Leadville


Leadville is the very opposite of Aspen. The town has a genuine proletarian feeling to it. One senses the disasters of mine closures and folding businesses. The town is essentially one long street. It is a friendly place, with excellent singletrack and cross country skiing in the winter. Leadville is high, it is situated at 3000 meters. Nights get cold.


We spent a day riding in Leadville. The local Chamber of  Commerce provided us with  an excellent topographical map with various  MTB-trails. The same information is is also available on an excellent website, Ledville Colorado montain biking hiking trails. We bet on the Turquoise Lake  Loop.

Turquoise Lake Loop
We rode down to the lake and then tried to follow the route indicated on the map. Crossing the edge of a vast plain that made us think about Tibet. We climbed into forest on a dirt road with various mines, some that seemed to be worked from mobile homes. However, we could not find the route ahead, so we returned to the Turquoise Lake and circled it along its nothern shore.

The trail was beautiful and fun.




Made us think of Tibet
Shore of Turquoise Lake

Bridge
Along the northern shore


Would we go back to Leadville. Yes, it is a special place that felt much wilder than others we went to. One would have to go to the Himalayas or Andes to find cities on higher elevations. Leadville is still more of a mining town than a tourist trap. There are plenty of trails to explore.
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 This page was mounted by Per Löwdin 2003-10-25.