Destination: St. Elmo Area

General Location: 16 miles west of Nathrop up Chalk Creek Canyon

How To Get There: Follow highway 24 south out of Buena Vista 8 miles to County Road 162 (Nathrop), and turn west (right). The road eventually turns into gravel but goes all the way to St. Elmo.

Difficulty: Passenger vehicle accessible on well maintained gravel road.

History of St. Elmo: Originally named Forest City, the US Postal Service complained of too many such named towns. Griffith Evans, one of the founders, was reading a book at the time titled St. Elmo, and hence the name was changed. Some historians claim the population was over 2,000 during its hey day, but 1,000 is more accurate.

The Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad used St. Elmo as its railhead, providing passenger and freight transportation throughout the area until as late as 1926. Areas serviced by the railroad included the thriving towns of Hancock and Romley and the line ran all the way through the famous Alpine Tunnel. Today it is one of the most popularly visited ghost towns in the state, and is an official National Historic Site.

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