Entry No. 43 — the Colorado Springs file — filed under: ghost-lights
Silver Cliff Cemetery Ghost Lights
Tucked into the remote Wet Mountain Valley, Silver Cliff Cemetery has been quietly producing unexplained phenomena since the 1880s: blue-white orbs that drift and bounce among the headstones after dark, as if someone left a lantern on for the residents. National Geographic ran a feature on them in August 1969 and still couldn't explain the lights away — scientists have lobbed theories (phosphenes, retinal quirks) but none have stuck conclusively. The town's tourism pitch leans hard into its International Dark Sky designation, so the cemetery's ghost lights play second fiddle to stargazers who don't even know what they're parked next to. It's a publicly accessible, town-owned cemetery that can't close — just show up, wait for dark, and see what you see.
The move: Drive out after sunset, kill your headlights and phone screens at the gate, and give your eyes a solid 20 minutes to adjust — that's when the floating blue smears reportedly show up low among the graves, and the debate about what you're actually seeing is half the fun.
📍 Before you go The cemetery sits about a mile south of State Highway 96 on Mill Street (County Road 340), on the edge of the tiny twin towns of Silver Cliff and Westcliffe out in the remote Wet Mountain Valley — roughly an hour-plus drive southwest of Pueblo, so fuel up and grab directions before you lose signal. It's a working town cemetery with separate Catholic and Protestant sections, so tread quietly and respect the graves. Aim for a moonless, clear night for the darkest sky, bring a red-filtered flashlight to protect your night vision, and pack warm layers — the valley sits near 7,800 feet and turns cold after sunset. Pair it with stargazing from a Westcliffe dark-sky overlook or a daytime stop at nearby Bishop Castle.
- 📍 Westcliffe / Silver Cliff
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 1435 Mill Street, Silver Cliff, CO 81252
Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Wikipedia · Atlas Obscura · legendsofamerica.com · gazette.com
last checked: 2026-06-09