Tick It Before You Kick It

St. Elmo: The West's Most Preserved Ghost Town

• Alexandra Lauren | The Bucket List Mermaid • Season 1 • Episode 16

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What secrets lie hidden in the ghost town of St Elmo, Colorado? Prepare for an adventure as Alexandra guides you through one of the West’s best-preserved relics from the 1880s Silver Rush. 🤠

Check out the show notes 👉 here for resources and pictures of St. Elmo!

🏔️Discover the vibrant history of this once-thriving town, now a hauntingly beautiful destination for history enthusiasts and thrill-seekers alike. 

⚜️From navigating the picturesque San Isabel National Forest to wandering the timeworn streets of St Elmo, learn insider tips on when and how to make the most of your visit, whether you’re planning a summer escape or seeking the charm of autumn.

🎣Get ready to explore charming local activities like fishing and hiking, and don’t miss the whimsical tradition of chipmunk feeding. 

🌲Whether you're a history buff or thrill-seeker, this episode is your perfect guide to an unforgettable Colorado adventure.

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Lex:

If you go, just roll down all your windows, blast some country or alternative mountain music and you're just a true Colorado native at that point, hello there, my wild adventures. This is Alexandra with Ticket, before you Kick it, the podcast where we talk all about your adventure bucket list and some travel stories. Local hidden gem here in Colorado, where I am native to and I'm going to be honest, it was such a hidden gem that I had no clue it existed up until about a few weeks ago when I actually got a recommendation to go for my grandmother and my aunt, and that is St Elmo, colorado. Not sure what that is. Stay tuned, because in this episode we are going to be talking about what it is, why you should go, and just some tips and tricks for what I learned from checking this off of my adventure bucket list.

Lex:

So first off, what exactly is St Elmo? Now? This is a town up near Buena Vista and Salida in Colorado and it is one of Colorado's most best preserved ghost towns. Actually, I would argue that it is the best preserved ghost town in the entire West. Are you intrigued? So was I. So first let's step back in time and uncover just a bit about St Elmo's history. So this was founded in the 1880s, during the Colorado Silver Rush, and St Elmo quickly grew into a bustling mining town with a population that peaked at 2,000 residents. This was about in the town's prime in around 1890, and it had over 150 mine claims, a telegraph office, a general store, five hotels, a newspaper office, a schoolhouse and even a dance hall. However, as the mining industry declined, so did St Elmo, and by the early 1920s it was practically abandoned and it just left behind a ghost town, literally frozen in time. St Elmo is not just significant for its well-preserved historic structures, but also just the way it provides a unique glimpse into the life of early American pioneers. From General Store to the historic homes, every corner of St Elmo just whispers to a begone era, and it was so cool. Actually, you could see inside of all of these places and you could go inside most of these. It was just so cool. So are you planning a visit to this fascinating ghost town? Here are some tips to help you make the most of your trip.

Lex:

So the best time to visit St Elmo is during the summer months, from about June to August. The weather is mild and the roads are accessible. I went in June and it was a little hot, but it actually was not bad. However, I have heard that if you go any time earlier than June or you start to go at the end, they do get some snow up here, and I'm just going to be honest, I would not want to drive this road up to St Elmo when there's snow. Autumn, however, I bet, is absolutely stunning because there's aspens everywhere and during autumn it just creates that wonderful, nice yellow tint and I just I bet it would be absolutely magical, just be a magical touch to this historic landscape.

Lex:

If you're looking for the time of day, we ended up going a little bit before sunset so that we could have plenty of time to go through there, but it wasn't the heat and then we also weren't running into any afternoon thunderstorms there, so I would definitely plan on going like late afternoon or maybe early to dinner. I would hate to drive it at night, so just keep up a little, plenty of time. But I definitely think there is a sweet spot to see it in between golden hour and there actually wasn't a lot of people there when we first arrived there. There was some people there, but stayed stayed for a pretty long time. This is how we were there in June, but we left around like 7 or 8 and we were totally fine. It wasn't hot, we got like one little sprinkle on us, but that was it. It was awesome.

Lex:

As far as accommodations, you do have several options. You can stay in nearby towns like Buena Vista or Salida, and these offer a range of hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts. I personally travel full-time in an RV, so I stayed in an RV called Arrowhead Point. I do have a guide on there on my website that I will link in the show notes if you're looking for a tenting space or an RV space, but there are so many camping opportunities if you want to go that route, and these are all just spread out in the San Isabel National Forest. It's absolutely stunning in Buena Vista, and I believe it was only about a 45-minute drive away from Buena Vista, and then Salida is about 30 minutes from Buena Vista, so you could also look in Salida as well.

