Because of Colorado's rich history of mining in its infancy, our great state is full of ghost towns. These early settlements were, at one time, booming mining towns but once the gold and silver dried up, the towns were essentially abandoned.

Many of these ghost towns are said to be haunted, some of them are off-limits to the public, and some are located in such hard-to-get parts of Colorado that attempting to visit them is highly discouraged.

However, on the other side of the spectrum, many of these ghost towns have so many positive qualities that numerous sources consider them to be the best of the best.

Keep scrolling to learn more about 12 of the best ghost towns in Colorado.

The Best Ghost Towns in the State of Colorado

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At this point, you may be asking yourself, what makes a ghost town one of the best? Numerous factors are considered to make the ghost towns you're about to see qualify for this honor.

In order to be considered one of the best, it certainly helps if a Colorado ghost town is easy to get to via a regular, two-wheel-drive vehicle. Even more important, you must be allowed to visit the ghost town.

It also helps if said ghost town is well-preserved, tourist-friendly, and has a lot of history that comes with it.

In addition, the larger a ghost town is, and the more stuff there is to see, the more fascinating it is to explore.

Keep scrolling to check out what many consider to be 12 of the best ghost towns in Colorado:

Exploring the Forgotten: A Guide to Colorado's Best Ghost Towns

Colorado’s ghost towns are aplenty and they come in all shapes and sizes. However, these have been named some of the best.

11 Colorado Ghost Towns that are Shells of their Former Selves

Learn about and take virtual tours of 11 Colorado ghost towns and some of the buildings that still stand there.

A Guide to Colorado's Ghost Towns

Check out, and get to know the many ghost towns in the state of Colorado.