Usually, my first time hiking a trail is in the summer.
Not so with Mayflower Gulch. I’ve actually hiked (or, rather, snowshoed) this trail twice in the winter. Only recently did my husband and I finally experience the beauty of Mayflower Gulch in the summer.
We were headed up to the mountains for the weekend and, in a stroke of genius (or so I thought), decided we should leave much earlier than necessary to beat the weekend mountain traffic.
We were not entirely successful. We did beat most of the cars. We did not beat the nighttime paving operations that were still finishing up, bringing I-70 down to just one lane. It was a mess.
Anyway. Since we were leaving so early, we needed something to do along the way to our weekend destination. And since we would be driving right past the Mayflower Gulch trailhead… well, problem solved.
After escaping the endless traffic, we finally pulled into the trailhead around 10:00am – a late start for us, but thunderstorms weren’t expected until late afternoon, so it wasn’t a problem – and headed off toward Mayflower Gulch. The trail is actually a 4WD road, but you need a high-clearance vehicle and a good amount of skill to navigate it. Only one jeep made it to the top.
It’s an uphill walk along the road, but not overly steep by Colorado standards, gaining about 600 feet (180 m) of elevation in the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the bottom of the gulch. Initially there’s a bit of a view before the trees close in, but soon the forest begins to thin again, revealing the gulch itself and the jagged mountains behind it.
Mayflower Gulch is the site of the former Boston Mine. The mine was established when gold was discovered in the gulch. However, it proved prohibitively difficult and expensive to extract, and the mine was abandoned. Today, a handful of structures from both the mining camp and the mine itself remain. When the road forks, stay left to reach these ruins.
It’s okay to enter some of the structures. However, they’re fragile and structurally unstable, so be sure to avoid leaning on them, stepping on them, climbing on them, etc.
We’d explored many of these structures during our winter hikes, but we still took the time to once again poke our heads into the old cabins. We also wandered down to the collection of old mining equipment next to the creek, all of which had been completely snow-covered in the winter.
Many people who hike to Mayflower Gulch end their hike here. However, if you continue along the road, it curves to the left and climbs to a couple more structures, including the tallest and most intact of all.
I don’t really know anything about mining, but there are cables running from this structure up to a mine entrance on the hillside; I assume this is how the gold ore was transported down into the gulch.
The fact that miners were able to build such a contraption with the limited technology of the 1800s is impressive. Equally impressive is how much of it is still relatively intact after so many years exposed to the harsh Colorado mountain weather.
Normally, these mining ruins are the main attraction of Mayflower Gulch. The views aren’t bad either. But this time around, it was the wildflowers that absolutely stole the show. The higher we climbed, the better it got. Everywhere we looked, thousands and thousands of wildflowers dotted the landscape. It was amazing!
Right: mountain dandelion
Eventually, it was time to begin making our way back to the car. We retraced our steps back down the road, waving goodbye to the mining ruins and rugged mountains and endless fields of wildflowers.
All in all, a successful start to our weekend!
As for whether Mayflower Gulch is prettier in the summer or the winter? I truly can’t decide. I’ll let you be the judge.
Up next: more views and wildflowers at Shrine Ridge
The Important Stuff:
- Getting there: the trailhead is located off CO Highway 91 about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Copper Mountain. Coming from Copper Mountain, the parking lot will be on your left. It’s unmarked but fairly obvious.
- Fees and passes: none.
- Hiking: total distance from the parking area is about 3 miles (4.8 km) round trip and 600 feet (180 m) elevation gain, plus any additional exploring/climbing you want to do once you reach the gulch. With all the exploring, we ended up hiking about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) total and adding another 700 feet (215 m) of elevation gain.
- Where to stay: there are many options for camping and lodging in the area, as you’re surrounded by National Forest land and private campgrounds. This can also be done as a day hike from Clear Creek, Park, and Summit Counties, or even the Front Range (plan for 3-4 hours round trip driving time, not including traffic).
- Other: as mentioned above, it’s okay to explore the mining ruins, but keep in mind they are fragile, historic structures. Please don’t climb on them, lean on them, etc., and watch out for sharp edges, broken shards, and protruding nails.
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