Gilman

CO · Gilman → Gilman

Every building is still standing. Every building is off-limits.

Gilman started as a silver camp on Battle Mountain in the 1880s, perched on a cliff high above the Eagle River canyon and the Rio Grande tracks below. Over time it turned into a company town built around the Eagle Mine, where the company owned the houses, the store, the school and everything else.

The Eagle Mine was one of the biggest zinc producers in the country and also turned out lead, silver, copper and gold. Ore went down to the railroad in the canyon and out over Tennessee Pass.

The mine closed in 1984 and the town was emptied almost overnight amid serious contamination — decades of mine waste had been leaching heavy metals into the Eagle River. The site went on the EPA's Superfund list in 1986, and cleanup has continued ever since. You can see the whole town from US-24 between Minturn and Red Cliff: houses, the school, the mine buildings, all frozen in the mid-1980s. It's fenced, posted, and illegal to enter.

Gilman, Colorado — the entire town frozen in 1985, visible from US-24 but fenced and illegal to approach

⚠️ Before you go: every railroad on this map is private property. A line that looks abandoned may still be owned by a railroad, used to store rail cars, or put back into service at any time — sometimes with no warning. Before going near any track, make sure it's truly abandoned (no recent use, rails not polished, no signals or cars stored on it) and that you're allowed to be there. Never assume a track is dead.

📷 Photos & stories from riders

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