With so many years of hiking under our belts it is surprising to find a hike in Summit County we haven’t done yet. Fredonia Gulch is that hike.
It is in Blue River, just south of Breckenridge off County Road 600. It is a road hike, which probably explains why we haven’t done it. We generally don’t do many road hikes. This one goes the the Fredonia Mine so there were some interesting remnants and some pretty great views.
Hiking Fredonia Gulch
As I said, it’s a road hike, so you follow the road going around the closed green gate. It’s a steady climb of about 1300 feet for roughly 2 miles. It goes through the forest with occasional glimpses of Quandary Mountain and surrounding peaks. Eventually you come to the Fredonia Gulch Mine, an old mine currently being reclaimed. This is someone’s private property so while it is cool to check out, be respectful. Watch out for nails sticking up in the debris. A nail in the foot would make the two mile hike back to the car feel like an eternity!
We still felt ambitious and added some bonus mileage by heading up to a nearby peak. We could see it from the mine. There was some downhill first, heading through some trees on a lightly used trail. Then we emerged into the open where we could see our destination. No trail here so we just headed straight up. Roughly 45 minutes later, and a lot of heavy breathing, we ended up at the top. Someone had nicely constructed a pile of rocks with a big branch sticking up so we knew we’d arrived. Some nice flat rocks pointing us toward Quandary Mountain made a great lunch spot. On a windy day, this spot may be too exposed but it worked well for us with just breezy conditions. From here, we could see all the way to the town of Breckenridge and Lake Dillon beyond. This is quite a view and well worth the extra elevation.
A new adventure
Back at the car the GPS said our mileage for Fredonia Gulch and our extra expedition was 5.4 miles. Elevation was around 1800 feet. It took us about 4 hours to complete including some lounging at the top. Overall, this was a new adventure that included interesting, mining history and great views.
Check out some of our other Summit County hikes
Where did you park? How much space? Forest Disservice flyer has you parking at Pennsylvania Ck. Add trailhead info to these and you will have a good draft for a guidebook.
We parked at the end of the road. I’m not sure where parking is allowed but there isn’t much room. That’s probably why they are directing everyone to Pennsylvania Creek.