What makes it a great escape: Between its large number of nearby fourteeners and thirteeners — five of the former, seven of the latter — and the fact that it has the largest National Historic District in the state (more than 200 structures), Lake City has the hiking and history covered. Go hardcore and bag a peak (or two, or three) or lazily wander among the houses dripping with gingerbread trim and Victorian mansions. And why is it called Lake City? Lake San Cristobal is lovely, for starters.
Get there: Lake City is 255 miles southwest of Denver via U.S. 285, U.S. 50 and Colorado 149.
Get out there: Sunshine, Redcloud and Handies are considered to be among Colorado's easiest 14,000-foot peaks, and the first two can often be climbed in one day. If that's more than you were looking to take on, there are dozens of hikes nearby for all levels, including Cataract Gulch, which weaves around and along Cottonwood Creek, and Powderhorn Lakes, which nets alpine and meadow views. The Lake City/Hinsdale County Visitor Center (800 Gunnison Ave., 800-569-1874) has maps and other info available.
Or try this: Lake City is lake heaven, and that means fishing. There are high-alpine lakes to hike to and streams galore, or you can simply plop down on the banks of Lake San Cristobal or the Lake Fork of the Gunnison and try your luck with rainbow, brown or brook trout. Don't forget to pick up a license; try the Sportsman Outdoors & Fly Shop (238 S. Gunnison Ave., 970-944-2526, lakecitysportsman.com).
Dine: Poker Alice Pizza (188 S. Gunnison Ave., 970-944-4100, pokeralice.org) isn't just a pizza joint — the casual spot serves three meals daily, including an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet for $4.99 (kids $2.49) that features their biscuits and sausage gravy. Come back at night for the "daily double" deal, a large cheese pie and pitcher of beer or soda for $9.99.
Overnight: Camp or stay in a cabin at Castle Lakes Campground and Cabins (8201 County Road 30, 970-944-2622, castlelakes.com), which sits on 41 acres next to two lakes about 10 miles southwest of Lake City. Guests have private access to fish, and the place has Jeeps and RVs for rent, a playground and allows pets. Cabins start at $60.
Hinsdale County Colorado is absolutely blessed with 96% of our county being public land and open for all of us to enjoy. Included in that vast amount of public land is some of the most spectacular and beautiful country that Colorado has to offer. Much of this beautiful land has been designated wilderness. We have access to four wilderness areas and two wilderness study areas which are protected just as though they were actual wilderness. No motorized or mechanical transportation is allowed in these areas. This wilderness land offers unlimited opportunity to experience a return to nature just the way it was when discovered by our forefathers.
The Uncompahgre Wilderness covers 102,721 acres and is home to two of Lake City’s fourteeners, Wetterhorn Peak and the most beautiful Uncompahgre Peak. The trailheads of these two peaks can be accessed from North Henson Creek Road and Nellie Creek Road. You will need a good four wheel drive vehicle for both of these access points. The 75 miles of hiking trails in the Uncompahgre is accessible from many points in Hinsdale County.
The La Garita Wilderness is the lesser traveled and encompasses 128,858 acres. It was one of the original five wilderness areas in the state. San Luis Peak at 14,014 feet and Wheeler Geologic Area are two of the outstanding things to visit here. The La Grita can be accessed at several points along the Cebolla Creek Loop, Spring Creek Pass and from the town of Creede. Most of the trails in the La Garita, as well as the other wilderness areas, are suitable for horses.
The Weminuche Wilderness at 488,210 acres is by far the largest wilderness area accessible 
from Hinsdale County. It contains sections of the Colorado Trail and the Continental Divide Trail making it the more traveled of the wilderness areas in our region. It can be accessed from several points, the more popular access point is from the Rio Grande Reservoir south of Lake City.
The Powderhorn Wilderness with 61,250 acres is our personal favorite. It was the primary area of our outfitting business and it adjoins our ranch in Powderhorn. For us access is right out our back gate. For many years access to this area was pretty limited due to the private land surrounding this wilderness. In recent years the BLM has traded for ranches on the boundary and has made public access much easier. This area contains the largest continuous tundra in the lower 48 states. It also contains Powderhorn Lake and Devils Lake along with some of the most spectacular views of the San Juan Mountains available. Hiking trails into the Powderhorn Wilderness can be found in several areas around the Lake City area and is well worth the hike.
Red Cloud Peak and Handies Peak Wilderness Study Areas contain 54,321 acres and is home to three of Lake City’s fourteeners: Handies, Redcloud and Sunshine Peaks. This study area contains some of the more spectacular evidence of the volcanic events than spawned these incredible San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Much of the remnants of Hinsdale County’s rich mining past can be found here as well. Numerous hiking trails can be accessed from the beautiful Alpine Loop. It is an area rich in history and is well worth the time spent on the trails.
