Late 19th-century prospectors acted hastily when they set up shop at 12,000 feet to mine a thick vein of mountain-bound gold outside Leadville. The ore’s purity was lousy, and this would-be gold town busted before it boomed. But with rare wildflowers like the blueleaf cinquefoil, and nonstop views of the Tenmile Range, the 5.6-mile round-trip on the Mayflower Gulch Trail delivers the goods before you even reach the first ruin. Follow the well-maintained trail and emerge into the large basin at the foot of Fletcher Mountain and Pacific Peak. A mile from the trailhead, the shambles of mining cabins flank both sides of the trail; defunct tram structures appear at mile two. Take a picture of Fletcher Mountain (13,951 feet) through an empty window, then summit from the south ridge.
The Way:
From Denver, take I-70 west to Copper Mountain, exit 195. Go south on CO 91 for 5.8 miles.
The Mayflower Gulch trailhead is on the left.
This is the historic name, shown on a 1891 map, for a cinnabar mine that was located on patented property south of Clear Creek Mine at N36° 22.516; W120° 43.338 at 3324 feet.
This was part of the Clear Creek Mine.
This is shown as private land on the BLM Coalinga map
