Bailey is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...

in northeastern Park County,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, United States. Bailey's

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

ZIP Code is 80421. The town community consists of several small businesses, restaurants and churches. The

North Fork South Platte River The North Fork South Platte River is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately 50 miles (80 km) long, in central Colorado in the United States. The river is located near the headwaters of the South Platte in the Rocky Mountains so ...

flows through Bailey.

History

William Bailey settled a ranch and built a stage station known as Bailey's Ranch in 1864. Bailey also built a hotel at the station, and the town eventually became known as Bailey. The Denver & South Park Railroad reached Bailey in 1878, and the Bailey Post Office opened on November 20, 1878. On March 18, 2006, the

Coney Island Hot Dog Stand Coney Island Colorado (commonly The Coney Island) in Bailey, Colorado is a 1950s diner shaped like a giant hot dog, with toppings. The building has been called "the best example of roadside architecture in the state". The diner has indoor se ...

, a landmark building shaped like a giant hot dog was moved from Aspen Park to Bailey. On September 27, 2006, a hostage crisis occurred after a lone gunman took seven female students hostage at a classroom in Platte Canyon High School and sexually assaulted them before opening fire after a

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

team breached the room. One hostage was killed, while the remaining escaped uninjured. The hostage-taker then committed suicide after being shot by police. On February 24, 2016, three Park County Sheriffs were shot, one fatally. these officers were serving an eviction to a known disgruntled man in the house. The rustic Glen-Isle Resort in Bailey, as well as the Estabrook Historic District northeast of Bailey, are both listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Geography

Bailey is located in the foothills of the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountere ...

, approximately 30 miles (48 km) southwest of

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

along U.S. Highway 285. It is located on the east side of

Kenosha Pass Kenosha Pass, elevation , is a high mountain pass located in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. The pass is located in the Rocky Mountains southwest of Denver, Colorado, just northeast of the town of Fairplay, Colora ...

and is one of the largest communities in the

Platte Canyon The Platte Canyon is a deep, narrow, scenic gorge on the South Platte River in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The canyon is southwest of Denver on the border between Jefferson and Douglas counties. The canyon is at the entrance to the mountain ...

region.

Climate

Bailey has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Dfb DFB may refer to: * Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city * Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas * Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia * Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate * Distributed-feedback ...

) with cold winters and warm summers.

Arts and culture

Bailey Day street festival is an annual summer event in the city, featuring bands, vendors and family activities. The Bailey HUNDO is a 100-mile endurance mountain bike race that begins and ends in Bailey. It has been an annual event since 2009, and money raised is invested in the construction of new bike trails and in youth biking initiatives in Colorado. Both the Buffalo Creek Trail System and the

Colorado Trail The Colorado Trail is a long-distance trail running for from the mouth of Waterton Canyon southwest of Denver to Durango in Colorado, United States. Its highest point is above sea level, and most of the trail is above . Despite its high elevat ...

are easily accessible from Bailey. Tomahawk Ranch, a residential camp operated by the

Girl Scouts of Colorado Scouting in Colorado has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day. Early history (1910–1950) Scouting got a brisk start in Colorado. The Denver Council was founded in 1915, and in 1926 changed its name to the Denver Area Council, whi ...

, is located near Bailey. In 2004, Bailey was the location for

Apogaea Apogaea (meaning "far from Earth") is an annual collaborative outdoor arts and music festival held as a Colorado regional counterpart for the Burning Man event. Typically held in late spring (scheduled for June 7–10 in 2018) in southern Color ...

, an annual outdoor arts and music festival.

Education

Bailey is served by the Platte Canyon School District #1. Platte Canyon High School has approximately 300 students. In sports, they are a 3A school in the Frontier League. The Girls' Cross Country Team was the Colorado State 3A Champion in 1986, and the Girls' Track Team was the Colorado State 3A Champion in 1996 and in 2005, and the Boys' Track Team was the Colorado 3A State Champion in 2008. The Speech and Debate team holds the record for the most individual State Champions at the Festival Level.

Notable people

* Erwin Jay Boydston, recipient of the Medal of Honor, America's highest military award. *

Hal Hickel Hal T. Hickel is a visual effects animator for Industrial Light & Magic. At the age of 12, Hickel wrote a letter to Lucasfilm, outlining his ideas for a sequel to the original ''Star Wars'' movie (now known as '' Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hop ...

, Academy Award winning visual effects animator.

In popular culture

Bailey was referenced four times in ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

''; in a season 6 episode parodying ''The Lord of the Rings'', season 9 in "Bloody Mary", in a season 12 episode entitled "Britney's New Look" and season 23 episode 3 "SHOTS!!!" While not mentioned by name, the ''

'' was featured several times in Season 25 Episode 3.

References

External links

Platte Canyon Area Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Park County, Colorado Unincorporated communities in Colorado Denver metropolitan area