Eldora (pronounced el-DOH-ruh), previously known as "Eldorado" then "El-Dora", then Eldora or Camp Eldorado, and still called Happy Valley,Bauer, Carolyn (1987). ''Colorado Ghost Towns: Remnants of Colorado's Mining Days''. American Traveler Press. Page 19. . 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 a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Boulder County,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, 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 wes ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

.Dziezynski, James (2012). ''Best Summit Hikes in Colorado: An Opinionated Guide to 50+ Ascents of Classic and Little-Known Peaks from 8,144 to 14,433 feet''. Wilderness Press. Page 68. . The CDP is a part of the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of the Eldora CDP was 142 at the

United States Census 2010 The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

. The Nederland

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 ser ...

( Zip Code 80466) serves the area. Eldora is located within the

Roosevelt National Forest The Roosevelt National Forest is a National Forest located in north central Colorado. It is contiguous with the Colorado State Forest as well as the Arapaho National Forest and the Routt National Forest. The forest is administered jointly wit ...

, and is primarily a rural, densely forested, and sparsely populated area. Eldora is tucked into the valley carved by glaciation during the last ice age and by Middle Boulder Creek. From the village there are views up toward the alpine ski runs of

Eldora Mountain Resort Eldora Mountain Resort is a ski area in the southwest corner of Boulder County, Colorado, near the unincorporated community of Eldora and west of the town of Nederland. Location Eldora is one of a few Colorado ski resorts on the east side of ...

. A one-time gold camp, Eldora was a shipping point for the Caribou silver mine in nearby Nederland, CO.Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Colorado (1948). ''Colorado, a Guide to the Highest State''. North American Book Dist LLC. Page 268. . At present, Eldora is characterized by small cabins, a sprinkling of vacation homes, and several long-shuttered mercantiles. Points of interest near Eldora include the

, Eldora Historic District, and

Indian Peaks Wilderness The Indian Peaks Wilderness is a wilderness area in north central Colorado managed jointly by the United States Forest Service and the National Park Service within the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and small parts of the southern sectio ...

. Eldora Historic District has been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places since 1989. The area is home to an abundance of wilderness and wildlife, including animals such as mountain lions, black bears, coyotes, red foxes, mule deer, elk, bobcats, and much more. The elevation of the town is 8,700 ft., and the highest point is 10,800 ft. Eldora receives a heavy annual snowfall of 300 inches each winter.Forster, Matt (2011). ''Explorer's Guide Colorado''. The Countryman Press. Page 76. . To get to Eldora from

Boulder, CO Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Colora ...

, drive 18 miles west of Boulder on CO 119 to Nederland, CO. Continue through Nederland and turn right at the sign for Eldora. This road is CR 130, also known as Eldora Road. The town center of Eldora is approximately 3 miles from this turn.

Etymology

Eldora was originally named Happy Valley in the 1890s for the discovery of the Happy Valley Placer Mine by John J. Kemp and seven city associates. The town was soon renamed El Dorado,Dallas, Sandra (1988). ''Colorado Ghost Towns and Mining Camps''. University of Oklahoma Press. Page 71. . Eldorado or Eldorado Camp. But, as frequently happened at the time, the U.S. Postal Service mistakingly delivered their mail to towns by the same name in other U.S. states, particularly to El Dorado, CA, creating havoc by delaying payroll checks and important papers. Consequently, the U.S. Post Service changed the conflicting name by dropping the last syllable “do” from Colorado’s Eldorado. That name change occurred in 1898, one year after the local post office was established (Feb. 13, 1897), which was in use until it closed in September 1977.

History

Eldora Mountain Resort view from the parking

Eldora was first settled by the

Arapaho The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho ba ...

- and

Ute people Ute () are the Indigenous people of the Ute tribe and culture among the Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. They had lived in sovereignty in the regions of present-day Utah and Colorado in the Southwestern United States for many centuries un ...

who used the area for hunting during summer.In the magazine ''Ski Vol. 65, No. 6'' (Feb. 2001). Page 62. . Eldora was originally built as a mining town. Although prospectors had been poking around in Eldora since the early 1850s, it was not until 1875 that enough gold was discovered to open a mine in Eldora. The primary decision to officially establish a town in the 1880s was in part an effort to open up further mining area, and in part an attempt at a through route into Middle Park and Western Colorado. Eldora boomed and prospered during the 1890s, and at one point, Eldora was home to as many as 1300-1500 people in the late 1890s. In 1898, Eldora was home to a bank, a post office, a school, nine hair saloons and seven grocery stores. Although it had a mining life of its own, Eldora also served as a supply center for the camps beyond, and a rail-road shipping center for the camps in the nearby area. The first time the manager of the Bailey Chlorination Mill in Eldora, Mr. Bailey, neglected to pay his workers on time, angry employees promptly gathered at his house, smoked him out, and shot and killed Mr. Bailey. Despite its intensity of gold, silver and

tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isol ...

mining, Eldora’s economic boom was brief. It peaked at the turn of the century, but experienced a devastating wildfire in 1899. With much of its timber lost, lumber that was vital to the mining construction was in short supply. The 21st century has experienced renewed interest in Eldora mining, with hopes of reopening the Mogul Tunnel Mine on Spencer Mountain.Hlawaty, Stephen (2014). ''Mountain Biking Colorado's Front Range: From Fort Collins To Colorado Springs''. Rowman & Littlefield. Pages 139-140. .

Geography

Eldora is a small village located in the southwestern parts of

Boulder County, Colorado Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is Boulder. Boulder County comprises ...

. Eldora is located within the

, at the base of Ute Mountains in the Middle Boulder Creek valley. It is situated immediately above the Colorado banana belt. The nearest town is

Nederland, Colorado Nederland (, ) is a statutory town located near Barker Meadow Reservoir in the foothills of southwest Boulder County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census it had a population of 1,445. History Nederland was established in ...

, four miles east of Eldora. From

, you follow Colorado 119 through Boulder Canyon to Nederland, CO, and then head south-west into Eldora. The Eldora CDP has an area of , including of water. Eldora, CO

Demographics

The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

initially defined the for the

Attractions

References

External links

Eldora Mountain ResortBoulder County websiteIndian Peaks WildernessRoosevelt National Forest website
{{authority control Census-designated places in Boulder County, Colorado Census-designated places in Colorado