Brief by Central Staff
Recreation – July 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
Lake County’s relatively new Mineral Belt Trail was named to the National Trails System on May 31 by Interior Secretary Gale Norton (for some reason identified as the U.S. Secretary of State in the Leadville Herald-Democrat).
The 12.2-mile trail opened two years ago. It winds through the historic mining district on the east side of Leadville. (Check our August, 2000, edition for more.)
The trail is paved, but not quite done; this summer it will get 26 interpretive and historic signs, along with some exhibits of historic mining machinery and the like.
The trail is named for the Mineral Belt Railroad, a dual-gauge Colorado & Southern subsidiary which served such famous silver mines as the Matchless and Robert E. Lee. Portions of the trail are on the old railroad bed.
As for hiking the trail, this magazine’s management had some free time in Leadville on a warm May afternoon, and took a stroll along a mile or so of the trail, from a road shop on the north side of town to a ways past the Matchless.
Our conclusion: It’s quite hikable (even for our overweight deskbound publisher) and the views are wonderful, whether you’re looking across the valley at Mt. Massive or across a gulch to an old mine. It’s already something Lake County should be quite proud of, and with more signage, exhibits, and benches, it will be even better.