Entry No. 13 — the Durango file — filed under: outdoor
Mayday & La Plata City Ghost Towns (La Plata Canyon)
“Past the asphalt: cabin ruins, boilers, and tram cables clear to Kennebec Pass.”
Five miles up La Plata Canyon Road the pavement quits, and the gold camps begin. Mayday’s white-and-red saloon was hauled board by board down from La Plata City—locals counted 27 bullet holes in the wall behind the bar. Olga Little, the San Juans’ only female mule packer, ran ore trains from here. Parrott City, at the canyon mouth, was the county seat before Durango existed. Past the asphalt: cabin ruins, boilers, and tram cables clear to Kennebec Pass.
The move: Drive CR 124 past Mayday to where the pavement ends, walk the dirt road to the La Plata City cabin ruins among the aspens, and split a thermos while you count what the miners left behind.
📍 Before you go Turn north off US-160 at the Kennebec Cafe in Hesperus onto County Road 124; Mayday sits about 4.5 miles up, right where pavement turns to dirt, and the La Plata City site is a couple of miles beyond on graded gravel any car can manage in summer. The upper road toward Kennebec Pass wants high clearance or 4x4 and stays snowed shut outside roughly June through October. Several Mayday buildings—including the relocated saloon—are privately owned and occupied, so admire from the road; mine ruins up-canyon sit on old claims, so look, do not pry. Pair it with a picnic or dispersed camping at the La Plata City site or Kroeger Campground.
- 📍 Hesperus
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: La Plata Canyon Road (County Road 124), ~4.5 miles north of US-160, Hesperus, CO 81326
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4
last checked: 2026-06-11