To visit Victor, the hamlet west of Colorado Springs, is to step back in time. While neighboring Cripple Creek bustles as a casino destination, Victor stays quiet.
Indeed, the town feels frozen in time. More than a century removed from the gold rush, relics still stand. They’re here along Vindicator Valley Trail: rusted, splintering structures like skeletons in a land of lost dreams.
Within the hilly mosaic, you’ll get the solitude of a classic Colorado trail. You’ll also get an education, with history waiting at the turn of every corner.
First along the wide path is Theresa Mine, represented by a neck-craning tower. A sign tells of the mine producing $2.5 million in gold in its brief life, beginning in 1895.