Pack Burro Racing has a long and colorful history in the West, and South Fork is now host to an annual event sanctioned by The Western Pack Burro Racing Association. Join in as a spectator or as a participant (you’ll need to own or rent a burro!). There’s no riding in this sport; folks run alongside burros. And this is NOT an average foot race: even the fastest racer can be humbled by their running partner (with a mind of its own!).

Starting Line

Pack Burro Race starts at 10am at Brown's Park in South Fork.

Runner must have personal burro or have made arrangements to borrow a burro. Runners cannot participate in this race without a burro (no other equine permitted)- this is a burro race. Solo runners are NOT allowed to participate. No riding allowed- this is an in hand trail race with a burro. Burros shall be in good health and sound condition. Any runner mistreating their burro will be disqualified.

Race Info & Registration

If you don't want to race, but still want to participate, sign up as a volunteer! Volunteer Info

The Alder Ass Race is a pack burro race sanctioned by The Western Pack Burro Racing Association.

2023 Schedule of Events - Check back for 2024!

WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 30, 2023 - 6 PM, South Fork Community Center
Mandatory Meeting for Race Volunteers and Race Committee

THURSDAY. AUGUST 31, 2023: Burro/human teams begin arriving at Brown's Park from Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington, Washington DC, and Wisconsin.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2023 • LOGE Wolf Creek, 4-6pm
Meet and Greet the burros at the LOGE Wolf Creek Courtyard. Famous burros on site for petting, snuggling, photo opps, and autographs. Then enjoy the BIG ASS Pre-Race Party from 6-8pm. One beverage ticket provided for each.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2023
7am: Rios Taco Shack Food Truck opens breakfast (7-10 AM) & lunch (10 AM-3 PM)
7am: Drift Away Mobile Coffee Trailer opens (7-3 PM)
8am: GAMES OPEN

• Time's the Ticket- Guess the winning times for the 3-Mile and 11-Mile race
• Dumping for Dollars: Buy a poop drop square. When the donkeys start the race, the owner of the square with the first poop* wins!
• Bucket Raffles: Buy a bunch of raffle tickets and deposit as many as you want in the buckets next to the prizes you want to win. Dozens of great items to try for.
• Silent Auction: Bid on golf outings, paintings, metal sculpture, ceramic sculpture, float trips, exquisite jewelry, artwork, and other great items.
• Duck Races on the Rio Grande: Purchase a numbered plastic duck. All the ducks are dumped in the Rio Grande about ¼ mile upstream of Brown's Park and the first duck to float to Brown's Park is declared the winner!

9am-3pm: VENDORS - local products from a variety of friendly folks
11am-2pm: Live Music
9:30-9:45am: Burro/human teams begin lining up at START/FINISH Line
9:45-9:55am: Last call for competitors at START LINE
10am: Annual Alder Ass Race begins
10:35-10:45am: First 3-mile teams arrive at Finish Line
11:30-11:45am: First 11-mile teams arrive at Finish Line
3pm: Awards Ceremony under the tent at Brown's Park

Guidebooks, keyed to numbered markers along the loop, are available at the Creede Visitor Center and various businesses. The 25-page guidebook with map costs $3.00. The loop road has some narrow stretches and steep grades that require caution. Check on road conditions during inclement weather. Several 4-wheel-drive roads lead off the tour route into less accessible terrain. Allow a minimum of 1 hour for the tour.

The South Fork Fire Department hold their annual Fish Fry and Ice Cream Social - Come fill your belly with goodies and head over to annual Parade at 3pm! Check out the wonderful shops in town and grab dinner at one of our locally owned restaurants. Finally, don’t miss the South Fork Rodeo at Rickel Arena. Bull riding, team roping, barrel racing and more begin at 6:30pm and are followed by a fireworks show!

