Official Visitor Guide

Ski or Ride
The runs are long and the lines are short. The Ski
Cooper Chicago Ridge ski area is family-friendly and
fun, with lessons for all skill levels, plus equipment
rentals and childcare. It's a community-owned ski area
just nine miles from downtown Leadville, offering
snowcat skiing on Chicago Ridge in addition to its
conventional chairlift runs. Grab a bite to eat or a
drink at the lodge and listen to live music on the deck.
There are also more than 50+ miles of free, groomed
trails for Nordic and cross-country skiing,
snowmobiling, snowshoeing and snow biking in and
around Leadville. In fact, this is the go-to destination
for winter bike racing in Colorado. Leadville was one
of the first places in the nation to embrace this
up-and-coming sport.
Hike
Lace up the hiking boots and choose your path. There
really are trails that are right for everyone, whether you
are on a quest to spot wildflowers at a leisurely pace,
check a Fourteener off your bucket list or follow the
Continental Divide and Colorado Trails, which follow
the same route through Lake County.
Skate, Sled & Soar
You can soar into town at the Leadville-Lake County
Airport, the highest-elevation airport in North
America, or soar over the treetops on a zipline. In the
winter, pack up the kids and the tubes and come on up
for free, family fun soaring and sliding down Dutch
Henri Sledding Hill. (Rent tubes on the weekends if
you don’t have your own.) Soar around and around at
the 30,000-square-foot Leiter Ice Skating Rink, one of
the best deals you’ll find.
Catch
Catch…your limit! A 102-mile stretch of the Arkansas
River, which has its headwaters in and runs through
Lake County, has recently achieved Gold Medal status;
that means it’s one of the best trout-fishing spots in the
country. Or, cast a line on the shore or from a boat at
Turquoise or Twin Lakes, at Hayden or Forebay
Reservoirs or any number of smaller high alpine lakes
and streams. Try a different spot every day of your stay!
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Splash
Fishing isn’t the only way to enjoy our clean, cool
waters. You can ride the rapids on the Arkansas River,
America’s most-popular whitewater rafting river, and
book your trip right here in Leadville. Or rent a kayak,
canoe or stand up paddle surfboard and row around
Turquoise Lake or Twin Lakes. There are guided boat
tours to the Interlaken Resort at Twin Lakes. And you
can splish and splash at the Lake County Aquatic
Center’s indoor pool and water slide, or relax in the
hot tub and sauna.
Escape
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Escape...into the backcountry. Hike or ski to a yurt or
one of a dozen 10th Mountain Division Huts that are
located near Leadville, or pitch a tent in a secluded
national forest campsite. With more than 188,000
acres of national forest and Bureau of Land
Management lands spread over 368 square miles, it’s
not hard to find your own little piece of heaven. Stock
up on food and supplies right here in Leadville.
Bookend a multi-day backcountry adventure, at its
beginning and end, with a stay in a hotel, motel, B&B,
condo or vacation rental in Leadville or Twin
Lakes—for an ideal combination of roughing it—and
indulging in the charm and comfort of town. (That
shower and hot meal are deluxe after a couple days in
the hinterlands!)