Just 16 miles east of Aspen, at the foot of Independence Pass, this gold-mining boom town turned ghost town started as a tented camp in the summer of 1879, when one lucky miner struck gold on the Fourth of July. Operated and preserved by the Aspen Historical Society, the site offers the chance to see the remains of the old livery, the general store and a miners cabin or three.

　　After its population peaked at 1500 residents, the town fell away during the harsh winter storm of 1899, when supply routes were severed due to heavy snowfall.