For 2017, we headed down to the old mining town of Bonanza, CO located in the Cochetope Hills, in the Northern section of the San Luis Valley. We used Hayden Pass to cut through the Sangre de Christo range to get to Bonanza, spending the rest of the weekend exploring the country around the old mining town.

The town of Bonanza, formed in 1880 after Tom Cooke of Salida, CO came across ore deposits in the region while looking for horses, is Colorado’s smallest incorporated town with one permanent resident. During the years of 1880-’81, 40,000 people passed through the area, with claims of it being the new “Leadville”. A fire hit the town of Bonanza in 1937, burning 30 buildings in the business section, almost wiping out the town. Most mines were closed by the 1930’s.

Act 1: Hayden Pass, Alder Creek and a fine camp outside Bonanza, CO.

Act 2: Mosquito Lake, Bonanza Mill and the Otto Mears Toll Road.