Animas Forks Ghost Town-Alpine Loop

The historic mining town of Animas Forks is located about 12 miles north of Silverton, CO at the junction of the North Fork and West Fork of the Animas River. It is one of the attractions on the 65 mile Alpine Loop in the San Juan Mountains.

There is a 13 stop walking tour brochure for interpretation of the Animas Forks site. I found one at the Silverton visitor center for $1. The brochure might be available at the site, but I think they were all taken when I visited. There was an initial boom here between 1876 and 1884. A fire that started in the Kalamazoo Hotel on October 22, 1891 destroyed the hotel and 13 other buildings.
 

The Duncan House is stop No. 1 and one of the most eye catching of the remaining buildings. It was built in 1879 by miner and mail carrier William Duncan for his family.

The second stop is also a private two room residence for a miner and storekeeper and was constructed around 1898.

Stops 3 through 7 are close by and are also residence related buildings. Stop 4 is the Gustavson House built in 1907. Gustavson was a storekeeper and tram operator in nearby Eureka.
 

top 8 is the remains of the Gold Prince Mill, built in 1904 at a cost of $500,000. It was the first mill in Colorado with a steel superstructure. It only operated for six years, then was disassembled and rebuilt in nearby Eureka.

The Silverton Northern Railroad was completed in 1904 next to the mill, Stop 9, and transported the ore to the New York and San Juan Smelters in Durango. There are remains of the aerial tram at Stop 11 that brought the ore 12,600 feet from the Gold Prince Mine that is located somewhere to the west.

Stop 12 is the Columbus Mine and Columbus Mill. In 1882 the mine had a 107 foot tunnel and a 35 foot shaft into Houghton Mountain. This mine produced galena ore which is high in lead. This mine was last worked in 1939.

The Animas Forks Jail is stop 10 and is located at the edge of the community overlooking the combined North and WestForks of the Animas River. It was constructed using two by six inch boards assembled sideways for a stronger structure. The door with barred windows is on display at the San Juan County Museum in Silverton.

From the Animas Forks area there are three immediate choices for hiking in this area. The Engineer Mountain Pass Road continues north. The Cinnamon Pass Road turns east and the California Gulch Road heads west. Stop 13 at the Frisco Mill is about 0.7 miles away along the California Gulch Road.

Animas Forks to Frisco Mill-Alpine Loop

The Frisco Mill is one of the many historic mining sites on the 65 mile Alpine Loop scenic by-way in southwest Colorado. It is easy walking distance from Animas Forks along the California Gulch 4WD road. Animas Forks is about 12 miles north of Silverton, CO at the headwaters of the Animas River.

The starting elevation at Animas Forks is about 11,300 feet and the trail climbs another 360 feet in about 0.7 miles. Looking back down the trail, the rough roads to Cinnamon Pass and Engineer Pass are visible, both parts of the Alpine Loop.
 

The Frisco Mill is point of interest number 13 on the Animas Forks Walking Tour, even though it is somewhat distant from Animas Forks and not many actually walk there.

The Frisco Mill is also the site of a long tunnel where drilling began in 1877 but took many years to reach profitable ore. The project changed hands several times and had several names. The mill was built in 1903 with a design capacity of 150 tons per day and was intended to separate the valuable ore from sand, gravel, and clay.

On the way up there is a small sign that says this area is an example of Alpine Tundra, found only in the arctic and isolated high mountain areas. In mid-July there are lush wildflowers along the way. Some of the information for this area says that there were previously many more trees on the slopes, but they were taken for use as building material and firewood.
 

Looking inside, many of the beams and columns have numbers on them. It was designed and constructed at the San Juan Lumber Company in Durango, CO. Then it was disassembled, shipped to the present site and reassembled according to directions.

The California Gulch Road is a side loop off of the Alpine Loop and visits other mining sites including the Vermillion, Sound Democrat 1886, Mountain Queen 1882, and Gold Prince 1903. My hike to the Frisco Mill took 0:45 minutes for about 1.4 miles round trip from Animas Forks. All the other visitors that I saw arrived in 4WD or ATV vehicles.