Entry No. 13 — the Durango file — filed under: outdoor
Mayday & La Plata City Ghost Towns (La Plata Canyon)
“Past the asphalt: cabin ruins, boilers, and tram cables clear to Kennebec Pass.”
Five miles up La Plata Canyon Road the pavement quits, and the gold camps begin. Mayday’s white-and-red saloon was hauled board by board down from La Plata City—locals counted 27 bullet holes in the wall behind the bar. Olga Little, the San Juans’ only female mule packer, ran ore trains from here. Parrott City, at the canyon mouth, was the county seat before Durango existed. Past the asphalt: cabin ruins, boilers, and tram cables clear to Kennebec Pass.
The story
Before Durango ever laid a brick or claimed the county seat, Parrott City held down the mouth of La Plata Canyon, routing prospectors up into the steep gulches. Four and a half miles up County Road 124, right where the asphalt dies, you hit Mayday. Its standout structure—a white-and-red saloon—wasn't even built on this spot; when La Plata City higher up the canyon started dying off, miners dismantled the saloon and hauled it down board by board. Locals counted 27 bullet holes in the wood behind the bar, left behind by miners settling tabs before law enforcement ever made it up the canyon.
The terrain was brutal, which made Olga Little the ultimate local legend. As the San Juan Mountains' only female mule packer, she steered pack trains through blinding whiteouts along ledges barely wider than a mule's hoof, hauling gold ore out of mines like the Mayday and packing dynamite, lard, and whiskey back up to high-altitude camps.
Keep rolling past Mayday onto the dirt, and La Plata City opens up among the aspens. The old boomtown is mostly scrap and stone now: collapsing cabin timbers, half-buried steam boilers, and rusted aerial tram cables dangling toward Kennebec Pass. Cut the engine and walk the roadside—you'll find what the mountain hasn't finished reclaiming.
What it's like
Turn off US-160 at the Kennebec Cafe and head north up County Road 124. The asphalt lasts just long enough to drop you in front of Mayday's standing structures—keep in mind these are private homes today, so admire the saloon frame from the road without wandering onto private property. Once the pavement ends, any standard car can manage the two-mile gravel crawl up to the La Plata City ruins and Kroeger Campground in summer. Don't get ambitious past that point unless you're driving a high-clearance 4x4, because the upper shelf road to Kennebec Pass stays snowed shut outside June through October and will punish low vehicle undercarriages.
The move: Drive CR 124 past Mayday to where the pavement ends, walk the dirt road to the La Plata City cabin ruins among the aspens, and split a thermos while you count what the miners left behind.
📍 Before you go Turn north off US-160 at the Kennebec Cafe in Hesperus onto County Road 124; Mayday sits about 4.5 miles up, right where pavement turns to dirt, and the La Plata City site is a couple of miles beyond on graded gravel any car can manage in summer. The upper road toward Kennebec Pass wants high clearance or 4x4 and stays snowed shut outside roughly June through October. Several Mayday buildings—including the relocated saloon—are privately owned and occupied, so admire from the road; mine ruins up-canyon sit on old claims, so look, do not pry. Pair it with a picnic or dispersed camping at the La Plata City site or Kroeger Campground.
- 📍 Hesperus
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: La Plata Canyon Road (County Road 124), ~4.5 miles north of US-160, Hesperus, CO 81326
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Hesperus Mountain (Dibé Nitsaa) — Pair your canyon floor exploration of historic mining scrap with a view up toward Dibé Nitsaa, the sacred northern peak of the Diné creation story towering over the range.
- Columbine Bar & Grill — Trade Mayday's bullet-riddled, private saloon structure for an actual drink inside this 1900s watering hole down the road in Mancos.
- The Bookcase and Barber — Follow up the wild history of early mining saloons with password-protected craft cocktails inside a hidden Durango speakeasy.
- White Rabbit Books & Curiosities — Swap mountain ghost town ruins for a tiny 150-square-foot book shop hidden along Durango's Animas River Trail.
Good to know
Can I go inside the old Mayday saloon or cabin ruins?
No. Mayday's surviving buildings are privately occupied homes, and mine ruins higher up sit on private mining claims. Observe everything strictly from the County Road 124 right-of-way.
Do I need a 4x4 vehicle to reach La Plata City?
Not during summer. Standard passenger cars can easily manage the graded gravel road up to the La Plata City site and Kroeger Campground. A high-clearance 4x4 is only required if you push further up the canyon toward Kennebec Pass.
When is the road open for driving?
The lower canyon road up to Mayday and La Plata City is accessible through spring, summer, and fall. The upper pass road toward Kennebec Pass is typically snowbound from November through roughly June.
Who was Olga Little?
She was the San Juans' famed female mule packer who ran ore and supply trains through La Plata Canyon's extreme weather and high-altitude mining trails in the early 20th century.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: westernmininghistory.com · Official site · mild2wildrafting.com · Wikipedia
last checked: 2026-06-11