2023 Schedule of Events - 2024 Schedule Coming Soon

10am - 2pm: Vendors and Annual Catfish Fry at the Fire Department.
Proceeds go towards our local Volunteer Fire Department. Price: $20/Adult and $10/children. Tickets will be on sale online or at the door and can be purchased by going to www.southforkfirerescue.com

Located at the Fire Department Building, 28 Mall Street. Vendors also present! Silent and Live Auction Events.
Info on Facebook • General Info, TShirts, etc • Vendors

3pm: Parade - "America the Beautiful" Watch the parade all along the frontage road from Buck Street to Birch, along Hwy 160. Or join the parade (see info below/to the right).

6:30pm: Rockin' the Rio Grande Rodeo - Rickel Rodeo Arena. Concessions will be sold at the rodeo, so plan on eating there!

Dark (9:20ish): Fireworks! Sponsored by the Town of South Fork and Volunteer Fire Department. Views from just about anywhere in town. Fired from the Golf Course (dependent on Fire Conditions on July 3rd)

South Fork restaurants and businesses are OPEN and eager to serve you over this holiday weekend

Be sure to find time to check out the wonderful shops and restaurants in South Fork between events!!

South Fork celebrates the area’s culture and history during the Annual Logger Days Festival. Events and competitions taking place throughout the weekend celebrate the time-honored tradition of logging, an initial economic draw for the area. Crowd-favorite competitions include chainsaw carving, the ax throw, the two-man cross cut, and a relay-type race with team members pulled from the audience.

Free • Open to the Public • Vendors • Food Trucks • Beer Garden • Kids Activities

2024 Calendar of Events

July 19, 2024
9:00am - Full day of Professional logging events
3:00pm - Live Music!

July 20, 2023
7:30am - Logger Days 5K
9:00am - Full day of Professional logging events
6:30pm - Rodeo at Rickle Arena

All events are located at/around the South Fork Community Building Google Map

History of This Annual Event

You are surrounded by more than 2 million acres of forest. This mountain land has produced lumber since the 1870s, when the first loggers arrived — and the trees are still growing — a slow dance of green growth. The Annual Logger Days continues a festive tradition of making work skills fun! Loggers and their friends compete in contests to gage their skills as lumberjacks:

• Men, boys, and girls throw spinning hatchets at targets
• Axes and saws drop tall poles to exact spots on the ground
• Cheer along as noisy chain saws cut logs into precise pieces
• Hold your breath as climbers scurry up a 60 foot pole

Who Participates in Events? Experts at logging, milling, and forestry and Amateurs who want to experience the thrill!

Definitions:

LOGGERS: Woodsmen who use saws and axes to cut down trees, cut and trim them into logs, then move them to the roadside or the sawmill. They must be experts with horses (real or mechanical), saws, axes, poles, ropes, and especially good sense.
MILLERS: Machinery experts who shape logs into finished boards, posts, poles, flooring, railroad ties, and dozens of other products. Around a dozen portable mills were scattered throughout the forest, as well as the center of South Fork from the 1870s until 2001. In the 1950-60s, the South Fork mill was the biggest in the state of Colorado. Five small mills still hum in the San Luis Valley.
FORESTERS: Scientists who plan balanced use of federal, state, and private forests for long-term production of wood, water, wildlife, recreation, grazing, and wilderness. They work all over this area.

Raw Materials

Logger Days events celebrates the Tree and Wood production processes in the forest. For the past 130 years, the most valuable trees have been:
• Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa). These trees have dense, strong wood suitable for railroad ties, bridges, and framing.
• Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and Blue spruce (P. pungens). These trees have lighter wood, good for paneling, ceilings, decorations, shelving, etc.
• Firs - white and sub-alpine (Abies spp.) and Aspen (Populus tremuloides). These softer woods weren’t really “commercial” as lumber until recently. Aspen is used for matches and excelsior, as well as ceiling and wall panels.

Life in the Woods

Loggers were tough and alert while doing dangerous work in beautiful country. Some of the loggers and millers in this area were Ute Indians, the original inhabitants. Hispanics, whose ancestors came into the San Luis Valley in the 1850s, were among the most skilled sawmillers and loggers. In the past 50 years, loggers and skidders from Arkansas and Alabama left home to work in these San Juan Mountains.

