Animas Forks is one of my favorite places to visit! Love doing the loop and taking a break here and walk around and thru the old buildings. Great opportunity for pictures. Imagine living here back then. Crazy!!
Anyone riding trails that pass this old township should stop and tour the buildings that have been restored. Many other buildings still under reconstruction. Be sure to read the history of this site.Great work is being done to restore what was left of the township.
I drove the Mineral Creek Jeep trail, which is part of the Alpine Loop, from Ouray to Animas Forks in July 2014. The trail was was a little more difficult than what I had the impression it was based on some guides. If you are concered about the level of difficulty, you might want to drive to Animas Forks via Siverton, which is much easier. The route from Ouray had a fair amount of narrow shelf road, and was quite rocky. I aired down my tires to around 20 PSI before I began and I am really glad I did. I drove the trail with JKU with a 2.5" lift. The only times I had clearance issues were when my hitch hit rock obstacles. I definitely should have removed it first. This is a very busy trail on a weekend, so there is a lot of help if you get stuck or have problems. I found other drivers to be extremely courteous and good natured.If you can tackle the drive, however, the views are extremely rewarding. Beautiful, high altitude basins, teeming with wildflowers, waterfalls, and abandoned mines. The views are some of the best views in the area and rival the Yankee Boy Basin in terms of their beauty.Animas Forks itself, is an extremely well-preserved ghost town, with many buildings. This scenic location is an excellent spot to stop for lunch. The site is also very crowded on weekends.If you are a photographer, be aware that it can be hard to capture any great shots as there are so many people. As a result, I only shot with my cell phone.
Getting there is a beast, unless you're on a dirt bike or in a real Jeep. But it's a great place. Just imagining 5000 people living there takes a leap. I've been to bigger ghost towns, however. Still, it's worth the trip, the long, tough trip.
The drive is fairly short and easy (for a Jeep road). The history and views are fantastic. Go early to beat the crowds. We got there by 8am and had it to ourselves. Then the people started coming and it wasn't as charming. They are also restoring the buildings and the sawing and hammering noise was disturbing. So get there early!!
Lots of history and easy access by car from Silverton. Plenty of signs with information about the history, and you can walk around inside the various buildings and get a real feel for how the people lived. Some buildings have been restored a bit to keep them from falling down, but nothing too extreme. Still has that "ghost town" feel.
Taking a trip out to Animas Forks is a must!!!!!! For every explorer you have hit your gold mine and you will be left speechless when you see what is left of this once booming mining town. For a moment you will be transported back to a time when you could truly feel the solitaire these people felt in the middle of no where in the midst of a booming mining time.
This old mining town is a beautiful basin with snow lasting well into the summer. It gets crowded on weekends. It is easier to reach it via Silverton. High clearance vehicle recommended. 4WD necessary if traveling the Alpine Loop.
Interesting Ghost town that is being refurbished by historical society. Easy ride up from Silverton and a great spot to begin your journey to Engineer Pass for fantastic views of Uncompahgre. Great place to rest and have picnic lunch after coming over from Corkscrew Gulch and Hurricane Pass.
Getting there from Silverton definitely requires a high-clearance vehicle, and lots of patience. It is 12 miles from Silverton, but takes an hour, due to the rocky road at the last third of the trip. If bad roads and dust are not your thing, don't go. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Animas Forks! I loved going through the old buildings, imagining what it may have been like to live there (at over 11,000 feet, very cold in the winter!) The view of mountaintops are all around you. Some of the buildings are being restored to what they would have looked like at the time. The new wood will soon fade to old and worn.