by Camp Hale is located in the Eagle river valley in Leadville south of Red Cliff. Camp Hale was originally a U.S. Army training facility in 1942, and went on to become the 10th Mountain Division. It is about 40 minutes from Avon, and features a scenic ride south on Highway 24 and over Red Cliff Bridge, one of Colorado’s most iconic bridges.
Camp Hale offers public camping grounds, and over 100 miles of hiking biking, and motorized vehicle trail systems on over 55,000 acres. In addition Nova Guides rents ATV’s, UTV’s, and Jeeps to explore the terrain.
The trails begin at 9,200 feet and ascend to over 12,500 feet, featuring views of Colorado’s two highest peaks – Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive.
Camp Hale was named after General Irving Hale, a general for the United States Army who served in the Philippines during the Spanish American War.
15,000 U.S. soldiers were housed at Camp Hale, and trained in mountain climbing, alpine and nordic skiing, and general cold weather survival.
In 2003, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a cleanup effort to collect training remains and unexploded weaponry, the effort is still ongoing.
Although I have been enjoying the opportunity to explore Colorado in the summer, Winter is coming and it’s getting closer everyday. Jackson Hole is predicting 4-10″ over the next few days. In addition Breckenridge got their first dusting of snow last night as well. With Keystone planning an opening day in early October I am counting the days.
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