Leadville Snowshoe: Lower Mosquito Pass Road to County Road 3B

Distance: 3 miles round trip
Elevation: 10,900 ft -11,200 ft
Elevation gain: 300 ft
Bathroom at Trailhead: No
Dogs: Off leash
Tags: #snowshoe, #leadville, #coloradooutdoors

Looking east towards the Mosquito Range from County Road 3B in Leadville CO 

Leadville is known for both wide open spaces and lots of snow.  That makes Leadville a great snowshoe destination.  One of the lesser known routes starts out on Mosquito Pass Road (County Road 3) and then turns south onto County Road 3B. The latter climbs sharply, which affords lovely views of the entire area.

Map of the area showing where the parking usually is and the turn onto County Road 3B

The parking area where the road is no longer plowed

County Road 3 makes a sharp right turn and crosses the Evans Gulch drainage.

Looking west down the drainage at snowy Mt. Massive 

To get to this snowshoe, take County Road 3 out of the middle of leadville and head east. This road is plowed but will most likely be snowpacked. Pass under the bridges for the Mineral Belt Trail and stop at the small parking are were the road is no longer plowed. While the berm indicating the spot may appear small don't go any further or you risk getting stuck until spring.

Snowmobile tracks

All of the mounds are mine tailings.

Cabin and tailings covered in snow

This area is frequented by snowmobiles, which can be an advantage. Their tracks will keep you on the road and not wandering off into one of the many mining ruins in the area. In winter these ruins are transformed into quaint Santa Claus villages.

Ruins, ruins, everywhere

Heading west on County Road 3B

On the map, County Road 3B turns off to the right at two locations, the first just after the road bends south. On this trip, that turn was under several feet of snow. Instead we continued on County Road 3 almost to the Diamond Mine before turning eastward.

Turning around and heading back down

Blue skies, Mt. Massive in the distance, and lots of happy snowshoers 

The reality, this area is crisscrossed by roads. Depending on the snow depth, all sorts of routes should be possible. One particularly scenic option is to just continue up County Road 3 (View Mosquito Pass Road Snowshoe). On that road, you can go all the way to the pass or turn around at any point.

Vance’s Cabin Snowshoe

Distance: 6 miles round trip
Elevation: 10, 550-11,120 ft
Elevation gain: 1,040 ft
Dogs: Not near the cabin
Date snowshoed: 19 January 2008
Bathroom at Trailhead: In the ski resort
Tags: #snowshoe, #coloradooutdoors, #skicooper, #tenneseepass, #10thmountain, #hut

Standing on the back of Vance's Cabin, near Ski Cooper (Leadville)

A trip to Vance’s cabin near Ski Cooper/Leadville is a moderate snowshoe with potentially spectacular views of nearby 14ers as well as the Continental Divide. On this trip most of the views were diluted with low hanging clouds. Since the cabin is well used in both winter and summer this is not a trail for total solitude. Vance’s cabin is the smallest hut in the 10th Mountain Division’s hut system.

From the Ski Cooper parking lot head up the side road to the obvious sign and take a left.

After making the left at the sign, the route travels up a small drainage towards are large meadow.

The trail to Vance's cabin starts at Ski Cooper, at the top of Tennessee Pass. From the parking area there is a maintenance road heading east with a prominent red sign that reads “Vance’s Cabin” in 2000 pt font.

Turning left (west) and heading up a large meadow.

The first half-mile of the trail is along a well-groomed road bordered on the left by a creek and the right by drifting banks. An equally prominent sign marks the next turn off. This one has a large arrow pointing to the left.

Approaching the far end of the meadow.

After this well-marked left turn, the trail crosses a creek and heads up a wide valley. Mid-way up the trail turns sharply upwards to the left and climbs 300 feet. At the top are two large meadows that are perfect for power hopping. I would have killed for a clear day because this spot must contains some lovely views to the east.

After the meadow, the trail spends a part of time in the trees.

After the meadows the trail continues for 1.5 miles through the trees. Modern art sculptures abounded as the copious “snow blobs” transformed both tree and stump into mythical creatures.

The final pitch to the cabin is down a broad slope.

The trees end at the highest point of the trail, which resides at 11,300 ft. From here descend down a broad slope to the cabin. The slope is dotted with the burnt out remnants of a long forgotten fire.

The interior of Vance's Cabin