 when the Slater Party made an $8 million gold discovery at California Gulch. Thousands soon flocked there, and prospectors exhausted gold reserves by the mid-1860s. However, by 1880 the silver boom began. Leadville quickly became the second largest city in the state.
Leadville's origin is a mother lode of gold, silver, lead, zinc and molybdenum. Founded with the discovery of gold in California Gulch by a prospector named Abe Lee, the town reached a population of nearly 40,000 residents by the 1880s and was a strong contender with Denver as the state's capital.
Many Victorian buildings still stand in both the shopping and residential areas.
H.A.W. Tabor and Baby Doe, the "Unsinkable Molly Brown," Dow & Jones, and the Guggenheims are some of the magical names of the past among the legends of the carbonate camp called Leadville.
With crisp mountain air and many sunny days, Lake County boasts a moderate alpine climate. The average temperature is 76 degrees. Winters are not "bitter cold" in Leadville, despite low temperatures, because of an abundance of sunshine and low humidity.
Our air is crystal clear and remains unpolluted. Snowfalls usually begin in October and the fresh snow in April contributes to the very best spring skiing. The locals joke that it can snow any day in Leadville, even the 4th of July, but summer snows are short and never stay longer than an hour. Highways are well maintained and few driving problems are experienced. School has never been cancelled and only delayed once in 30 years.
Leadville is a National Historic Landmark District. Other points of interest include Healy House, the Dexter Cabin, Heritage Museum, the Leadville National Fish Hatchery (established in 1889 and the 2nd oldest federal hatchery), the Matchless Mine Cabin, the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, Tabor Opera House and more.
Public primary/middle schools in Leadville include the Lake County Intermediate School, Pitts Elementary School, Westpark Elementary School and Lake County High School. Nearby colleges and universities include Western State College, Colorado Mountain College, Colorado School of Mines, Red Rocks Community College and the Universities of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado Springs.
Hospitals and medical centers in the area include St Vincent General Hospital District, Vail Valley Medical Center, Aspen Valley Hospital and the Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center.
Leadville, the county seat of Lake County, is situated in the heart of the Rocky Mountains surrounded by Colorado's tallest peaks, within an hour drive of five major ski areas including Keystone, Vail, Beaver Creek, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, and at the head of the Upper Arkansas River, approximately 96 miles west-southwest of Denver.
Nearby is our own family ski area, Ski Cooper, with snow sports available from Thanksgiving to April. Around town is the newly completed Mineral Belt Trail for biking, roller blading, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
Just outside Leadville is the National Fish Hatchery and thousands of acres of public lands. Lake County has over 1,000 miles of trout streams, 300 lakes and a new corridor of the Arkansas River open to excellent fishing. The Arkansas also offers some of the best kayaking and
rafting in the State of Colorado.
If you like fishing, hunting, climbing mountains, skiing, photography, four wheeling, boating, kayaking, rafting - or if you just enjoy beautiful scenery, our community, and the surrounding area, cannot be surpassed. A community is exactly what we are! We are not just a ski
town or a place for the rich & famous to recreate, we are a real old fashioned town where we are all neighbors and know each other.
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