Some were skilled horse loggers in the 1940s to the 1960s, along with local experts such as John Graeser. Well-trained horses pulled downed logs for several hundred yards to roadsides, where trucks could be easily loaded. In rough terrain, the horse was often quicker than a mechanical tractor-like skidder.

Back in the 1870-1950 period, loggers often spent summer weeks alone or with one or two others in the forest. They built small cabins with simple kitchens, a couple of beds and some were nice enough to even have a front porch. There are still remains of these cabins back in the forest, most of them small ruins that are sinking into the ground. (South Fork’s hiking group comes across several of them every summer.)

Food was sometimes quite simple in the forest. A welcome logging partner was one who could catch and cook a porcupine and make it taste like a banquet. Loggers went into South Fork on weekends to see the wife and kids, get fresh clothes and food supplies, go to church (yes, they did!), and maybe have a picnic with their neighbors. By the mid 1950s, they started to commute in cars or pickups, going into town nearly every evening.

The logging season lasted as long as the snow and muddy roads would allow, usually 5-7 months. In the winter, men came back to town to settle in until next season, or to work in the sawmill. Some young, single loggers followed the good weather south to get in extra months of work in New Mexico, eastern Texas and Arkansas.

Where did the Wood Products Go?

Del Norte was founded in 1871. Naturally, wood was the key building material for the first houses and stores. Soon, a few stone buildings used the nearby quarry rock.

Trains reached up to South Fork in 1882. The railroad gradually continued up to Creede. As silver mining grew rapidly, loggers worked hard to harvest Douglas Fir and Pine for strong railroad cross-ties, many thousands of mine props, and related structural timbers. A good supply of these came from both sides of the tracks, several hundred yards up the hills, all along the train route from South Fork to Creede.

Of course, as South Fork grew, sawmills turned out the lumber and roof materials for new houses, barns and businesses. The Galbreath Mill had a big fire in May of 1920. When renovating, local lumber went into the new sawmill and planer mill. So did a new store, log cabins (for rent), expanded hotel, community building, and even a museum of the lumber industry. By 1940 Galbreath again modernized his mill and planner, employing 50 people. That year, he produced $40,000 worth of rough and finished lumber. A decade later, the mill employed about 100 people.

Mills in the area experienced several fires. These often started in the sawdust and shavings piles. A fire in 1967, at what was then the Douglas Studs Mill, burned 10 million board feet of lumber — doing $2 million worth of damage! This contributed to what had already been recognized as a decline in the timber business. The once proud “biggest mill in the state” was now just producing low-profit 2 x 4 studs. The main source of raw material was no longer coming from the Rio Grande National Forest.
Long-haul costs from New Mexico and other sources caused the company to gradually shut down. By 2001, the closure was complete. South Fork’s sawmill days were over, memorialized only in a grassy property across the tracks from the town’s railroad siding in front of the Spruce Lodge. The lodge’s guests now help support the local economy of Colorado’s youngest incorporated town.

South Fork and the surrounding National Forest has a great deal of history to explore.

THE UTES: Prior to 1868, the Capote (Kapota) band of Ute Indians lived throughout the region of the southwest that includes the San Luis Valley. A hunting and gathering people, they called themselves “Nuche” or “Nuustiyu,” meaning “the people” or “the mountain people.” They were called “Yutas” by Spanish explorers, then “Utes” as the United States expanded. In the summer, the “Nuutsiys” lived in extended nomadic family groups, and often wintered in New Mexico orNorthern Arizona. The Utes made a treaty of peace with the United States in 1849. Shortly thereafter, settlers from New Mexico established several settlements in Colorado. In 1868, the Utes were removed to a reservation in western Colorado, until they lost their expansive reservation as a result of the Meeker massacre in 1879.

THE TOWN OF SOUTH FORK: Prior to the arrival of the railroad in 1882, South Fork was primarily known as a stage stop where passengers could stretch before continuing on to northern destinations. The railroad brought cheap and reliable transportation, allowing residents to profit from the area’s abundant resources. Saw mills sprung up to supply local timber to the ever-growing railways and surrounding mining districts. Cattle and sheep were introduced during these early years. In the 1870s, vegetable production, mainly cauliflower, lettuce, potatoes and peas, were the main agricultural resources grown between South Fork and Del Norte. In the latter part of the 20th Century to present day, the tourism industry proved most important to South Fork’s continued economic development. One of Colorado’s newest towns (incorporated in 1992), South Fork remains a regional hub for agriculture, timber, breathtaking scenery, boundless wildlife and family-oriented adventure!