Even with the vast amounts of wilderness Hinsdale County has much more public land to offer for mountain bikes, ATVs and snowmobiles. If you stay on the trails and follow the rules you will find yourself welcome to come and enjoy this rather large piece of heaven. It is an incredible place like no other paradise in America. Come and enjoy it with us.
Springtime in the Colorado Rockies can be a difficult time for those of us that live here. The weather begins to warm with the promise of the summer to come and then out of the blue a cold front hits and we are back to winter. One day we are in shirt sleeves and the next we are back to gloves and warm jackets. We go thru mud season and the roads begin to clear and we wash our cars and then snow comes and the mud and dirty cars return.
With all these trivial problems Springtime is a wonderful and glorious time to be high in these beautiful mountains. It is truly a place that you can see the renewal of nature from a dead winter’s sleep to the bursting of fresh life everywhere you look. One of the first signs of spring is the smell of the new willow buds along Henson Creek. The creek its self begins to wake up and the ice covered water gets wider and faster as the snow slowly melts in the higher mountains. Later in springtime you welcome the cold nights to slow the melting of the snow to allow the streams to carry the clear water away with no danger of flooding. Mother Nature is a marvel.
It is wonderful to see the wildlife feeling frisky and enjoying the warm days and especially the young deer fawns and elk calves that have survived the long hard winter. In recent years many more of the young deer and elk survive the winter. With limited hunting in the fall it allows the females to become pregnant earlier in the season giving the young a few more precious months to gain strength before winter sets in. The birds are returning and sing each morning and the geese sometimes return a little too early and Lake San Cristobal is still frozen. They all have to gather in the few warm springs where the lake does not freeze.
You are amazed at how quickly the little green shoots appear from what seems like still frozen ground. All plant life is anxious to begin the renewal process. Everything grows quickly in the high country knowing that the glorious summer season will past very quickly and winter will return. It seems vegetation in the mountains is a special variety that survives the late spring snows that would surely kill its lowland cousins if exposed to the same weather conditions.
You will soon see a few hardy fishermen working their way across the frozen ice along the rushing streams trying to place their flies where the still sleepy trout might take it. Others are awaiting the ice to come off the lake so they can try for one of those huge lake trout that are so hungry in the spring.
Springtime warms very quickly with the promise of the wonderful summer that it will bring--but you must always be aware that one of those Rocky Mountain Snow Storms can occur even into May. One of the heaviest snows that we have ever experienced came in May about 22 years ago. It was gone very quickly but brought some much needed moisture that year. This is one of those years we could use a heavy snow in the spring for moisture.
Even with the quickly changing weather and the difficulty in dealing with the muddy streets we must feel very fortunate when we watch the news in the evenings and see what some of our lowland neighbors experience with spring weather. We will take our gentle breezes and occasional spring snows.
Fishing near Lake City has been the main attraction that has kept families coming to our area for generations. The incredible beauty of the flowing mountain streams and shimmering high country lakes are just a bonus.
In the early days fish were so abundant that little regard was given to conservation. Thankfully in recent times people have become very careful about protecting this precious resource and our river, streams and lakes are still full of these great fighting trout that we associate with Colorado.
Springtime in the Rockies fishing can be a little difficult in the streams as the trout are still down in the deeper holes and are not as active as they will be as the weather warms. Fishing on Lake San Cristobal is just the opposite as the fish are hungry and anxious to go after whatever bait is offered. Our favorite time to fish is just as the ice goes off the lake. We have our special “hole” where the fish are always hungry and willing to attack whatever we offer. The one problem we often had was that in our haste to get a boat in the water we would forget a fishing license. Phil Mason, our former Game Warden, would delight in writing a citation for our error. We lost Phil several years to a tragic accident and we still miss the apple pies he would bake for us to make up for the citations. Springtime is also the peak time to fish for the big Lake Trout that live deep in Lake San Cristobal. Most locals fish from the bank with a large piece of sucker meat on the bottom and are amazingly successful.
Summer is the prime season for fishing in the high country streams and lakes. Families find the fishing in Deer Lakes and other small lakes delightful and the young anglers can usually catch a “limit” while enjoying the spectacular scenery of the Rockies. More often than not they will be treated to seeing the mother moose and her calf that live near Deer Lakes. The serious fisherman can usually find much larger and harder fighting trout in the streams where a short hike is required. Lake fishing in the high country lakes can be fantastic. You will marvel at how these huge trout have survived enough hard winters to grow to such incredible size.
