Summitville

Summitville Road is a well-maintained forest service road easily driven by a 2WD low-clearance vehicle. The road makes up for the lack of exciting driving with expansive views of the San Juan Mountains. If amazing views were not enough, Summitville Ghost Town is also along the trail. Like many other ghost towns in Colorado, Summitville was a mining town. It was established in 1873 after gold was discovered in the area. At its peak, Summitville had over 1,500 people and over 30 buildings, including a post office, three blacksmiths, nine mills, and fourteen salons. It even had a newspaper, The Summitville Nugget. The Little Annie Mine near Summitville became the third-richest gold mine in Colorado. Sadly, by 1893, it was abandoned entirely.

In 1984, the Summitville mine was acquired by Galactic Resources LTD, which began large-scale open-pit mining operations to extract gold and silver ore. Unfortunately, the "cyanide-leach" technique they used leaked into the Alamosa River, and by 1991, the mine was closed. The EPA took over and has spent $250 million to clean and reclaim the Summitville Mine Site. The EPA treats 350 million gallons of acid mine drainage at the site every year. There are still several buildings in the town still standing. But it is in the process of being restored, so please look but do not touch.