Entry No. 94 — the Durango file — filed under: ghost town
Old Tomboy Mine
Established in 1880 at an elevation of 11,500 feet in Savage Basin, Tomboy was once a booming gold mining town housing over 1,000 residents before its abandonment in 1927. Today, the high-altitude ghost town features extensive weathered wooden cabins, rusted mining machinery, and the skeletal remains of the mill. Located along the rugged Imogene Pass, it stands as one of the highest and most dramatic historic mining sites in Colorado.
The story
At 11,500 feet in Savage Basin, high above Telluride's valley floor, sits what remains of the Old Tomboy Mine. First staked in 1880, this high-altitude outpost ballooned into a bustling gold camp housing over 1,000 hardy residents who lived, worked, and weathered brutal San Juan winters above timberline. Before operations ground to a halt and the town was abandoned in 1927, Tomboy stood as one of the most productive and dramatic mining enclaves in Colorado—and just so you know, you're looking for the Colorado original here along Imogene Pass, not its namesake down in Nevada.
Today, the site is a grimly beautiful wreckage of sun-bleached cabin timber, scattered iron machinery, and the skeletal wooden frame of the old mill clinging to the cliffside along Tomboy Road. Small-scale operators were still sifting through the leftover mine dumps for scraps of ore as late as the early 1950s, but the mountain has spent the last century reclaiming the gulch sentence by sentence.
What it's like
Reaching Savage Basin isn't a suburban drive—you'll need a proper high-clearance 4WD vehicle or a seat on a local guided jeep tour ascending the narrow, cliff-hugging shelf of Tomboy Road out of Telluride. Up here, the air is thin, cold, and carries a stark silence broken only by the high-alpine wind. The ruin site itself sits on private land immediately adjacent to the public Imogene Pass Road; keep your boots strictly on the public road corridor and shoot your photos from there, as the decaying wooden frames are extremely unstable.
The move: Rent a high-clearance 4WD vehicle or book a guided jeep tour from Telluride to traverse the rugged Tomboy Road, stopping to safely photograph the dramatic, weathered ruins of the mine and townsite from the public roadway.
📍 Before you go The ruins of the Tomboy Mine and townsite are located on private property along the public Tomboy Road (Imogene Pass Road). Visitors can view and photograph the extensive remains from the public road but must not trespass onto the private property or enter the unstable structures.
- 📍 Old Tomboy Mine
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Old Tomboy Mine, Colorado 81435, USA
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current access before you go.
Pair it with
- Fort Peabody Ruins (Imogene Pass) — Continue higher up the pass to see the stone sentry post built at 13,365 feet during early regional mining disputes.
- Tomboy Ghost Town & the Social Tunnel — Explore the adjacent high-altitude settlement site in Savage Basin where wealthy mill owners built an alpine YMCA complete with a bowling alley.
- Lone Tree Cemetery — Follow the ore trails down to Telluride to visit the 1887 burial grounds of the region's original boomtown generation.
- Wood Ear Whiskey Lounge & Noodle Bar — Finish your descent in Telluride with a drink at an 1880s walnut bar that dates back to the exact era Tomboy was struck.
Good to know
Can I walk through or enter the mine ruins?
No. The structures lie on private property and are structurally dangerous. You can view and photograph the entire townsite legally and safely from the public Tomboy Road.
What kind of vehicle is required to reach the site?
You need a high-clearance 4WD vehicle with low range capabilities, or you should book a commercial jeep tour out of Telluride. Standard crossovers will not survive Tomboy Road.
When was Old Tomboy Mine abandoned?
Active town life ended when the mine closed in 1927, though independent miners occasionally milled small ore lots from the mine dumps into the early 1950s.
Is the site accessible in the winter?
No. Imogene Pass and Tomboy Road sit under heavy snowpack for most of the year and are typically only open to 4WD travel during summer months.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: telluride.net · fs.usda.gov · Facebook · jerryblank.com · spl.cde.state.co.us
last checked: 2026-07-20