Fall fishing is the favorite time for many anglers and especially Lake City residents. The waters are usually vacant and the trees are a glorious golden delight. The streams are getting low and the wise old trout that have survived the summer fisherman are settled into the deeper holes awaiting the bugs to float within east range. The experienced angler places his fly among the other “bugs” and very often latches onto a beautiful Colorado trout that is a thrill to bring to the net.
Winter fishing is for the serious fisherman only. The streams are frozen with few exceptions. The lakes are covered with ice so thick you can drive your car to your favorite fishing spot. Ice fishing is popular for some of the more serious locals and can be very successful. The warm and comfortable ice huts that have been placed on the ice make winter fishing much more enjoyable.
Whatever season you choose Lake City and the Colorado high country is a beautiful place to enjoy your favorite sport. Come join us and give it a try.
Not too many years ago when winter arrived cars were put on blocks, frozen elk hung from trees or storage sheds, roads out of town were snowed in and impassable. Groceries were stock piled, milk was frozen and firewood was stacked high in the wood sheds.
That is certainly not true today. After a snow fall Highway 149 is cleared and open before you get out of bed and the city streets are being plowed and cleared by eight o’clock in the morning and Lake City is up and going. Winters in the past were pretty tough for the few folks who lived here. Winters now are full of activities and the folks who live and visit here enjoy the season.
Hinsdale County has over 100 miles of groomed trails for snowmobilers, cross country skiers and snowshoers. These trails are varied in scope and meander thru the forest, cross wide open plateaus and take you to the tops of the mountains for breath taking views of winter in the San Juans. The county has recently purchased a new groomer and the snowmobile club helps to design the trail system to insure its safety and maximum scenery.
Ice climbing is available just a few blocks from downtown. The ice wall is created from the town’s water supply and is available from December until March. The wall is free and never crowed and offers 15 different routes of varying difficulty. This activity is certainly not for everyone but offers a great opportunity to watch those who enjoy the sport.
Ice skating is enjoyed by many folks where a part of the town park has been transformed into a splendid ice rink. The rink is never crowded and is a great place for the whole family to enjoy a leisurely afternoon together. In the early winter before the heavy snows people can be seen skating on Lake San Cristobal.
Ice fishing on Lake San Cristobal is a very enjoyable pass time and usually a very productive activity. You can brave the elements outside or set up a warm and comfortable fishing hut on the ice. A few of the locals have incredible huts that they move onto the ice as soon as it is safe to do so. These huts usually remain until the fear of an early thaw forces their removal
Our little ski hill certainly would not be mistaken for the gigantic chair lifts of the ski resort towns, but the laughter of the children waiting for the little “J Lift” to take them to the top of the hill is worth a lot. There are four runs of varying difficulty and is a perfect place for children and adults alike to learn and gain confidence for the bigger ski slopes not far from Lake City.
The Hinsdale Haute Route is a shining star for Lake City and Hinsdale County. The three hut system enables cross country skiers and snowshoers to experience that “ON top of the world” feeling in comfort. Each yurt is carpeted, insulated with a wooden deck, wood stove, beds and foam sleeping pads. Each yurt sleeps 6 to 8 people and guide service is available.
All of these outdoor activities are great but winter is also a time to enjoy family and friends. Dinner parties and evenings by the fire are enjoyed by everyone. Plays in the local theatre are always enjoyable, especially local talent nights. Several restaurants are open in the winter serving fine meals. Lake City no longer closes up in the winter. In fact many people think winter can rival summer for enjoyment.
Springtime in the Rockies can be a difficult time for those of us that live here. The weather begins to warm with the promise of the summer to come and then out of the blue a cold front hits and we are back to winter. One day we are in shirt sleeves and the next we are back to gloves and warm jackets. We go thru mud season and the roads begin to clear and we wash our cars and then snow comes and the mud and dirty cars return.
With all these trivial problems Springtime is a wonderful and glorious time to be high in these beautiful mountains. It is truly a place that you can see the renewal of nature from a dead winter’s sleep to the bursting of fresh life everywhere you look. One of the first signs of spring is the smell of the new willow buds along Henson Creek. The creek its self begins to wake up and the ice covered water gets wider and faster as the snow slowly melts in the higher mountains. Later in springtime you welcome the cold nights to slow the melting of the snow to allow the streams to carry the clear water away with no danger of flooding. Mother Nature is a marvel.
It is wonderful to see the wildlife feeling frisky and enjoying the warm days and especially the young deer fawns and elk calves that have survived the long hard winter. In recent years many more of the young deer and elk survive the winter. With limited hunting in the fall it allows the females to become pregnant earlier in the season giving the young a few more precious months to gain strength before winter sets in. The birds are returning and sing each morning and the geese sometimes return a little too early and Lake San Cristobal is still frozen. They all have to gather in the few warm springs where the lake does not freeze.
