Entry No. 221 — the Denver file — filed under: mine
7:30 Mine
The 7:30 Mine is an abandoned 19th-century silver mine perched on the cliffs above Silver Plume, Colorado. Named for its unusually late 7:30 AM start time, the mine was managed by Clifford Griffin, who famously serenaded the town below with his violin before tragically taking his own life here in 1887. Today, hikers can explore the steep wagon road to find old mining ruins, sealed tunnels, and the 10-foot granite Griffin Monument erected in his memory.
The story
Most 19th-century silver mines ran on brutal shift schedules starting at 6:30 AM, but the 7:30 Mine got its name from a rare bit of mercy: manager Clifford Griffin let his crews sleep in an extra hour. Griffin was an educated Englishman who fled to the Rocky Mountains after his fiancée died unexpectedly on the eve of their wedding. Rather than living down in town, he built a solitary cabin 1,200 feet up the cliffs above Silver Plume, keeping to himself and spending his evenings playing mournful violin solos over the edge of the gorge. The valley's natural acoustics carried the music straight down into the streets, turning his private grief into a nightly concert for the whole town.
On June 19, 1887, Griffin played one final song before a single gunshot echoed through the canyon. When the miners rushed up the steep wagon road to his cabin, they found him dead from a bullet wound beside a grave he had hand-carved out of the solid rock face, leaving behind a note asking to be buried right where he fell. The townspeople respected his request, leaving his remains on the cliff and later erecting a 10-foot Gunnison granite obelisk directly over the site.
What remains today isn't just a solitary grave, but a whole steep hillside frozen in mid-decay. The old wagon road up to the mine cuts past rusted boiler tanks, collapsed timber cabins, gated mine shafts, and a small room carved straight into the rock face with its wooden door still intact. If you stand near the cliff edge on a quiet evening, local folklore still insists you can hear the violin—though you didn't hear it from us, and the roar of I-70 far below makes listening a bit trickier these days.
What it's like
The hike is roughly four miles round-trip on a wide, rocky 1870s wagon road that climbs over 1,300 feet of elevation, so don't let the distance fool you—it's a steep, breathless grind at 9,000-plus feet. Do not attempt to drive up to the actual trailhead on Silver Street, as parking there is virtually non-existent; park on Main Street in Silver Plume and walk up instead. Clear Creek County has posted historical QR codes along the lower trail, but the real test comes near the top, where loose gravel on narrow cliffside scrambles requires careful footing around the Griffin Monument. Hit the trail on a summer morning to beat the heat and afternoon thunderstorms, or in autumn when the golden aspens light up the canyon walls.
The move: Hike the steep 7:30 Mine Trail together to enjoy panoramic views of Silver Plume and the Clear Creek Valley, stopping to read the historical QR codes and photograph the impressive Griffin Monument.
📍 Before you go The 7:30 Mine Trail is a public right-of-way managed by Clear Creek County, but the surrounding land is private property and the historic mine shafts are sealed or barred off for safety.
- 📍 Silver Plume
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 7:30 Mine Road, Silver Plume, CO 80476, USA
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current access before you go.
Pair it with
- Bread Bar — When you make it back down the mountain, walk straight into this converted 1890s bakery on Main Street for a drink in the heart of Silver Plume.
- Hamill House Museum — Head two miles down the valley to Georgetown to contrast Griffin's mountain solitude with a silver baron's grand Victorian estate and its famous six-hole privy.
- Hotel de Paris Museum — Pair the cliffside tragedy of the 7:30 Mine with another eccentric 19th-century local legend at Louis Dupuy's French hotel in Georgetown.
- Edgar Experimental Mine — Since the shafts on the 7:30 Trail are safely sealed, head down to Idaho Springs to go underground inside an active research mine run by the Colorado School of Mines.
Good to know
Where should I park for the 7:30 Mine Trail?
Park along Main Street in downtown Silver Plume. The trailhead at the top of Silver Street has space for only two cars and a steep approach, so walking the extra two minutes from town is strongly recommended.
Can you go inside the abandoned mine shafts?
No. The historic mine shafts along the trail are gated, barred, or sealed off for safety, and the surrounding land is private property. You can peer through the iron bars or step into a shallow rock-cut storage room, but full subterranean exploration is off-limits.
How difficult is the hike to the Griffin Monument?
It's a moderate to strenuous hike. The trail spans about 4 miles round-trip with roughly 1,400 feet of elevation gain along steep switchbacks, topping out over 10,400 feet. The final stretch to the monument involves loose rock scrambles near steep drop-offs.
Who was Clifford Griffin?
Clifford Griffin was an English transplant who managed the 7:30 Mine in the 1880s. Popular among local miners for generous work policies, he famously played his violin from the cliff above town before taking his own life on the mountain in 1887.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: clearcreekcounty.us · coloradomountainclub.org · Atlas Obscura · Reddit
last checked: 2026-07-20