In 2026, Colorado is throwing a party 150 years in the making, and the United States is throwing one 250 years in the making. Colorado is the only state in the country celebrating both anniversaries at once, a fact baked right into its nickname. The Centennial State earned that title by becoming the 38th state on August 1, 1876, just weeks after the country’s 100th birthday. A century and a half later, the twin anniversary now known as 150/250 gives Coloradans every reason to mark the moment.
Few places mattered more to Colorado’s early story than Leadville and Twin Lakes.
During its mining boom, Leadville wasn’t just another mountain town, it was one of the most important places in the American West, drawing fortune seekers, entrepreneurs, and dreamers from around the world. At its peak, it was a place to see and be seen, a bustling center of wealth, ambition, and opportunity.
Just down the road, Twin Lakes was already building a reputation as a destination in its own right, welcoming travelers, vacationers, and adventurers long before mountain tourism became a Colorado tradition. Together, these neighboring communities weren’t simply witnesses to history, they helped shape it.
A Quick Tour of Why It Matters Here
When Colorado was admitted to the Union in 1876, the territory was still working out what kind of state it would become. The answer arrived a year later, two miles up in the Sawatch Range. Silver-bearing carbonates were unearthed in the previous placer gold mining area near California Gulch, and Leadville exploded almost overnight. Horace Tabor and August Meyer formally founded the town in 1878. By the close of 1879, an estimated 30,000 people called Leadville home, putting it neck and neck with Denver. Tabor went on to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Colorado and briefly as a United States Senator. The fortunes minted on these hillsides funded opera houses, banks, railroads, and much of the early Colorado we recognize today.
Image Credit: Lake County Public Library
Nine miles south, the little settlement that became Twin Lakes was already on the move. First called Dayton when it was founded in 1865, it took its new name in 1879 as wagons and stagecoaches began rolling over Independence Pass to the silver boomtown of Aspen. A grand resort hotel rose on the south shore of the lakes that same year and, in 1883, was renamed the Interlaken by new owner James V. Dexter. Wealthy guests arrived by train, transferred by carriage, and danced under chandeliers with Mount Elbert glowing pink at sunset. It was the kind of place that helped define what early Colorado tourism looked like.
So when we talk about celebrating 150 years of Colorado statehood and 250 years of American independence, the story is not abstract here. It is the buildings on Harrison Avenue. It is the dirt under the Tabor Opera House. It is the lakeshore where Interlaken still stands.
ANCHOR EVENTS TO BUILD A TRIP AROUND
Programming for 150/250 in Leadville and Twin Lakes is still being shaped, but these confirmed experiences already give travelers a strong reason to point a map toward Lake County this summer and fall.
The National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum 150/250 Exhibit
Photo: Visit Leadville Twin Lakes
Housed in the former Leadville High School building, the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum is the official mining museum of the United States. This late summer into fall, the museum’s special 150/250 exhibit highlights Leadville’s outsized role in Colorado and American history, sharing stories of local firsts through with a display that includes community storytelling.
A museum ticket also includes admission to the Matchless Mine and Baby Doe’s Cabin, where visitors can take a self-guided surface tour of one of Leadville’s most famous mining sites. Give yourself at least an hour to explore the museum’s mock mines, extensive mineral collection, and the new 150/250 exhibit before heading out to the Matchless Mine.
The Healy House Museum and Dexter’s Cabin Winter Warriors Exhibit, Soiled Doves Talks and Victorian Tours
There may be no better place to celebrate Colorado’s 150th anniversary and America’s 250th than the Healy House and Dexter Cabin. Prominent Leadville figures August Meyer and James V. Dexter, once called these buildings home. Beautifully preserved, the historic homes offer a glimpse into life during Leadville’s boom years. Guided tours tell the story of Leadville and Colorado in the Victorian era, highlighting not only the wealthy mine owners but also the workers, families, and everyday residents who helped keep the town thriving.
While you’re there, be sure to visit the temporary Winter Warriors exhibit, which explores the legacy of the brave 10th Mountain Division soldiers who trained in the mountains near Leadville during World War II. History enthusiasts should also consider attending one of the museum’s popular Soiled Doves talks on June 20 or August 7, which shed light on the women whose contributions to Leadville’s history are often overlooked but were an essential part of the community’s story.