You are amazed at how quickly the little green shoots appear from what seems like still frozen ground. All plant life is anxious to begin the renewal process. Everything grows quickly in the high country knowing that the glorious summer season will past very quickly and winter will return. It seems vegetation in the mountains is a special variety that survives the late spring snows that would surely kill its lowland cousins if exposed to the same weather conditions.
You will soon see a few hardy fishermen working their way across the frozen ice along the rushing streams trying to place their flies where the still sleepy trout might take it. Others are awaiting the ice to come off the lake so they can try for one of those huge lake trout that are so hungry in the spring.
Springtime warms very quickly with the promise of the wonderful summer that it will bring--but you must always be aware that one of those Rocky Mountain Snow Storms can occur even into May. One of the heaviest snows that we have ever experienced came in May about 22 years ago. It was gone very quickly but brought some much needed moisture that year. This is one of those years we could use a heavy snow in the spring for moisture.
Even with the quickly changing weather and the difficulty in dealing with the muddy streets we must feel very fortunate when we watch the news in the evenings and see what some of our lowland neighbors experience with spring weather. We will take our gentle breezes and occasional spring snows.
Lake City boasts more than 200 historic structures that preserve the memories of times gone by. Houses, outbuildings churches, commercial blocks and motor court cabins from the 1930’s and early 50’s are all amazingly well kept and restored to their original splendor. If only these old buildings could talk and tell the history of this beautiful little mountain community. Lake City just refused to die and held on after the mines played out and the railroad pulled out leaving the little town 50 miles from the nearest community of any size.
Grass grew in the streets and only a few of the hardiest people hung on knowing that with the beauty and unique setting Lake City would survive. With the popularity of the motor car Lake City did indeed survive and after World War II the tourist found this peaceful valley and Lake City survived in a big way. It wasn’t until the late 70’s that the old homes became popular and gradually most have been restored to their original beauty. Lake City had a number of people who realized how Lake City and many other small towns had played a very important role in the settling of the American West and worked hard to preserve the memory of that contribution.
The Historic District contains commercial and residential buildings of all sizes and styles. Most of the commercial structures were built of wood with front facing gables and false fronts. A few masonry buildings were built to house the stronger businesses such as the bank. Lake City’s shopping district is still made up of this type building. Many of these wooden buildings have been lost over the years from fire. A very historic old building was lost this winter to fire and the heroic efforts of our fire department saved the old structures on either side of the burned building.
Lake City is filled with beautiful new homes but the historic district and the shopping area is still very much like it was in the late 1800’s. You actually shop in the old stores much like they were in the past. Lake City is a unique experience. Come join us for a visit-like many of us you might decide to stay.
Mesa Verde in Southwest Colorado is an historic marvel that just should not be missed if you are anywhere close in your travels. It is rich in mind boggling history and makes you think and wonder what happened to these hard working talented people.
Historians believe the earliest inhabitants lived in this area from at least 10,000 BC and survived by hunting game and gathering food plants. It is known that people now called Ancestral Puebloans, formerly called Anasazi, inhabited this region from 1AD to 1300AD. They left unbelievable remnants of their civilization through out what is now known as the four corners area of Southwestern America.
Ancestral Puebloans created a civilization that much resembles some of our cities large apartment complexes. They built large structures with hundreds of rooms. These buildings were built in such a way that ladders had to be used for access but an interesting aspect was that some areas could be reached by hand and foot placement. For safety sake they were made in such a way that if you started out with the wrong foot about half way up you would find you could not go up or down. There are thousands of sites in the region and many are open to the public but the vast majority are still closed and protected while studies are being done to solve the mysteries of these people.
Mesa Verde National Park is the center of activity for visitors to this region. Fourteen centuries of history are on display here at the park. The park was established in 1906 by congress with farsighted people realizing what a national treasure we had that must be protected. It has been designated as one of the 50 places people should visit in their lifetime.
The park offers unbelievable opportunity to see and experience the life of these Ancestral Puebloans. You can visit the spectacular cliff dwellings with a very knowledgeable park ranger as well as many Mesa Top villages built between 450AD and 1300AD. These villages were inhabited by the workers who tended the crops being grown to sustain the people of the area. You, like most visitors, will be totally consumed with the mystery of why these people abandoned these beautiful building and seemingly wonderful life.
