We stumbled across the Fanny Fern Mine trail while looking for simple morning hikes in the Lake City Colorado area.
The locals in town and the young lady at the Lake City Visitor Center know absolutely nothing about it, so Alltrails is your best source for any beta.
The road to the trailhead has private property and no trespassing signs, so we turned around our first time trying to find it and then returned once more after doing more research.
These signs are old – just ignore them and keep going up Alpine Street and the trailhead is well signed and quite obvious.
This is an excellent trail, very little elevation gain until you reach the buildings of the old Cleveland Mine.
The Alltrails trail turns around just short of here, however we recommend continuing up the very steep two-track to the Fanny Fern Mine at roughly 9,590 feet.
The first production year for the mine appears to be 1920, with the final year being 1952.
As this was a smaller mine there just isn’t that much data out there other than a few reports of small quantities of gold, silver, lead and copper.
The structure is still standing, however it is on private property with Keep Out signage which should be respected.
Great views down over Henson Creek and the northeast section of the Alpine Loop.
We definitely recommend this hike if you’re in Lake City and looking for a great leg stretch with some good vertical gain.
Bring sneakers, trail runners or boots, and a liter of water for the hike. On warmer days start early because you will get hot even with the shade along the trail.
Still Standing
There’s some serious lean to the building at the top of the Fanny Fern Mine.
High Rockies Classic
This shot looks like classic High Rockies mining remnants
Leftover Goods
Surprisingly enough, the ore chutes and cables are still here and look to be functional.
Downslope
Looking down at the Alpine Loop over the rubble surrounding the Fanny Fern Mine. I’m not sure what that spire is on the north side of the road but it is definitely interesting.
