Caribou Ghost Town Photos
A once prosperous mining town in Boulder County; daily mails and express; money order post-office; daily stages to Central, Nederland and Boulder; Rocky Mountain Telegraph Line. Population 400. The principal lodes were the Caribou, No-Name, Sherman, Poorman, Idaho, Virginia, Grand View, Morning Star, Wabash, Arapahoe, Homestake, Ten-Forty, Great Republic, Seventy-Thirty, and Norwood. They produced $50.00 per month. Principal tunnels included the Caribou, Idaho, Air Line, Summit, Two-Seventeen and Red Cross.
There is little left of Caribou unless you use your imagination and know the history. About 7 miles up a winding road at 10,000 feet—only wide enough for one car, with a view that goes forever—you first pass the Historical Caribou Silver Mine, one of the few still in operation. The rock barracks or bunkers where the miners lived still stand. Beyond that point the road is no longer drivable. Ahead lies the main street of Caribou, now a dirt trail. At one time the town buildings, stores, and saloons stood to the right of the road, where only rock foundations remain; to the left stood the houses. Only one wooden house remains, with a view of snow glaciers to the north and the valley to the south. Passing through the forgotten ghost town and climbing about 1/2 mile on foot, the neglected cemetery is fenced, and the aspen trees quake in the wind as though whispering the secrets of Caribou’s glory days.
