Preston Ghost Town

The Trail
This trail is about 1.6 miles long (one way) with roughly a 444 ft. elevation change. This distance includes going up to see the remains of the old boarding house along the way, but if you don't go up that way, you will cut about 0.3 mile off your trip. Keep in mind that there is some up and down to this trail if you do head up to the boarding house.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

Preston was once a mining town with about 150 people living there. Gold, silver, and lead were mined there from the 1880s to the 1930s.

The "trail" is really a jeep road that once was a stagecoach road accessing the old mining town of Preston. The first point of interest you will come to is about 0.5 mile up this way is the Jessie Mill, or at least what is left of it. A nearby plaque details some of the history of the mill and boasts a picture of what it once looked like before it was abandoned.

Not far after this point, there is a turn off for Dry Gulch to the left. Soon after that, there is another split in the trail. If you take the south trail to follow the Dry Gulch trail up a short ways, you will reach the old boarding house. There are lots of remnants of the past lying about this area as well...from old bed wires to a rotting wheelbarrow.

Head up this way when you reach the split in the trail

Remnants of old boarding house

After you head back down to the other road, you will continue up it for another 0.7 mile before you arrive at the Extension Mill off to your left. (Before that point you will pass the Old Flume Trail about a half mile after the turn off for the boarding house, shown in red in the trail maps above.) You can walk on the road around this area, but stay out of the mill site; it is dangerous.

About a tenth a mile further up the road are some old homes and a pile of wood that was once a boarding house. Once again, a sign here gives some background.

Old boarding house remains

 

We didn't go any further than this. However, I believe if you continue up Country Road GH7 at the four way intersection where the boarding house was, you will be able to reach Jumbo Mine at the top of the hill.

This trail is actually a jeep road, so it is open to vehicles as well as dogs. There is an outhouse at the trailhead.

Directions
This trail is located in Colorado near Breckenridge. From Breckenridge, take Highway 9 to Tiger Rd. and turn east. Continue to Highlands Dr. and turn right. Then turn left onto Fairways Dr., which eventually connects to and becomes Glen Eagle Loop. At the end of this road, turn right onto Gold Run Dr. There is a dirt parking lot at the end of the road. Head up the dirt road labeled GH09. GPS Coordinates: N39 30.900 W106 01.589

Head up this road to reach Preston Ghost Town