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Submission
Great for family who doesn't want to work hard,👌 pretty easy and beautiful.
This is a beautiful hike. The surrounding mountains are spectacular. The trail conditions run the gamut from an old road to a log crossing of the Sauk river. There is a noticeable elevation gain, but it's not too bad. The Ghost town of Monte Cristo is fascinating. Bless the people who have provided signs explaining all the sites to see there.
It was a beautiful hike thru the woods with the fall foliage. 8+ miles but little elevation gain. Our vegan hiking group loved it!
06.10.2023
About 10 miles round trip.
This is a very basic hike with great views and a really cool destination. By basic, I mean that most of it is on an old railroad path that is a very well maintained gravel trail with a lot of width. A few areas of singltrack trail thru some woods, and also a few water crossings thru washouts and one over the river. The crossing over the river was very easy, and kinda fun. Even a place for my sidekick to take a dip.
The trail had some really good mountain vistas and traveled next to the river most of the way. The day I went had some high clouds, which created a really cool scene.
Getting to the township was pretty sweet. It wasn't as rustic as I had hoped, and not as many old relics as I expected. However, that didn't tarnish the historical value of the area, or all the efforts from volunteers to maintain the old town. Don't stop at the clearing, as a lot of the old town is across the creek and further up the hill.
There were signs that called out and labeled where old structures have once been located, although most of them were no longer there. Other signs had pictures and descriptions of the area that kind of allowed me to visualize the area as it was when in full swing.
I was able to find that there are trails that go even deeper into the mountains from there, and could possibly connect all the way to highway 2. This is a great place to go for multi day hikes. I plan on doing that very soon.
Fun, easy hike up to an old mining town. Mostly flat and wide so you could bike it or bring a stroller but you'd defintely have to carry either for some rocky/hilly stretches.
Some neat artifacts if you're into trains and old homesteads. Be sure to pass the old lodge and red cabins & train turntable (across the other bridge) to hike up to what used to be Dumas Street. The preservation society has done a nice job with the photos/info to help you imagine what the old mining town looked like.
