CityOfCreede.com
A wide view of the eroded spires of the Wheeler Geologic Area under a stormy sky

Things to see

Things to see and do around Creede

A professional theatre in a silver-boom town, a museum blasted from the rock, mines clinging to canyon walls, a waterfall on the Continental Divide and strange spires of volcanic ash. Here are the places worth your time, and how to fit them together.

Historic Creede

A silver-boom town squeezed into a canyon below volcanic cliffs, with a professional theatre, a museum blasted from the rock and a loop road through the old mining district.

The two-storey Creede Hotel with its balcony on Main Street Town

Downtown Creede

A boom town on Main Street

A few blocks of false-front buildings, galleries, cafés and outfitters on Main Street, with the cliffs of Willow Creek Canyon rising at the north end.

The Creede Repertory Theatre Mainstage on Main Street with cliffs behind Theatre

Creede Repertory Theatre

Professional theatre at 8,800 feet

A professional repertory company founded in 1966 by a group of university students, staging several plays in rotation each summer in the middle of town.

Willow Creek running through a stone channel beneath the cliffs at the north end of Creede Museum

Underground Mining Museum

A museum blasted from solid rock

Hundreds of feet of tunnel blasted into the cliffs by Creede miners, with displays on drilling, blasting and mucking, and tours led by locals in summer.

Mine tailings and old timber workings on a hillside along the Bachelor Loop Historic drive

Bachelor Loop

Mines, cliffs and a ghost town

A 17-mile gravel loop from the top of Main Street through Willow Creek Canyon and the old mining district, past cliffside mines and the site of Bachelor.

The upper Rio Grande

West of town the valley climbs towards the Continental Divide, with a waterfall, a remote reservoir and some of the strangest rock formations in Colorado.

Pale spires and ridges of eroded volcanic tuff in the Wheeler Geologic Area Geology

Wheeler Geologic Area

Colorado’s lost national monument

A remote maze of spires and gullies carved from volcanic ash, once a national monument, reached by a long trail or a rough four-wheel-drive road.

North Clear Creek Falls plunging into a dark rock canyon below open meadows Waterfall

North Clear Creek Falls

A 100-foot plunge off the highway

A waterfall that drops about 100 feet into a basalt canyon, a short drive off Highway 149 and one of the most photographed sights in the San Juans.

The blue water of the Rio Grande Reservoir between forested mountains Lake

Rio Grande Reservoir

Where the road runs out

A long mountain reservoir near the headwaters of the Rio Grande, at the end of a gravel road, with campgrounds, fishing and trails into the Weminuche Wilderness.

Highway 149 curving below a tall cliff of volcanic tuff near Creede Scenic drive

Silver Thread Scenic Byway

South Fork to Lake City

Highway 149 for 75 miles from South Fork through Creede and over the Continental Divide to Lake City, past canyons, waterfalls and high passes.

Day trips

Creede is a long way from anywhere, which is part of its charm. These are the best places within a few hours’ drive.

Lake San Cristobal surrounded by forested mountains near Lake City Small town

Lake City and Lake San Cristobal

The other end of the Silver Thread

A Victorian mining town at the foot of the Alpine Loop jeep roads, beside Lake San Cristobal, Colorado’s second-largest natural lake.

The overlook at Wolf Creek Pass with forested mountains under white clouds Mountain pass

Wolf Creek Pass

Deep snow on the Divide

A dramatic highway pass over the Continental Divide south of Creede, home to Wolf Creek Ski Area and a scenic overlook.

Walkers on the crest of a sand dune with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains beyond National park

Great Sand Dunes National Park

The tallest dunes in North America

Mountains of sand piled against the Sangre de Cristo Range on the far side of the San Luis Valley, about two hours east of Creede.

Mineral terraces and blue water at the Mother Spring in Pagosa Springs Hot springs

Pagosa Springs

Soak beside the San Juan River

A mountain town over Wolf Creek Pass, built around one of the deepest geothermal hot springs in the world, with soaking pools beside the river.

Planning your days

Creede is small enough to explore on foot, but its best sights lie up canyons and along mountain roads. Plan each day around one direction and leave time for the drive, the views and the weather.

One day

  1. Start at the Underground Mining Museum at the north end of town.
  2. Drive the Bachelor Loop through the old mining district.
  3. Stroll Main Street, then see a play at the Creede Repertory Theatre.

Two days

Drive west on the Silver Thread to North Clear Creek Falls, over Spring Creek Pass and down to Lake City for lunch. Return for an evening show, or stay the night in Lake City.

Three days or more

Hike or drive to the Wheeler Geologic Area, spend a day fishing the Rio Grande, or take a day trip to the Great Sand Dunes or the hot springs of Pagosa Springs. Our three-day itinerary has the details.

Good to know

Many attractions, backroads and businesses open only from late May to September or October. Check opening times and road conditions before you plan your route.

Plan your Creede trip

Make the most of the San Juans

Ride a jeep over the high passes, fish the Rio Grande, take a steam train or spend a day on the Great Sand Dunes. Compare tours and book in a couple of taps.

Browse Colorado tours Compare all tours