Lex:

So let's talk about what to do in St Elmo. First off, it's free, so I'm always down to go on a free bucket list adventure, am I right? And I must say that one of the coolest things about St Elmo was honestly the drive up there. I think it's because we just went in the beginning of summer but we just rolled down all the windows. But it was amazing. If you go, just roll down all your windows, blast some country or alternative mountain music and you're just a true Colorado native at that point, or alternative mountain music, and you're just a true Colorado native at that point. As I have mentioned in previous episodes, I am a sucker for mountain drives. I was born here and I honestly they never get old and no matter what country I am in, I just love driving through some mountains, and this was no exception. These mountain views were incredible. There was not a lot of people there, it was just insane the drive. And, as I said, we rolled down the windows, we blasted some music. It was absolutely such an amazing experience and we didn't even get to St Elmo, like it was already worth it just for the drive.

Lex:

Now, once you get to St Elmo, the first and foremost thing that you're going to want to do is walk the ghost town itself. As you walk through the streets, it kind of gives you an eerie yet exciting feeling as you just explore the preserved buildings, including the old general store, several homes and even the former school house I noticed with this. I don't know if I was expecting it to be bigger than it was, but it really is only about two streets wide. You have one street that's going down it's like the main street and the most picturesque, and then you can also turn right over that Chalk River and you can see a little bit more homes and then go up to Tin Cup Pass. So this main street, it was very small but very cool and they did it in a way where you could look into windows and see some old things, you could go into some places, like I believe it was the church that you could go into, and you could also read about a lot of the history of St Elmo, which was very, very fascinating to be reading about the history of the place that you're standing in right there. So that was really, really cool.

Lex:

One thing that I did not appreciate about this and it was a massive thing, the only reason that I did not like St Elmo is they have a bunch of very creepy dolls everywhere and they're hidden and I took a picture with my camera and it's a really good picture. I was very proud of it. I'm trying to work on my photography. By the way, you can see all the pictures that I took. Please go, please go see it, please cheer on my photography, because I'm a little bit of a nerd about it and I'm just trying to get better. So go, hype those photos up. But anyway, there's a photo in there that you will see and I took it and I was editing it and there is some sort of doll or figurine in the top window and I about had a heart attack editing these photos. So, anyway, that's the only thing I do. I'm totally kidding. It's fine, it was totally fine. It was just really funny to hear me scream outside editing these photos in Cripple Creek.

Lex:

Another must-do activity that comes with a giant, massive warning sign is Tin Cup Pass. This was also recommended to us and we had a RAV4, which, again, very standard Colorado car and this scenic off-road trail actually takes you through the stunning Rocky Mountain terrain and provides breathtaking views, especially if you're into photography or adventure driving, and special emphasis on the adventure driving, because it was about the scariest 30 seconds. Seriously, we were not supposed to be on that road at all. Stress on the adventure driving. You definitely need a 4x4 high clearance. We have a 4x4, but not high clearance, and we at one point felt rocks scraping the underside of the car. We backed into a rock. We were just sitting there pretty much screaming profanities the entire time on Tin Cup Pass, just trying to not ruin the car, definitely would not recommend that. If you have a car that is not built for adventure driving, don't be like us. We knew it the second we got on there we knew it was a mistake and then we were just trying to turn around Like we were like just get us off of the road, where we realize that we should not have done this, but get us off of the road and we did, but it took a while and it took us screaming for most of it, just praying that the car would be okay. It was okay. We checked everything but, yeah, tin Cup Pass, it's amazing if you have the right gear.

Lex:

Also for outdoor enthusiasts, st Elmo offers a plethora of hiking, fishing, wildlife opportunities. The Chalk Creek runs through the area and actually provides a perfect spot for trout fishing, and we took like a couple little hikes. One of the ones that I would recommend is very, very tiny, but if you would go past that main street and then a little bit past the last house you'll see some wooden you know logs there. But if you turn to your right there's actually a stunning view of the river and it's just surrounded by mountains. And then you turn around and there's a historic ghost town. Like how cool, and it's only about a five-minute walk past the main area. You will need to walk because they don't allow cars that far.

Lex:

Another thing that we did in Tin Cup Pass, which is chipmunk feeding. Now, normally I heavily poo-poo the idea of feeding wildlife. However, they have been doing this for so long that it's kind of a thing and I think it has run into their ecosystem at this point. On that note, they do have a little general store that's not a part of the ghost town where you can go in and like buy souvenirs, buy birdseed for the chipmunks, so keep that in mind. However, the general store, the birdseed, is a little expensive, so make sure to bring your own bird seed. We actually got very lucky because there was a mother and her son and it was a mother-son bonding activity that they did every year. They always came up to St Elmo and they fed the chipmunks and I called my aunt afterwards and I said did you know that they're really big on feeding the chipmunks. And she said yes, this was like a staple of my childhood is feeding the chipmunks at St Elmo. To which I responded how is this even possible that I'm a local and haven't even heard of this lovely hidden nature historical gem? Where has St Elmo been? Well, it's probably abandoned, you know, because it's a ghost town.

