Red Mountain Mining District
Located off Hwy 550 near the crest of Red Mountain Pass—this is the site of the National Bell Mine. During its booming years, there were as many as 10,000 inhabitants living in Red Mountain Town. In all of its glory, it had over 100 businesses, a post office, jail, schools, newspapers, saloons and gambling halls. Winters were extremely rough and only the most rugged individuals stayed. Several fires between 1892 and 1937 nearly leveled the town. However, regardless how difficult the environment, over thirty million dollars in gold, silver, lead, zinc and copper has been taken out of this area. You can overlook this town site from Hwy 550 at the Idarado Mine turnoff or park your car at the Red Mountain Pass area and hike into the town site.
What to Photograph:
There is a great deal to photograph here including the old mines and equipment, ghost towns, and the spectacular scenery along the Million Dollar Highway.
Best Time for Photographers:
The best time to visit is in the summer or fall.
Where it is:
Red Mountain Town is simple to reach for 2WD vehicles year round, located between Silverton and Ouray on Million Dollar Highway. The pass receives plenty of snow in the winter, so drive carefully if visiting during that time of year. It’s a major route from Durango heading north to I-70 and Grand Junction, so it’s well maintained.
From Silverton – Head north 11 miles on Highway 550 to reach Red Mountain Town. You’ll see the town remnants about a half mile from the highway, just north of Red Mountain Pass summit. Go another 4.5 miles to reach Ironton ghost town.
From Ouray – Head south 12 miles on Highway 550 to reach the ghost town, located on the Ouray side of Red Mountain Pass summit. You’ll pass Ironton 4.5 miles before.
Maps:
Interactive Google Map
Use the map + – controls to zoom in and out, click and drag the to move the map, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views. Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view.
GPS:
37.915784, -107.702142
Cost:
There is no cost to visit Red Mountain.
Hours:
There are no hours, it is accessible at all times.
Facilities:
There are no facilities of any kind.
Links:
Red Mountain Mining District History
Location Contact Information:
There is no local contact
Red mountain Ghost Town Photo Gallery
Click Here for full page gallery
More Photographic Destinations in Colorado:
Interactive Google Map
Use the map + – controls to zoom in and out, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views. Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view. Click on a pushpin for more information about the Photographic Destination, then click on the title to go to the location page.
Click Here for Photographic Destinations by State
Great Places for Great Photos
Let me help you to find a great location for your next photography adventure. I will list many lesser-known destinations, as well as the famous "Icon Locations" for photography. I will provide photos (Lots of Photos), location information, consisting of what there is to photograph as well as other information about the destination. I will give costs, maps, directions, contact information, and other essential information for a successful photo trip. I will only post for locations that I have personally photographed to ensure a quality guide to great locations for photography. If you know of great places that are not posted, please send me the details, I may just decide that is a place I need to go!
Greg Disch is a freelance photographer located in Arkansas. Greg specializes in nature, scenic, wildlife, and other outdoor subjects in Arkansas and other areas of the country. Most of the images on this site are available for sale as prints, personal use, or rights managed stock photos.
Greg offers both classroom instruction and in the field hands on photographic workshops. Classroom sessions are normally held in Fort Smith Arkansas, but arrangements can be made to bring a class to your group.
All classes and workshops have small class sizes designed to provide an optimum student to instructor ratio, where you can get the personal attention, you need. Most classes and workshops are limited to a maximum of six participants and will be held with a minimum of only two.
If you are looking for a wonderful opportunity to get personal individual instruction, I do private workshops and classes at a location of your choice, whether doing a location photo shoot, coming to your home or business, traveling across the country on a road trip, or at my classroom. This is a fantastic way to learn digital workflow and be sure that your computer equipment is properly configured for optimum performance.
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