American Discovery Trail Relay: August 27 through 29
Late August brings something genuinely once-in-a-lifetime. The American Discovery 250 Relay is a 6,800-mile coast-to-coast journey carrying a copy of the Declaration of Independence from the Golden Gate Bridge on July 4 to the Atlantic Ocean on Thanksgiving Day. The relay rolls through California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, and on to the East Coast, passing through Leadville and the surrounding area from August 27 through August 29. Whether you walk a leg of the route, cheer from the side of the road, or simply meet the relay as the Declaration passes through town, this is the kind of patriotic moment you tell your grandkids about. Learn more or sign up to participate at discoverytrail.org.
Charge Across Colorado eBike Ride during Leadville’s Irish Weekend, September 19
Photo: St. Patrick’s Day Parade Practice
Few traditions capture Leadville’s character like Irish Weekend, an annual celebration that honors the Irish miners who poured into Lake County during the silver boom. The 2026 edition runs September 18 through 20 and includes the practice St. Patrick’s Day practice parade, plus music of the Young Dubliners at the Tabor Opera House and tributes at the Irish Miners’ Memorial in Evergreen Cemetery.
New for Colorado’s 150th anniversary and America’s 250th celebration, Charge Across Colorado eBike Ride rolls into Leadville on Saturday, September 19. Part of a statewide challenge featuring six rides over six months, the event showcases Colorado’s landscapes, communities, and history through approachable routes designed specifically for e-bike riders. With a distances of 25 miles, the ride emphasizes exploration over endurance, a fully supported ride cyclists will loop around the sparkling blue waters of Turquoise Lake surrounded by towering peaks, crisp mountain air, and wide-open views that stretch for miles. Sign up today at https://coloradoebikeshop.com/pages/leadville-gem-circuit
Leadville’s 78th Annual Boom Days – August 7th through 9th
Few events capture the spirit of Colorado’s mining heritage quite like Leadville’s annual Boom Days celebration. Held in the heart of one of the state’s most famous mining districts, Boom Days honors the grit, determination, and colorful characters who helped shape Colorado during its earliest years.
Mining competitions, burro races, and historic reenactments offer a glimpse into the challenges and traditions of the frontier era, recalling a time when prospectors and pack burros were a common sight in the mountains. As Colorado celebrates its 150th anniversary and the nation approaches its 250th, Boom Days serves as a living reminder of the mining boom that helped build both the state and the American West.
This year’s theme, “Doc Holliday,” shines a spotlight on the larger-than-life personalities of the Wild West, bringing the stories of gamblers, gunslingers, miners, and pioneers back to life in the streets of historic Leadville.
HISTORY YOU CAN WALK RIGHT INTO
Photo: Tabor Opera House
A 150/250 visit to Leadville and Twin Lakes isn’t limited to special events, history is woven into everyday life here.
- Stroll through downtown Leadville on a self-guided walking tour, where grand brick buildings, historic storefronts, and a bustling Main Street still reflect the boomtown spirit that put Leadville on the map.
- Drive the Route of the Silver Kings offering a one-of-a-kind way to step directly into Leadville’s mining history, tracing a 21-mile high-country loop past historic mines, ghost towns, and camps that tell the story of the region’s silver boom.
- Explore any of the area’s eight museums, each telling a different chapter of the region’s story, from mining and railroads to frontier families, military history, and Victorian life.
- In Twin Lakes, traces of the past remain just as visible, from historic lodges and cabins to stories of the travelers who have found their way here for generations.
Around every corner, Leadville and Twin Lakes offer reminders that Colorado’s history isn’t tucked away behind glass, it’s still part of the landscape, the architecture, sand the communities that call this place home.
Each stop is a reminder that the Centennial State did not earn its nickname by accident. The people who carved out Lake County in the 1870s left fingerprints all over modern Colorado.
WHAT COMES NEXT
This is a living, evolving calendar. New activities, exhibits, and community events tied to 150/250 are still being added throughout the year. Bookmark the Visit Leadville Twin Lakes events page and follow along on social media, because there will be more to celebrate before the year is out.
For now, pencil in August and September, pack a layer for high country weather, and come stand at 10,152 feet to toast 150 years of Colorado and 250 years of the country that grew up around it. The view from here is part of the story.
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