Entry No. 43 — the Colorado Springs file — filed under: ghost-lights
Silver Cliff Cemetery Ghost Lights
Tucked into the remote Wet Mountain Valley, Silver Cliff Cemetery has been quietly producing unexplained phenomena since the 1880s: blue-white orbs that drift and bounce among the headstones after dark, as if someone left a lantern on for the residents. National Geographic ran a feature on them in August 1969 and still couldn't explain the lights away — scientists have lobbed theories (phosphenes, retinal quirks) but none have stuck conclusively. The town's tourism pitch leans hard into its International Dark Sky designation, so the cemetery's ghost lights play second fiddle to stargazers who don't even know what they're parked next to. It's a publicly accessible, town-owned cemetery that can't close — just show up, wait for dark, and see what you see.
The story
In the late 1880s, when Silver Cliff was a silver boomtown, a couple of miners taking a shortcut home through the graveyard after midnight reported small, blue-white spheres bouncing across the headstones like floating lanterns. Local saloons kept the story alive for decades, but national attention hit in August 1969 when National Geographic published a feature on Colorado. The reporter drove out to the cemetery after dark and confirmed seeing dim, round spots of blue-white light glowing among the graves. They couldn't explain what caused them then, and nobody has nailed down a definitive answer since.
Scientists have floated theories ranging from retinal quirks and phosphenes—flashes of light generated inside your own eye—to swamp gas or distant ambient light reflecting off mineral-laced granite. The trouble with the swamp gas theory is that Silver Cliff sits in a bone-dry high valley at nearly 7,800 feet elevation with no standing water. The site remains a working town cemetery split into Catholic and Protestant sections, still actively taking burials while producing quiet reports of faint blue smears that float low among the grass and vanish the moment you walk directly toward them.
Because the twin towns of Westcliffe and Silver Cliff lean hard into their official International Dark Sky designation, most night visitors roll into the valley with heavy optical telescopes aimed at the Milky Way, completely unaware of what they are parked next to. There is no ticket booth, no visitor center, and no gate that locks at dusk. You simply drive down a gravel road, kill your engine, and let the valley darkness do the rest.
What it's like
To get there, turn south off State Highway 96 onto Mill Street (County Road 340) and follow the dirt road out past the edge of town until you reach the open burial grounds. Park along the dirt tracks, turn off your headlights, kill your phone screen, and sit in total darkness for at least 20 minutes to give your pupils time to adjust. At 7,800 feet, the valley temperature plummets as soon as the sun drops behind the Sangre de Cristo range, so pack heavy winter gear even on a midsummer night. Bring a red-filtered flashlight so you don't ruin your night vision or blind anyone stargazing nearby. The vibe is quiet, wind-swept, and stark; you might see another car sitting in silence or find yourself completely alone under an ink-black sky watching for tiny blue pinpricks to move across the grass.
The move: Drive out after sunset, kill your headlights and phone screens at the gate, and give your eyes a solid 20 minutes to adjust — that's when the floating blue smears reportedly show up low among the graves, and the debate about what you're actually seeing is half the fun.
📍 Before you go The cemetery sits about a mile south of State Highway 96 on Mill Street (County Road 340), on the edge of the tiny twin towns of Silver Cliff and Westcliffe out in the remote Wet Mountain Valley — roughly an hour-plus drive southwest of Pueblo, so fuel up and grab directions before you lose signal. It's a working town cemetery with separate Catholic and Protestant sections, so tread quietly and respect the graves. Aim for a moonless, clear night for the darkest sky, bring a red-filtered flashlight to protect your night vision, and pack warm layers — the valley sits near 7,800 feet and turns cold after sunset. Pair it with stargazing from a Westcliffe dark-sky overlook or a daytime stop at nearby Bishop Castle.
- 📍 Westcliffe / Silver Cliff
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 1435 Mill Street, Silver Cliff, CO 81252
Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Hidden Peak Tiki Lounge — Pair a late-night freezing vigil among the graves with a tropical cocktail tucked under a historic feedstore less than two miles away in Westcliffe.
- Bishop Castle — Combine a pitch-black search for unexplained orb phenomena with a daytime climb through a massive stone-and-iron castle built by hand over 50 years.
- Rocky Mountain Star Stare (Starry Meadows) — If you're coming for the valley's pitch-black night sky, align your visit with this annual campout where hundreds of observers set up massive telescopes at high altitude.
- Art in Isolation — Fremont Center for the Arts — Pair the cemetery's lingering mystery with an August trip to Cañon City to view original artwork created inside federal Supermax ADX Florence.
Good to know
Where is Silver Cliff Cemetery located?
It is located at 1435 Mill Street (County Road 340), roughly one mile south of State Highway 96 on the edge of Silver Cliff and Westcliffe, about an hour-plus drive southwest of Pueblo.
What are the hours and entry fees?
It is a publicly accessible, town-owned working cemetery with no admission fee or locked gates, though visitors should verify local municipal rules before visiting late at night.
When is the best time to see the ghost lights?
Aim for a clear, moonless night away from moonlight interference, and plan to stay still in total darkness for at least 20 to 30 minutes.
What causes the ghost lights?
Proposed explanations include retinal phosphenes, microscopic light receptors in the eye sensitive to blue wavelengths, marsh gas, and light reflections, but no scientific study has conclusively proven a single cause.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Wikipedia · Atlas Obscura · legendsofamerica.com · gazette.com
last checked: 2026-06-09