hagerman tunnel

Getting to the Hagerman Tunnel can be a fun, interesting, and not too strenuous hike by following the old RR bed from the Hagerman Pass Road. The Road is the old RR bed until perhaps a little over a mile above and east of the Busk-Ivanhoe Water Diversion Tunnel and the Windsor Lake TH. From the interpretive sign and large parking area right of the road, pick up the RR bed that leaves the Road on the left. A short detour out of the RR bed to avoid some wet areas is recommended. Follow the RR bed west a mile to where the long-gone 2000' trestle crossed the canyon, and take the steeper old road north a quarter mile to where the old RR bed is crossed again. You can continue up the road north another quarter mile to the site of Douglass City. Some cabin walls, building foundations, artifacts, and an interpretive sign describe the rugged life in this tunnel and RR construction camp. Getting to the Tunnel just north above Douglass City requires a very steep, but fairly short climb. The tunnel has ice in it year-round and is worth a look, but do not enter for safety reasons.The final steep grade above Douglass City to the Tunnel can be avoided by following the easy 1-2% RR bed perhaps two miles back to the east from where it is crossed above the trestle site. Spurs, other trestle locations, Hagerman Lake, and some remains of the many RR snow sheds can be found on the way to the Tunnel. You can see Douglass City to the south from just before the Tunnel, and go down the steep trail to the site if you want to fully explore the area. From Douglass City, you can go south on the old road back to the RR bed at the long trestle site and follow it east back to the car on Hagerman Pass Road. A suggstion is to do some research in books or Google on the Tunnel. There are other historical sites in the area that can add to a very interesting and fun hike into history - if you know where you are going.

this is a medium lenght hike with some elevation change, but most of it is not steep. the scenary is amazing, the old town ruins intersting, and the tunnel itself is amazing with the permanent ice in it.have some directions or a trail map before you take off on this trail.

A few years ago we unsuccessfully tried to find this from the Windsor Lake Trail. We then used a trail guide that started at the higher turn out and gave a good historical description of everything. You could just follow the track bed, but some correct shortcuts save time and let you see more. After the tunnel, continue north to see the rock cuts and Hagerman Lake under the Continental Divide. The variety of rocks pulled out of the heart of the mountain was interesting. If you have a 4x4, it is worth the drive up to the pass. The first stretch on this side is the hardest, which isn't hard at all. The road will take you right above Hagerman Lake where you can look directly down into it. The whole road is pretty easy with little exposure and lots of passing places. Most of the scenery is on the east side.

This is a beautiful hike going up an old 6% train grade. It takes you through the old town of Douglass, where the ladies of the evening were too rough to work in the nearby Mining town of Leadville. I would say an easy hike (harder on the way up than down) at almost 12,000'. But... be prepared... start the hike early enough to be back down before the "daily" afternoon thunder and lightening storm. Remember in the open side of the mountain, YOU are the tallest target for the lightening.

There are two simple ways to get to the old Douglass City ghost town that once housed railroad workers, one by heading up the Windsor Lake Trail off Hagerman Pass Road at the point where the road begins to climb (but be sure to get some directions, since that route leaves the Windsor Lake Trail early on and is not marked), and the other by going a bit farther up the road to a parking area for the Colorado Midland Centennial Trail (easily passable by passenger cars to that point, but don't go farther without a high clearance vehicle) and following the trail to the ghost town.Once you've viewed the log cabin ruins and the pretty little lake near them, it's worth the time to continue up the (briefly) steep trail to the rail grade above the lake, turn left, and see this historic tunnel. Take the time to read the old sign near its entrance, and be sure to follow its directions NOT TO GO INTO THE TUNNEL; there are several interesting ways the tunnel can quickly end your existence. But the view from the entrance into the now perpetually ice and snow filled tunnel is worth the trip, as is the sense of railroad history it conveys.

It's a nice summer hike with a lot of wild flowers. The tunnel entrance is visible with ice inside, even in summer.