MASONIC PARK: This was the first Masonic Park in the United States. The land was homesteaded in 1892, and consisted of 160 acres. In 1914, the San Luis Valley Masonic Association purchased the property to be used as an annual meeting place. After a bridge was built over the Rio Grande and a water system was installed, the park was platted and lots were available for sale to approximately 800 members.

BARLOW AND SANDERSON STAGE COMPANY: In 1874, the Barlow and Sanderson Stage Company’s line reached from Missouri to Del Norte but needed to continue west. Alonzo Hubbard was hired to build roads from Del Norte to Antelope Springs, and on to Lake City. Not only was it a passenger route for the company, it provided freight to the quickly developing mining areas. A few toll roads built by a young Russian, Otto Mears, also became part of this route. From Del Norte going west, the first stage stop was at the Edwin Shaw Ranch, famous for their hay and hospitality. Located at the present day Rest Area on Highway 160, the little cabin overlooking the Highway is part of the original ranch. The way station for changing horses was at Bunker Hill, a mile down the road. In 1883, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad had achieved building rail lines from Del Norte to Wagon Wheel Gap and on to Lake City, making the Stage Route obsolete. Parts of the Barlow / Sanderson road can still be seen along the Silver Thread Scenic Byway.

HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC MISSION: By the 1870’s farmers and ranchers were well established in South Fork, having filed claims for their land under the 1862 Homestead Act. One of these pioneers, Jose Campos, would have descendants who were still farming his land in the 1930’s. For many years, the Campos family invited the mission priest to celebrate Mass services in their home amidst the wheat fields, until they donated the property for a church to be built. The Church was built in the early 1940’s where Mass services still continue today.

DENVER & RIO GRANDE RAILROAD
General Palmer: General William Jackson Palmer was a visionary who possessed unbounded enthusiasm for building railroads across the west. His tremendous energy brought the Denver & Rio Grande narrow-gauge line from Denver to Pueblo, and hundreds of miles of track across the San Luis Valley. These narrow gauge tracks (thinner by 1-2 feet) allowed rail cars to navigate the steep grades and sharp curves throughout the San Juans. Palmer’s D&RG routes ensured shipment of San Juan Territory resources throughout the western United States. Palmer became one of the richest railroad barons in America. 1883, Palmer’s rails stretched to Wagon Wheel Gap, home to his newly opened Hotel & Hot Springs Resort, which today is the 4UR Guest Ranch. Due to a crippling horse accident in August of 1907, Palmer himself did not get to visit the resort much. His vacation home still stands, and serves as the Ranch’s recreation hall.

D&RG Water Tower: In 1881, South Fork’s Denver & Rio Grande Railroad water tower signaled the arrival of the railroad to South Fork, and an end to the famous Barlow and Sanderson Stage Line. A wellspring from nearby Harper Mountain, located east of the present day structure, fed plenty of water to thirsty steam engines. The spring replenished the large tower, and a tin water spout was lowered to fill steam engines before the journey west to Wagon Wheel Gap or the Creede Mining District. The D&RG Water Tower was refurbished in 2002 with a Colorado Historical Society preservation grant.

D&RG Rail Line: By 1883, the Denver & Rio Grande Rail Line reached Wagon Wheel Gap, bringing tourists to a mineral hot springs resort owned by the Railroad’s founder. In 1891, it was extended to the mining towns north of South Fork to transport precious minerals and metals out of Willow Creek Canyon. Stringtown, Jimtown and Amethyst were thriving mining camps. Jimtown was eventually renamed Creede after Nicholas C. Creede struck silver and opened the Holy Moses mine. The D&RG Railroad shipped millions of dollars in high quality ore and minerals from these mines. The town of Creede was officially incorporated on June 13, 1892. It was the second town (Telluride, Colorado, being the first) to have electric lights along streets and in homes. This new phenomenon caused Cy Warman to pen this verse in his infamous poem about Creede: “Its day all day in the day-time And there is no night in Creede.”

