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Leadville Ranger District

Quick Facts

Winfield Historic Site

Elevation:	10,226 Feet (3187.7 Meters)
Handicapped Accessible:	No
Number of Sites:	3 schoolhouse, church and cemetery
Other Maps:	Trails Illustrated 129 Buena Vista, Collegiate Peaks
Recommended Season:	Summer

General Description

Winfield, located on Clear Creek Road, once was a thriving mining camp. The citizens of Winfield established a post office in 1881 and it remained open until 1912. Initially the miners sent the silver and copper produced in the surrounding mines to Leadville for processing. During the town's peak industrialists built mills to process the ore within the town. The volunteers of the Clear Creek Historical Society restored the schoolhouse, cemetery and church. Some of the remaining building are private residents. Please respect their privacy.

Directions from Highway 24: To reach Winfield drive approximately 19 miles south of Leadville or 14 miles north of Buena Vista and turn west on Clear Creek Road (Forest Road #120). Road 120 is graveled and sometimes rough but satisfactory for most vehicles. Drive approximately 10 miles to the ghost town of Winfield.

Seasonal Information:
Normally Accessible: Late May through October (NOTE: Snow may obstruct the road in the Spring, Fall and Winter months.) .

Current Conditions & Trip Reports

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Recreation Opportunities

Activity		Remarks	On Site
	History	Winfield Ghost Town - Colorado Industrial History	Yes
	Viewing Historic Sites	Winfield Ghost Town - Colorado Industrial History	Yes
	Viewing Interpretive Signs	Winfield Historic Site	Yes

Related Activities

Clear Creek Road - Clear Creek Road is passable by most two-wheel drive vehicles. Many recreation opportunities are accessible from this road including hiking, fishing, viewing scenery, touring historic sites, mountain biking and four-wheel driving.

Clear Creek General Forest Area - Clear Creek offers unique recreation opportunities and history. Clear Creek Reservoir has public fishing, boating and camping accesses.

Clohesy's Lake Four-Wheel Drive Road - This road is a fork from Clear Creek Road that leads to Clohesy's Lake with hiker access to Pear Lake. Clohesy's Lake Road is recommended for high clearance vehicles only as it is extremely rough.

Hope Pass Trail - Hope Pass is also the Colorado Trail that leads to Clear Creek Road. There is about 3,200 feet elevation gain up to 12,500 feet at the pass.

Missouri Gulch Trail - This area is extremely popular with climbers with access to Mt. Belford, Mt. Oxford and Missouri Mountain. To experience solitude, plan your trip for a week day.

Mt. Belford - Mount Belford reaches a height of 14,197' and is one of many fourteeners in the Sawatch Mountain Range west of Buena Vista.

Mt. Oxford - Mount Oxford reaches a height of 14,153' and is one of many fourteeners in the Sawatch Mountain Range west of Buena Vista. Many people climb Oxford and Belford in the same afternoon.

North Fork Clear Creek Four-Wheel Drive Road - The ride is a gradual, bumpy climb into an open alpine valley with meadows, willows, wildlife and wildflower viewing.

North Fork Clear Creek Trail - The North Fork Clear Creek jeep road continues as the North Fork Clear Creek trail beyond the wilderness boundary barrier.

Sheep Gulch Trail - Sheep Gulch Trail also harbors traffic of the Colorado Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. Hope Pass offers extraordinary views of the Collegiate Peaks with exceptional views of Missouri Mountain, Mt. Belford, Mt. Oxford and Huron Peak.

South Fork Clear Creek Four-Wheel Drive Road - The South Fork of Clear Creek Road begins at Winfield and ends at the road closure just south of the Banker Mine. The road is extremely rough and recommended for high clearance vehicles only.