Turquoise Lake - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Turquoise Lake is a beautiful lake lcoated in the heart of Lake county and is named for its blue waters, this fresh glacial lake of nearly 1,800 acres once hosted a turquoise mine. Two boat ramps let you launch your boat, canoe, kayak, or SUP onto nearly 1,800 acres of sparkling blue waters. Surrounding the reservoir, Turquoise Lake Road provides motorists with ample opportunity to reach the many popular recreational facilities controlled by the San Isabel National Forest.

Sugar Loaf Dam is located on the Lake Fork of the Arkansas River, approximately 5 miles west of Leadville, Colorado. It has a height of 135 feet feet and is over 2,000 feet long at its crest. Turquoise Lake is the reservoir created by the dam. The lake and its surrounding land provide various recreational activities for visitors in both the summer and winter.

The California Gulch site consists of approximately 18 square miles in Lake County, Colorado. It is a unique thorn-scrub vegetated canyon, has been identified as an IBA in Arizona. It is accessed from Ruby Road by a rugged road south into the drainage. The canyon is unique with its dense shrub layer on its steep sides, and a perennial spring-fed stream draining into Mexico.

Galena Mountain rises to the west of the town of Leadville in the northern parts of the Sawatch Mountains of central Colorado.The range was extremely jagged and permanently topped with ice and snow. The mountains were rich in valuable minerals, and mining operations were among the most productive on Toril. Due to the extremely impassable terrain that constituted the majority of the mountain range.

The Leadville National Fish Hatchery was established in 1889: at 117 years old, it is the second-oldest National Fish Hatchery in existence. It lies within the Mount Massive Wilderness, most of whose area lies within San Isabel National Forest and which is managed by the United States Forest Service. Leadville National Fish Hatchery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The National Mining Hall of Fame is a museum located in Leadville, Colorado. It holds more than 250 stories of men and women who achieved lasting greatness in mining and natural resources. Major exhibits include an elaborate model railroad, a walk-through replica of an underground hardrock mine, the Gold Rush room, with many specimens of native gold,[5] a large collection of mineral specimens, a mining art gallery and a gift shop.