WOLF CREEK PASS: In 1916 the automobile boom developed a need for a direct route across southern Colorado. The chosen route, known as the Spanish Trail/Grand Canyon Highway, followed along Wolf Creek. The route was funded by the Del Norte Commercial Club, the towns of Del Norte and Pagosa Springs, Rio Grande and Archuleta Counties, the State of Colorado, the US Forest Service and the US Government. The purpose was to benefit tourism in one of the most picturesque areas of Colorado. Monte Vista businessmen also worked with a federal grant to help improve the roads from Walsenburg to Durango. In August of 1916, the South Fork and Wolf Creek Pass was officially opened with a state-wide celebration.

Rio Grande County Museum & Cultural Center

Del Norte, Colorado. Exploring the history and culture of Rio Grande County and the Upper portion of the San Luis Valley can be experienced at the Rio Grande County Museum and Cultural Center. There are learning experiences for all ages. Native Americans and photos of “Rock Art”, fur trappers, Fremont’s Fourth Expedition, the settlers from New Mexico with the Mexican Land Grants and farmers, ranchers , loggers, merchants and the gold seekers who settled the area are all represented in exhibits and research.

The Museum Gift Shop offers a variety of books of local interest and some by local authors as well as showing art work of local artists. During the summer months, art shows by local artists are featured.

Summer Hours: 10am - 4pm Tues-Fri, 10am - 3pm
Saturday Admission $2. Free for Military
www.museumtrail.org/rio-grande-county-museum
rgmuseum@riograndecounty.org • 719-657-2847

Creede Underground Mining Museum

One of Creede’s most popular attractions, the Underground Mining Museum, comprises a series of rooms and tunnels blasted into the cliff face of Willow Creek Canyon at the north edge of town. Visitors receive a first-hand taste of the miner’s subterranean experience through a series of demonstrations and exhibits in shafts bored specifically for that purpose. Exploring both early silver mining techniques and more recent technology, the Underground Mining Museum provides a fascinating insight into a very important part of western Americana. An exhibit hall with minerals and artifact displays provides a colorful prelude to tours guided by experienced hard rock miners. Self-guided CD tours are available anytime, and guided tours are available by appointment in summer.

Summer Hours (May 24-Sep 13) • 10am - 4pm Daily
Winter Hours (Sep 14-May 23) • 10am - 3pm Mon-Fri
www.undergroundminingmuseum.com • 719-658-0811

Creede Historical Museum & Library

Housed in the Old Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Depot in downtown Creede next to Basham Park, the museum reflects the efforts of an active and dedicated local historical society. Creede’s first hand-drawn fire wagon, early pioneer utensils, a horse-drawn hearse, gambling equipment and devices, a large photo collection, early newspapers, and troves of memorabilia and other artifacts comprise the Creede Historical Society’s collections. The museum and library archives provide casual visitors, historians, and genealogical researchers with opportunities to examine the daily lives of the homesteaders, prospectors, miners, entrepreneurs, lawmen and notorious characters who helped shape Creede/Mineral County’s colorful history.

The Creede Historical Library is located in a small cabin next to the museum. The Library provides research information, books and photos of Creede, Mineral County and Western Colorado. The Library’s photo collection contains thousands of photos. To help archive and maintain the photo collection, copies of individual photos are sold for personal or publication use.

Museum Hours: 10am - 4pm Mon-Sat • 1pm - 4pm Sunday
Open Memorial Day to Labor Day
Library Hours: Open Year-Round • Thurs, 1 pm-4pm or by appt.
www.creedehistoricalsociety.com • 719-658-2004

While these are just a few of the historical sites in the area travelers may encounter numerous other abandoned homesteads, mining & logging camps in the surrounding mountains. In an area that can be traced back to the Ute indians, their is no guarantee what a traveler may find. One only has to keep an open mind, and eye in order to see the rich past, flourishing in the thriving communities of today.

