Animas Forks

When we stay in Ouray, we always make a day trip to Silverton. It's a beautiful rugged old mining town. After lunch we decided to take the 4WD road to Animas Forks - an old ghost town. It was once a mining town of about 450 residents. There was a saloon, hotel, post office and general store in Animas Forks back in the day - that would be about 1886.


I kept thinking how amazing it would be to have this view from your window. Then I thought about the horrible winters. The constant threat of an avalanche. The deep snows. It once snowed 25 feet in Animas Forks. The residents had to dig tunnels from building to building.


This is the house built in 1879 by William Duncan who was a postman and miner who struck it rich!


One of the homes even had an indoor "toilet."

If you are ever in the Ouray or Durango area, I highly recommend the trip to Animas Forks. I think it's rated a difficulty 2. The road is very bumpy as you near Animas Forks. The 12 mile trip from Silverton took over an hour. You really could take this drive in a car. You don't need a vehicle with high clearance. Gorgeous scenery! A beautiful afternoon trip!