At a Glance
- Lulu City: Est. 1879
- Lulu City Abandoned: ~1883
- Location: Inside RMNP
- Preserved By: National Park Service
The 1879 Silver Rush
The silver rush of the late 1870s brought prospectors to Colorado's mountains on a broad front. In Grand County, the upper Colorado River drainage — now inside Rocky Mountain National Park — attracted miners who established Lulu City in 1879, hoping to replicate the silver bonanzas found elsewhere in Colorado.
The rush was brief. Lulu City was platted with streets, businesses, and residential areas — reaching a population of several hundred at its peak. Mining activity also extended into the Never Summer Mountains along the park's western boundary, where mineral deposits were found but rarely proved economically viable.
Abandonment and Legacy
By 1883, the silver at Lulu City had proved insufficient to sustain a mining town. Miners moved on to more promising locations, and Lulu City was largely abandoned within four years of its founding. The buildings deteriorated quickly in the mountain environment.
Today the site of Lulu City is accessible via a 3.7-mile hike from the Colorado River Trailhead inside RMNP. The NPS has stabilized some remnant structural foundations and interpretive signs explain the site's history. The ghost town is a sobering reminder of how quickly optimism and capital can appear and disappear in a remote mountain valley.
Mining in the Never Summer Mountains
Mining activity in the Never Summer Mountains — the range along RMNP's western boundary — left more visible traces than Lulu City. Several historic mines operated in the area during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, targeting gold, silver, and other minerals.
The darker volcanic rock of the Never Summers that distinguishes them visually from the rest of RMNP reflects a different geological history — one that made them more interesting to miners than the park's dominant granite, which holds fewer economically significant minerals.