Overview

Hype:

This is the eastern end of the Idarado Mine. As one of the San Juans' larger mines, it contains nearly 100 miles of underground tunnels. Miners would enter here at the Treasury Tunnel and ride the underground trams to their work station. The western end of the mine complex is at Pandora, about 2 miles from Telluride. The Idarado Mine produced until the 1980s. And reclamation work is presently under way.

Time:

Fees: None

Recommended Ages:

0-3
4-11
12-19
20-49
50-69
70+

Recommended Months to Visit:

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Features:
  • Mining
  • Interpretive Signs
  • Viewpoint, Overlooks, Vistas

Links: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=179085

Location

Closest City or Region: Million Dollar Highway, Colorado

Coordinates: 37.914969, -107.700691

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October 17, 2024 Trip Report

By Jeremy Dye

Trip Members

Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Cooper Dye, Greg Dye, Laura Dye, Anthony Dye, Arianne Dye, Miller Dye, Kingston Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Jaren Wagner, Killian Wagner, Calliope Wagner,

Story

Thursday looked like it would be the best weather, so we decided to drive up the million dollar highway to Silverton. The drive was super pretty and we stopped and took lots of pictures of the waterfall and all the old mining ruins along the way. 

We met up with everyone else at the San Juan county historical museum and the San Juan county historical society mining heritage center. The museum was huge and had tons of awesome stuff inside. We really enjoyed it. We finished up around lunch time.

There weren't a lot of great places to have lunch and it was kind of cold and drizzly so we went over to the railroad park because it looked like they had a pavilion there. We made lunch then did some window shopping along Main Street.

On the drive back to Ouray, our vehicle stopped at the Ironton townsite on the way, where we explored several old buildings. 

We also stopped at the Bear Creek Falls overlook and were amazed at the view from the platform. 

Pictures