Entry No. 4 — the Fort Collins file — filed under: ghost-town
Mt. Harris Memorial
“In 1920 it was bigger than Steamboat. By 1958 it was gone — just foundations and sidewalks in the trees.”
In 1920 the biggest town in Routt County wasn't Steamboat Springs — it was Mount Harris, a coal camp of 1,300 with a theater, two hotels, and a company store. On May 20, 1958, the whole town was auctioned off and hauled away; dozens of its houses still stand around Hayden and Craig wearing new addresses. Pull off US-40 between mile markers 114 and 115 and look for six concrete foundations and crumbling sidewalks waiting in the trees.
The story
In 1920, Steamboat Springs was not the biggest show in Routt County. That title belonged to Mount Harris, a bustling company coal town jammed into the Yampa River canyon with over 1,200 residents, two hotels, a bandstand, a pool hall, a movie theater, and the mandatory Colorado Utah Coal Company store. For four decades, miners hauled hundreds of thousands of tons of coal out of the Wadge and Harris seams, living in company-owned houses built along the gulch.
Then the oil and gas boom hit, railroads switched to diesel, and the demand for steam coal collapsed. On May 20, 1958, the company didn't just shut down the mine—it put the entire physical town on the auction block. Buyers bought houses for a few hundred dollars, jacked them onto flatbeds, and hauled them down US-40. Today, dozens of original Mount Harris homes are still lived in around Hayden and Craig under modern street addresses, while the townsite itself was scraped flat.
What remains between mile markers 114 and 115 is a ghost town that vanished horizontally rather than rotting in place. Six concrete foundations, cracked steps leading nowhere, and overgrown sidewalks lie tucked under cottonwoods south of the Union Pacific tracks. You didn't hear it from us, but if you look closely at the residential blocks in nearby Hayden, you can still spot the identical four-room miner cottages that escaped the wrecking ball.
What it's like
Pulling off US-40 into the designated Point of Interest gravel turnout, you'll see a quiet row of historical display panels overlooking the Yampa River valley. Beyond the signs, cross down towards the brush along the tree line to trace the crumbling concrete pads and sidewalks hidden in the scrub oak. The site sits on a protected conservation easement, so while you can pace out where the company store and homes once sat, leave the dirt undisturbed and save your treasure hunting for the Hayden Heritage Center four miles down the road.
The move: Park at the Point of Interest pull-off, read the panels, then walk the tree line together and pace the old sidewalks, guessing where the theater stood.
📍 Before you go The stop is a signed Point of Interest pull-off on US-40 between Hayden and Milner, with room for a few cars. The foundations and sidewalks sit in a cluster of trees on the south side of the railroad tracks and stay buried under snow until spring melt, so wear shoes for uneven, brushy ground. The townsite is under a conservation easement — look, but don't dig or pocket souvenirs. Pair it with the Hayden Heritage Center a few miles west, which keeps the town's photos and artifacts.
- 📍 Hayden
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: US-40 between mile markers 114 and 115, about 5 miles east of Hayden, CO 81639
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Carpenter Ranch (The Nature Conservancy) — Drive ten miles west to tour a working historic cattle ranch that preserved its original 1900s homestead buildings along the same Yampa River corridor.
- Oak Creek Tavern — Head 25 miles south into another historic Routt County coal town to grab a drink at a classic local saloon that has been pouring since 1908.
- Steamboat Spring & the Mineral Springs Walking Tour — Continue east on US-40 into Steamboat Springs to see the strange chugging spring that lured early travelers long before the coal mines opened.
Good to know
Where did all the buildings from Mount Harris go?
They were auctioned off on May 20, 1958, and hauled away on trucks; many still serve as private residences in Hayden, Craig, and surrounding Routt and Moffat counties.
Is the site accessible in winter?
The highway pull-off is plowed, but the concrete foundations and sidewalks south of the highway sit buried under deep snow from late autumn through spring melt.
Can I take artifacts or go metal detecting at Mount Harris?
No. The site is protected under a public conservation easement held by Historic Routt County and Colorado Open Lands—digging, metal detecting, and removing artifacts are strictly prohibited.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: steamboatpilot.com · haydenheritagecenter.org · historicrouttcounty.org · keepitco.org
last checked: 2026-06-11