3 Reasons to Love Spring in The Rockies

1. YOU CAN ENJOY WINTER OR SUMMER SPORTS—ON THE SAME DAY.

Spring is the best of both worlds. Winter still sparkles just a few hundred feet up from Leadville, where the East Side Mining District and mountains are covered in snow. Headed to the backcountry? Please check the avalanche forecast and our backcountry safety tips.

Prefer a warm-weather adventure? If you like to fish, head a few miles south to Hayden Reservoir, or cast your line in the spring flows just beginning on the Arkansas River. Go just a little further south, and you can whitewater raft the rising river. Twin Lakes is now ice-free and ready for you to float your boat. Or bike or hike around the shore or explore the ghost resort of Interlaken.

You can even ride your bike around the Mineral Belt Trail that encircles Leadville or bike or drive around scenic Turquoise Lake.

2. BIG MOUNTAINS. CROWD-FREE.

Enjoy uncrowded trails, tours, and restaurants. Just like a spring flower, area attractions open slowly for summer. Catch these before the summer rush:

• Temple Israel: Don’t miss this frontier synagogue, now a museum.
• Mt. Massive Golf Course: Remember, your golf ball flies farther at altitude!
• Top of the Rockies Zipline: Soar through jaw-dropping Rockies scenery.
• Healy House Museum and Dexter Cabin: Step back in time.

Leadville’s full slate of museums and tours, and the Twin Lakes Visitor Center, open by Memorial Day weekend.

3. THE WEATHER IS FULL OF SURPRISES—JUST LIKE LEADVILLE.

When you’re 10,152’ high in the Rockies, springtime can mean flying snow or warm sun, sometimes all within the same hour. But whether

you’re experiencing winter or summer, it’s always beautiful.

Isn’t a chance to see the wildness of the West’s bawdiest former boomtowns, where anything can happen, one of the reasons you come to Leadville anyway?

Check out Leadville and Twin Lakes this spring, and get ready for a pleasant surprise!