County Roads

This geocache is part of Colorado's South Park GeoTour, which means you can win prizes by finding 20 or more caches. Visit our website for more information and to download your GeoTour Passport!

Container Type: Magnetic
Code Location: Log
Access Info: This cache is located on Park County property.
Winter Access: Same

Roads were the first crucial connections between mining camps, ranches, settlements and the outside world for the Euro-Americans who came to live and work in the South Park. The first roads typically followed the trails used by the Native Americans. Those trails needed to be widened to accommodate wagons, carts, and carriages hauling ores of precious metals from the mines, supplies for the ranching families, and goods to help build the towns and settlements. Once carved out, the roads might be owned and maintained by private companies who collected tolls from those who used them. Toll road companies came and went, leaving road users to fend for themselves, eventually residents pooled their money through taxes to allow the county to pay for road maintenance. Eventually, the county purchased equipment and paid employees to take on the responsibilities of maintaining county roadways.  Graders like this one would have been pulled by a team of strong horses along the roadway, scraping away rocks and filling and leveling the ruts caused by narrow wheels of the typical horse drawn transportation.

Road grader near Garo in 1922, courtesy of the Park County Local History Archives

This cache is a quick park and grab in the parking lot of Park County's Road & Bridge department. Take County Road 16 from highway 285 and park in the lot in front of the big red building. Keep an eye out for muggles!