Magic Mountain LSA#2

A camoed pill bottle placed at Heritage Square. Approximately 10 minutes from parking (free). You do not have to pay admission to enter Heritage Square.

Magic Mountain was the name given to an amusement park that was being built at the west end of Colfax Avenue in the 1950s. The Foothills Ski Corporation, led by George "Lefty" McDonald, leased 600 acres on Jackson Hill to develop a ski area that catered to Denver area residents who were just learning to ski.

Magic Mountain was the lowest commercial ski hill ever to operate in the central Front Range, and the closest to Denver. The beginner-oriented slope was 1,100 feet long and had a vertical drop of only 700 feet. Two rope tows were built to serve the area. The double chair lift that is present at the site today was built log after the ski area closed. It currently serves the Alpine Slide and is located at the approximate centerline of Jackson Hill. Most of Jackson Hill, south of the lift, has been quarried.

Magic Mountain was a relative success, serving 5,000 skiers in its inaugural (and only) year of operation. The amusement park - intended to be a Disneyland-style attraction - was a bust, with creditors suing the Magic Mountian Corporation. McDonald was not able to operate a second season and his equipment was held by the creditors until lawsuits had been settled. When he recovered his equipment, he took it south to Ski Broadmoor, where he built a succesful snowmaking operation to serve that new area.

The cache is placed at Magic Mountain's successor, Heritage Square. There is no admission fee to enter Heritage Square or reach the cache. You will likely pass a large rounded, brown-banded outcropping of Fountain Formation sandstone on your way to the cache. The park has named it "Magic Mountain," perhaps in tribute to the ski area that has disappeared from the face of the earth.

Heritage Square is free to enter. Open Wednesday through Sunday 11AM until 5PM, until Memorial Day weekend. Open daily and evenings from Memorial Day through Labor Day.