Base Camp to GOLD

Gunnison has been the Base Camp to the Rocky Mountains for hundreds of years.  And for over the past 130 years, Gunnison has been Base Camp to GOLD,  first, as the supply towns for the gold-seeking miners and rowdy gold mining camps of the Valley, now for the golden aspen seekers.
The large aspen groves in the mountains surrounding Gunnison, are starting to turn golden in the warm autumn sun.  Aspen trees - also known as quakies - shed their green leaf cholorphyll as the temperatures drop and the resulting golden diplay is awe-inspiring! 
Use the City of Gunnison as your Base Camp for your gold-seeking adventures.  Start the day off with a hearty breakfast at one of the local cafes or restaurants, fill up the gas tank or pump up your bike tires, put together a picnic lunch and then head for the hills. Remember to bring the camera.  Try out a couple of these routes that should satisfy your "lust for gold":



Golden Aspen on Kebler Pass

 Head north of Gunnison on Highway 135 and take a left on Ohio Creek Road.  You will pass by local historic working-ranches on your journey up the valley.  About 12 miles up the valley you will see "The Castles".  These eroded rock pinnacles are remnants of volcanic debtris from the long-extinct West Elk Volcano.  The Castles are surrounded by stands of golden aspen trees, making this a spectaular photographic opportunity.  Continue on the Ohio Creek Road, with spectacular views of the Anthracite Range, until it continues to the top of Ohio Pass.  You will see golden aspens at nearly every turn.  Over the top of Ohio Pass, near the top of Kebler Pass, turn right onto the Kebler Pass Road and head down into the Town of Crested Butte, with its quaint National Historic District.  Return to Gunnison south via Colorado Highway 135 while you view the golden aspens along the East River Valley into the Gunnison Valley at Almont.  Take your time and make it a day-long trip. 

The "Golden" Castles
photo copyright protected

Another spectacular day-long golden aspen trip is the West Elk By-way.  This is a day-long 204-mile route.  Start in Gunnison, head west on US Highway 50 to Highway 92 (Black Mesa Road) that crosses Blue Mesa Dam.  Drive over Black Mesa with it's stunning views of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the often-snow capped San Juan Mountains coated with golden aspens to the south.  Continue onto the quaint towns of Crawford to Hotchkiss where you will turn right onto Highway 133.  Drive through Hotchkiss and then Paonia (stop at some of the local fruit stands and wineries), and connect up with the Kebler Pass Road (Highway 133) near Paonia Reservoir.  On Kebler Pass, you will be back in the thick of the aspen forest groves.  You will pass by one of the largest known organisms on the entire planet, an inter-connected aspen grove near the top of Kebler Pass.  You'll want to pull off the road at nearly every turn to take spectacular phtographs.  Dropping over Kebler Pass, you will once again make it to the Town Crested Butte as described above.  There are several side trips out of Crested Butte where you can enjoy more golden aspen.  

Anthracite Range
photo copyright protected


A couple of other Golden Aspen Tours out of your Base Camp Gunnison include the Parlin to Pitkin to Cumberland Pass to historic mining town Tincup into Taylor Park.  The golden aspen trees and mountains reflected in Taylor Park Reservoir are not to be missed.  Keep your eyes peeled out for meandering moose on this trip.  A gold seeking trip south of Gunnison, is east on Hwy 50 to Highway 114 then onto good gravel roads through the old Los Pinos Ute Indian Agency and onto Los Pinos Pass.  The Pass was the original route by the early gold and silver-seeking miners into the rugged San Juan Mountains to the south.  You will travel onto the Cebolla Creek Valley and into Powderhorn.  You will return to Gunnison via Highway 149 and drive past Blue Mesa Reservoir, the largest man-made body of water in Colorado.  Visit the Gunnison Chamber of Commerce, located in Legion Park in Gunnison or the US Forest Service Office on North Colorado Street in Gunnison to pick up more route information for each of these adventures.
Remember to get out of your vehicle or off your bike, walk off the road into the golden aspen groves and lie or sit down on the forest floor.  It is a truely memorable site to look up into the sky through the golden trees while the leaves float gently down around you - coating you with golden sunshine.