We visited the park several years ago with our grandchildren. My oldest grandson found what he thought was an ancient kernel of corn. Our guide was shown the little piece of corn and the whole area was vacated and other park officials were brought in to inspect the corn. It was very interesting to see just how dedicated the park personnel were and how careful they were to protect every little piece of history.
This is without a doubt one of the most interest ancient sites in the Southwest and I would think in North America. If you are close in your travels don’t miss the opportunity to visit.
The top school district in the state of Colorado for this year is Hinsdale County RE1. The State Board of Education members as of last Tuesday signed off on ratings for more than 1,600 schools in our state and the top school in Colorado was right here in Lake City. Lake City’s school earned 95.4% of points possible in the rating system. The second place winner was the Aspen School District with 89.4% rating.
There are 178 school districts in the state and only 18 received the top rating, “Accredited with Distinction”, by earning 80% or above points possible. Lake City was also included in the top schools last year. Our excellent school system is led by Dr. Karen Thormalen and she is supported by a staff of incrediblely talented and dedicated school teachers. With only 96 students in the system the student to teacher ratio is terrific.
A small district such as Lake City has a real challenge with an athletic program. Amazingly though they field soccer, basketball, and track teams that hold their own with towns much larger in size. Unlike larger school districts each Lake City team member gets a chance to, ”Get in the Game”.
Our new school is state of the art but is already bursting at the seams with the addition of middle school and high school students to the program. Recently middle and high school students were bused to Gunnison but when given a choice to attend school here in Lake City they all decided to stay at home.
This excellent school system was not built overnight. When we moved here our youngest son Dan attended school in the old school where the roof was so fragile the engineers told our school board, of which my wife was a member, to get the children out if we had more than four inches of snow. Our two older children rode the school bus to Gunnison each day, a 52 mile ride one way.
The struggle to build the new school was a tough one. Some members of the county had children in other districts and had no desire to pay higher taxes. Some members of the older community had no children in the school system and were also opposed to a tax increase. The business community knew that in order to progress Lake City must have an improved school system. The first tax increase was defeated and the community was divided and feelings ran very high on each side of the issue. A few years later another vote was proposed and by then Lake City was on its way to being the progressive community that it is today. The tax increase was approved with the support of the entire community and Lake City had the new school that stands at the top of Colorado schools today.
Along with our top school Lake City has a new library that will rival any community two to three times our size. We also have a brand new medical center that is more than state of the art. I really think our top school has inspired our little community to be all it can be.
The most remote county in the lower forty eight with 96% public land and five of the fifty four 14,000 foot mountains in Colorado makes Lake City and Hinsdale County one of, if not the most, incredible places in the beautiful state of Colorado. Not to mention over 20 thirteeners and only about 800 people in the entire county. We have three National Forest, four National Wilderness Areas, and two wilderness study areas all open to hikers and untold miles of trails for horses and mountain bikers.
The five 14ers in our area are Handies at 14,048 feet, Sunshine at 14,001 feet, Redcloud at 14,034 feet, Wetterhorn at 14,015 feet and the most beautiful Uncompahgre at 14,309 feet. Handies is considered the easiest climb with Uncompahgre, Redcloud and Sunshine rated moderate and Wetterhorn ranked difficult. Redcloud and Sunshine are two of the most popular peaks because they can both be conquered in one day by most climbers. Most local prefer Uncompahgre. The view from the peak is astounding. My wife and her friends in their younger days would climb Uncompahgre on a moonlight night to watch the sunrise in the morning along with the incredible view from the peak. The ashes of many locals and others alike are spread near the top of this magnificent mountain.
The fourteeners create an incredible challenge for the mountaineers and serious hiker from walking up grassy slopes to serious technical rock climbing. Scaling the peaks has become so popular that the sheer number of people, over 500,000 in the entire state annually , has created a seriously damaging environment for the delicate alpine ecosystem especially on the northern slope of the Rockies.
The fourteeners should be considered a serious outing and if not careful can be dangerous. The high peaks are above timberline and can harbor bad storms at any time of the year. The summertime can be especially dangerous with heavy thunderstorms forming almost every afternoon with serious lighting. These storms can be easily avoided by planning your climbs to be off the peaks before the severe weather begins. To be on the safe side you should always plan ahead and carry safety equipment on your outing. Waterproof raingear, food, maps, a compass or GPS device, head lamp, matches, ice axe, and sun protection are all smart things to have along. Altitude sickness and dehydration are the most common ailments for the novice climbers and especially for those from lower altitudes. Both can be avoided usually by drinking plenty of water.
These high peaks provide an opportunity for hikers to connect with nature and to seek spiritual renewal along with very healthy exercise. Due to our remoteness you can often spend the day and see very few, if any, other hikers on your journey. Come join us.