maps The Bachelor Loop Rat Creek
Length: 17 miles / Drive time: 1 hour+
Rat Creek
Rat Creek
enjoy the bachelor loop
Few things capture the interest and imagination like abandoned mining camps, colorful characters of the past, buildings, and old memories. What would it have been like to live here 125 years ago? The Bachelor Loop Historic Tour is a 17-mile drive, on your own, through the historic mining district above Creede. The tour takes you across mine locations from the 1890s and abandoned ghost towns that once rivaled Creede in size. The road weaves its way up through the canyon north of Creede climbing under the ragged cliff sides. The main route follows West Willow Creek to top out with the aged forests of Bristle Cone pine trees. A number of interpretive stops and points of interest provide direction along the route. The entrance station is located at the Creede & Mineral County Visitor Center, and directs tourists north through Creede, to a second kiosk at the junction of East & West Willow Creek. The tour ends just above Creede at stops #15 & 16, the Creede Cemetery and Bob Ford’s gravesite. We suggest picking up a copy of our Bachelor Loop Historic Tour Guidebook at the Visitor Center. The Guidebook contains maps, stories and high quality photographs for each stop along the tour.
• Allow at least one hour for the tour.
• The loop road has some narrow stretches and steep grades that require caution; check on road conditions during inclement weather. • Two-wheel drive vehicles might consider completing the tour backwards, in order to descend the Black Pitch, instead of climb it. • Most of the property along the route is private property. Please respect the posted signs and do not trespass or wander beyond fences or gates.
32 / creede.com