EL: 11,357' Accessibility: May thru OctoberOne of our favoerite ghost towns in the San Juans because so many different 4x4 trails converge here. The only approach not requiring four wheel drive (hence, the 2.5 terrain) is from Silverton on Colorado 110. We placed our cache, an ammo can, out of town up above the Columbus Mill and Mine where you will have a great view for photos. It's possible to park within 300' of cache. From BLM description: "Animas Forks, named for the three forks of the Animas River, which flows through the townsite. Animas Forks is tucked away twelve miles northeast of Silverton, Colorado, at 11,200 feet — more than two miles — above sea level The town's first log cabin was built in 1873; by 1876, this bustling mining community boasted 30 cabins, a hotel, a general store, a saloon, and a post office. The population of Animas Forks grew to about 450 people by 1883. The town also had a newspaper, The Animas Forks Pioneer, published from June 1882 through October 1886 at the highest newspaper printing plant in the history of the United States. Every fall, most residents left in a mass exodus to "warmer" Silverton. In 1884, Animas Forks suffered a blizzard that lasted 23 days and dumped 25 feet of snow on the town. Residents dug tunnels to get from building to building.Before Silverton became an incorporated town, Animas Forks was the San Juan County seat, where court cases were heard. One man who didn't like the outcome of his trial promised, "I'll take this to a higher court!" Responded the wry judge, "There is no higher court in Colorado." There are about ten well preserved buildings, note the Duncan Mansion with the Bay windows. Enjoy this great history lesson. Amy & michael
07/05/2018 By crawfordjohn66 The Colorado Single Malt Duo found this great cache while on a camping and hiking trip to the northern Wimenuche. The 416 fire changed our plans to backpack the Elk Creek - Chhicago Basin loop. Over Engineer Pass we went - never again in a Jeep!!! Left a TB. TFTC
10/12/2017 By Kiersolvd I wasn't sure how far I'd go up the road today but was very glad to have made it this far. Someday I'll have the courage to go further. The views from the cache site were superb with just a hint of snow on the high peaks overlooking the old town. It couldn't get much better. Thanks, Team A&M. 3:14 pm
dropped off "R2" TB
09/30/2017 By stantastic MerryMary and I are on a two-week vacation to Colorado to enjoy the fall colors -- taking photos, camping, hoteling, hiking, and 4-wheeling. Today we drove from Lake City, Colorado, to Silverton via the southern section of the Alpine Loop. We stopped here to find this cache. Whew -- are we at altitude ! From down near the mine I thought I knew where we were headed, but it turned out to be just a little bit further up the hill. A quick and easy find once we got to GZ. Great place to explore and take photos -- and it was an adventurous drive over Cinnamon Pass . SLTNLN -- thanks for the fun, Team A&M...
09/25/2017 By p and j Hice hide. J climbed. P waited. Not enough oxygen here!!! LOL. But what a beautiful area. Tftc
09/04/2017 By cougarox Dropping https://coord.info/TB6E646 off. None of the others were in evidence. I hope that they get to their destinations and aren't muggled.
09/03/2017 By NMFireHorse Found with CougarOx thanks for the cache
09/03/2017 By cougarox NMFireHorse and Scotty the Highlander got warmed up on Lime Creek Road, and now to try to get to Lake City. We weren't about to DNF anything we could get to along the way, including this cache. Thanks for giving us a reason to do the drive, for the history, for bringing us here, and for the fun cache! XNSL, DBs, dropped one from AK. Left "Wolf Pack Alaska" TB- https://coord.info/TB6E646; it seemed a good spot.
Animas Forks
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Animas Forks
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. SLTNLN -- thanks for the fun, Team A&M...