Lex:

And then on your way back, once you're going out of St Elmo, definitely make sure to check out Cascade Falls. We didn't see the actual falls, but as we were driving back, there was a little pull-off spot and since we were there in June and the water was so high because the snow runoff was so high this year, it was a little scary. Like I've never seen a river that angry before. We were actually taking bets on how long you would survive if you fell in. It was powerful. I will put some videos in the show notes so that you can see what I'm talking about. And it just kind of got me a little anxious because we were supposed to go river rafting the next day and then we ended up rafting the Royal Gorge and it was just as scary. So there you go, but anyway, the Cascade Falls. There was a couple campsite spots on the way back down. So if you want to check out some of those there's just so much to do Again and again this drive then you get the whole drive on the other side, on the way back.

Lex:

Now, the local community, while the ghost town may not have any residents, you know, other than ghosts the local community around St Elmo is very vibrant and welcoming, especially with Buena Vista and Salida. There are so much to do over there, also because we were staying in Buena Vista and on our way back we actually passed the Mount Princeton Hot Springs. So if you are wanting to take a dip, do something a little bit more relaxing. After you've exerted so much energy conversing with the ghosts at the St Elmo ghost town, you could definitely go do that as well. Now just for some practical advice, just to ensure that your visit to St Elmo is safe and enjoyable. As I said, transportation when you drive to St Elmo, the road is amazing. However, there are some rough spots and this especially especially I can't highlight that enough especially goes for tin cup pass. So I would definitely not only have a 4x4 vehicle but a high clearance vehicle as well if you are going to do tin cup pass.

Lex:

I think if you're going in the middle of summer, I think you could probably take a normal car up there, but it might get a little hot, but just watch out for potholes. Also, I have to say that there is a dip as you're going into the mountainous part up to St Elmo. There's a dip that's used for flash floods and I almost saw some people take off their front bumper Like it is not marked very well and it is a huge dip. It's like you're going into a ditch. So I, luckily, was paying attention only because there was somebody tailgating me behind. So I was extra paying attention at where I was going. And but I think if I was just flying through there trying to get to St Elmo, it's right after you hit Mount Princeton. So if you're going from Buena Vista, you kind of go in this curvy mountain road and then you hit Mount Princeton and then you have this little town that you go through. It's in that little town. So just be extra careful as you're going that way, just because I would hate for your car to get, you know, some boo-boos along the way, Even more boo-boos than our car got on Tin Cup Pass. Okay, I'm still recovering. It was so painful listening to it, oh God.

Lex:

Also, another thing definitely watch out for wildlife. And when I say wildlife, I mean wildlife. We ran into this couple who ended up sharing the birdseed with us and talking with us when we were feeding the chipmunks, and they said that they were on their way up here and all of a sudden they were like oh, there's a horse in the middle of the road. The husband said um, that's not a horse, that's a moose. So there is a lot of stuff in here. So just make sure that you have your eyes glued to the road when you are enjoying the scenery up to st Elmo.

Lex:

And also, just safety is crucial up in the mountains, just particularly when you're hiking or exploring remote areas. This is not a very traffic touristy area. If you are planning to hike or go up Tin Cup Pass, just bring plenty of water, wear sturdy footwear and just always let someone know your plans. Weather up here in the mountains can change so rapidly, especially if you're going in the afternoon, because there's a tendency for Colorado to get some nice little mountain afternoon thunderstorms.

Lex:

And one of the biggest tips don't forget to bring a camera. You'll want to capture the stunning scenery, the historical charm. Again, I had so much fun here with my camera, so please, please, go check out the show notes so that you can see these pictures. I don't normally hype myself up with my photography, but you know what. I had so much fun here. So sorry, and just respect the historic structures. They're very fragile. You literally go in there and it doesn't really look like a lot has changed from the 1800s and 1900s. So just know that it's fragile, but it was just so cool to see it all the same. You know there was no really renovations or anything done to this. It just kind of looks like they built it, they left it and then some people came back in and said, okay, here it is. So that brings us to the end of our guide for visiting St Elmo near Buena Vista.

Lex:

If you are a history buff, outdoor enthusiast or just someone looking for a unique adventure, st Elmo definitely deserves a place on your adventure bucket list. So I hope that this episode has inspired you to plan your visit to this very hidden local gem of Colorado, and don't forget to subscribe to Ticket Before you Kick it for more travel guides, adventure guides and tips. If you enjoyed this episode. I would love it if you left us a review and shared it with a fellow traveling and adventure enthusiast, and if you have any questions or want to share your own experience with St Elmo, or just you adventuring, contact us. Social media I'm on most platforms at the Bucket List Mermaid, and then, as always, I have my website, thebucketlistmermaidcom, for all of my bucket lists and adventure guides. Happy travels and until next time, keep exploring.