Entry No. 45 — the Colorado Springs file — filed under: feral-animals
Cripple Creek Wild Donkey Herd
“the only gambling town in America where a donkey might block the entrance”
When the gold mines shut down around 1901, the miners just... left. Their pack burros stayed, and the descendants of those animals — a herd of 14-16 feral donkeys — still wander the streets, casino parking lots, and shop entrances of Cripple Creek to this day. A single volunteer nonprofit, the Two Mile High Club (founded 1931), releases them onto the streets every mid-May and rounds them back up every mid-October, so the whole town quietly shares its sidewalks with semi-wild animals for half the year. Most visitors come for the slot machines and never realize they're in the only gambling town in America where a donkey might block the entrance. The herd is a living footnote to Colorado's mining era, not a petting zoo or tourist installation — they go where they want.
The move: Time a visit around the 95th Annual Donkey Derby Days (June 26-28, 2026) on Bennett Avenue — watch teams race a donkey up the main street — then wander off-festival for the stranger, quieter experience of finding a donkey parked outside a casino at dusk.
📍 Before you go Cripple Creek sits about 45 miles southwest of Colorado Springs — take Highway 24 west to Divide, then Highway 67 south, roughly an hour of mountain switchbacks at nearly 9,500 feet, so dress in layers even in summer. The donkeys free-roam the compact downtown only in the warmer half of the year; outside that window they're in their winter pasture on the edge of town, so a summer or early-fall visit is the surest bet (the exact season shifts a little — check ahead). Everything — casinos, museums, shops, food — clusters within a few walkable blocks of Bennett Avenue, so park once and explore on foot. They're semi-wild working-herd animals, not pets: don't feed them people food (only the official "donkey biscuits" sold around town) and give them room. Pair it with nearby Victor, a quieter, less-restored mining town a short drive away.
- 📍 Cripple Creek
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Bennett Avenue, Cripple Creek, CO 80813
Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · gazette.com · fox21news.com
last checked: 2026-06-09