The colorful old mining and logging camps of the Silver Thread Scenic Byway offer a wealth of history, while the surrounding Wilderness and National Forest lands serve up a huge dose of scenic beauty. Follow the Byway as it traces the routes of old toll roads, stagecoach lines and railways.

Grab breakfast in South Fork, and start the first leg of your trip at the old water tower, which serviced steam locomotives til 1956.

Hwy 149 then winds along the banks of the mighty Rio Grande. Catch a glimpse of an elk or deer as you travel by Coller State Wildlife area (where the Ute Indians set up their hunting camps). Marvel at the Palisade rock formations and take a quick peak inside Post Office Rock, where early settlers would leave notes for those in the mining camps.

Pass through Wagon Wheel Gap and travel on to the historic mining town of Creede. Browse art galleries on their dramatic main street and tour the Underground Mining Museum (yes, visitors enter mine shafts bored into the cliff face, wander through tunnels mined from solid rock, and visit with former hard-rock miners!). Continue up the canyon a bit for a spectacular view of the Commodore mines.

As you get back on Highway 149, Bristol Head Mountain looms ahead. You will loop around its southern side, and meet back up with the Rio Grande as it snakes its way through the outer rim of an ancient volcano. Travel by San Juan City, a former toll road stop, and begin climbing Spring Creek Pass. A bounty of natural wonders preside, including the sparkling and spectacular North Clear Creek Falls, the Slumgullion earth slide, and the shark-like fin of Uncompahgre Peak.

Spring Creek Pass is steep, and must be traveled carefully. These mountains can be unforgiving so be prepared before embarking on any journey. (Legendary John C. Fremont lost 1/3 of his men in 1848 here, and a quarter of a century later Packer cannibalized his companions in two ill-fated winter expeditions).

Take in the turquoise-colored Lake San Cristobal from a steep vantage point, and descend into Lake City. This picturesque town has over 200 buildings in the historic register. Stop for lunch and a walk around town.

Head out through the steep canyon walls of the Lake Fork, passing by The Gate, an impressive rock formation. This final leg of the trip takes you towards Gunnison, through widening valleys where successful ranching communities sprang up and prospered. End your trip crossing the Blue Mesa Reservoir (a hot-spot for trophy lake trout) and entering Gunnison, a former Ute Indian summer camp - turned ranching community / college town.

Your return trip back over Spring Creek Pass will be met with a spectacular view of the sun setting over the San Juan Mountains. Stop in Creede for dinner and a showing at the highly-acclaimed Creede Repertory Theatre, then return to South Fork where hospitality is a big as the west!

View Google Map

Silver Thread Byway Website

Pick up a copy of the
Guide Book
at the Visitor Center

2024 Rodeo: July 2 • July 3 • July 20

You can’t visit the area without ‘playing cowboy’ for a day! Join in on the action during one of the South Fork Rodeos put on by Burris and Sons at Rickel Arena. Bull riding, roping, mutton busting, barrel racing, steer riding, calf scramble and a sheep race are a few of the events.

Performance kicks off at 6:30. Tickets available at the gate or in advance at the South Fork Visitor Center

Events Usually Include

Open Barrels
Jr. Barrels (15 & under)
Open Bull Riding
Junior Bull Riding (12-14)
Novice Bull Riding (15-19)
Steer Riding (9-11)
Calf Riding (7-8)
Ranch Bronc Riding
Breakaway Roping
Team Roping
Mutton Busting (6 & under)

Learn More

A trip to Colorado wouldn't be complete without a four-wheel-drive adventure. Visit the abandoned mining town of Summitville, a Gold mine town that was inhabited off and on from the 1870s til 1985. Many of the buildings still stand today!

