Teller County: Nature, Fossils and Gold History

A wildlife migration corridor runs from Catamount Ranch through Mueller State Park to Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. There are also fossils, gold history and historic road routes—different themes you can use to shape the focus of your trip.

Nature and Wildlife

Teller County’s Catamount Ranch Resource Protection Area is a 1,320-acre protected wildlife habitat on the north slope of Pikes Peak. The corridor runs from Catamount Ranch through Mueller State Park to Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. This places the three sites in a specific relationship along a wildlife route.

Mueller State Park covers more than 5,117 acres. Its landscape includes spring-fed meadows, diverse forests and distinctive granite formations of Pikes Peak. Elk, black bears, eagles and hawks roam the natural area. Meadows, forest and granite formations give the park a different landscape from the wildlife habitat at Catamount Ranch.

The Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center offers a different kind of nature experience: the center hosts personalized, one-hour walks through its sanctuary. During the tours, visitors see wolves, coyotes and foxes; each tour ends with a group howl. Unlike a visit to a park, the focus here is a tour of a specified duration featuring these animals and a shared finale.

Teller County’s parks are generally available for recreation to residents and visitors.

Fossils and Earth History

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument protects one of the world’s richest fossil deposits. At the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center, visitors can tour a working fossil lab. There, important newly discovered fossils are separated from their rock matrix and restored; lab activities may vary. The two sites have different focuses: the monument represents a protected fossil deposit, while the Resource Center focuses on fossil preparation and restoration.

Gold History in Cripple Creek

The assay office at the Cripple Creek District Museum has been transformed into a display of a working assay office. Miners determined the gold value of their ore there. This makes the role of such an assay office a tangible part of gold history.

Another trace of the past is Colorado Trading & Transfer: Albert Carlton had the building constructed in 1893; it is the oldest wooden commercial building in Cripple Creek. Together, the recreated assay office and the dated commercial building offer two different points of reference for local history—ore assaying and a historic business building.

Historic Roads and Trip Planning

The Gold Belt Tour Scenic and Historic Byway is 131 miles long and connects Florissant, Cripple Creek, Victor, Cañon City and Florence. When planning, you can therefore consider which of the connected towns you want to include in your trip. The stated length refers to the byway as a whole.

Teller County Road One follows the historic stagecoach and wagon route between Florissant and the Cripple Creek Mining District. Teller County Road 1 between Florissant and Cripple Creek is mostly paved. While the Gold Belt Tour Scenic and Historic Byway emphasizes the connection between five towns and its total length, Road 1’s historic alignment and mostly paved surface provide points of reference.

Discover more destinations: Cripple Creek, Rio Blanco County, Douglas, Eagle, Morgan County, Gunnison County, Elbert County, Costilla County

Go to the main travel overview: Colorado.