Cool abandoned mining town off hwy 24 on the way to Minturn
Bridge
First stop Homestake Reservoir. There are a bunch of dispersed camping sites along the forest road. The ones below the dam are pretty flat and isolated. No spots near the reservoir but the ones below the res are nice.
We opted to stay in the no reservations accepted Gold Park campground. Nice little campground alongside Homestake Creek. We had a resident hummingbird who buzzed us regularly and hovered 6″ in front of us. Couldn’t get a picture.
We hiked Missouri Lakes trail up to the lakes. 7ish miles, 2,000′ ish elevation. Great waterfalls, beautiful views and columbines!
Then on to Turqouise Lake. Silver Dollar campground. Funny story, not only had we been here before, we’ve even been to the same campground. The campground is ok. Not many level sites and no view of the lake. It’s an easy walk to the lake though and the lake trail. For future kayak adventures we could stay in Molly Brown or Baby Doe in one of the sites close to the lake maybe during the week. There are mosquitos and, of course, evening rain / hail :).
On on our way home we decided to check out Twin Lakes. What a beauty. We will definitely stay here. The White Star campground, Sage Loop, has some great spots. Spot 16 is level with shade. Let’s do that!