Historical Tour

Take Hwy 160 southwest from South Fork for 7 miles, and turn left on Park Creek Rd/FSR 380. Here is an area where Multiple Use Management of the Rio Grande National Forest’s Resources can be seen. A long-term contract was awarded by the Forest Service in 1954 to harvest 62 million board feet of timber. Ranches from the San Luis Valley also graze their cattle and sheep in these meadows. The efforts of many fishermen are often rewarded along the banks of Park Creek. After about 15 miles along this road you will have two choices:

Option 1. Turn left on FSR 330 and in 3 miles you will reach Summitville. Gold was discovered here in 1870 by a group of Midwestern friends who found their way to this remote section of the San Juans. The secret of “Wightman’s Gulch” quickly leaked out, and the following summer brought hundreds of prospectors to what became the largest camp in the district at that time. By 1885 Summitville had over 2,500 staked claims and a population of around 700. A post office, school, daily newspaper, and at least 14 saloons allowed miners to live here year-round, enduring some harsh winters.

The boom faded in the later 1880’s and the town was nearly abandoned by 1894. Some mines were reopened in 1935 and a significant amount of copper was extracted during World War II. The area had a $2,000,000 shot in the arm in 1985 when mining resumed with a new process for extracting ore. However, the company filed bankruptcy and Summitville Mine is now closed and in the reclamation process, as a Superfund Site. Don’t drink the water!

Option 2. Stay on FSR 380 and travel through picturesque Elwood Pass (which can be very rough) towards another abandoned mine site, Stunner. Continue on FSR 380 and eventually reach Platoro, 41 miles off Hwy 160. To return, follow the same route or go back to Summitville and follow FSR 330 to CR 14 (Pinos Creek) toward Del Norte. (See map on page 12)

Railbiking in South Fork

Railbikers on the South Fork Run enjoy a gorgeous ride along side the Rio Grande River, featuring spectacular views of the surrounding terrain and vistas. It’s a fun and safe outdoor activity for everyone of all ages! RevRail's custom-designed two-seat and four-seat railbikes are manufactured in Vermont and designed to give you a quiet ride so you can enjoy the surroundings that South Fork has to offer.

For extra adventure, sign up for Pedals and Paddles combo trip! Guides will lead guests on a 5-mile one way railbike trip that includes expansive vistas of the Rio Grande and Coller State Wildlife Area. Arriving at the rafting put-in, guests will join our partners Rocky Mountain Ski and Raft for a 6-mile Rio Grande paddle excursion back to the Depot.

RevRail.com

Historic and Scenic Railroad

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a National Historic Landmark that operates in the scenic landscapes of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Renowned for its breathtaking mountain vistas and vintage steam locomotives, the railroad offers an immersive journey back in time to the late 19th century, when railroads played a crucial role in connecting remote regions. At 64-miles in length, it is the longest, the highest and most authentic steam railroad in North America, providing guests with a unique opportunity to experience the Old West while traversing through deep canyons, across high trestles, and alongside rivers.

Owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico, the train crosses state borders 11 times, zig-zagging along canyon walls, burrowing through two tunnels, and steaming over trestles. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad’s passenger service operates six days a week, Tuesday-Sunday. Trains depart from Antonito, CO (about 1.5 hours drive from South Fork) and Chama, NM (about 2 hours drive from South Fork). The schedule runs from May 25th through October 19th and features a mix of offerings, including

• Full Excursion Trips travel by train the full line between Chama, NM and Antonito, CO and includes a 40-minute bus ride and lunch.
• Half Limited Trips travel half the C&TS line from either Chama, NM or Antonito, CO to the mid-way point of Osier Station and back. Lunch included.
• Short Express Options are perfect for families, people short on time, and people who want to “chase the train” as well as ride it.
• Special Trips are trips that do not run weekly, including, our 4th of July fireworks celebration train, the Geology Train, which will run twice this year, dinner trains which will feature brews from local breweries, BBQ dinner, prime rib, and surf and turf.

cumbrestoltec.com

Volunteering is a great way to meet new friends and get involved in the wonderful community of South Fork.

Organizations with Volunteer Opportunities include the following:

South Fork Visitors Center

South Fork Friends Foundation: https://www.facebook.com/SouthForkFriendsFoundation160

South Fork Chamber

Fire Department 

USFS - Local Opportunities