Cripple Creek, CO: 6 Fascinating Reasons to Visit outside of Gambling

Published 5/15/2023

April 2023: We recently visited the historic mining town of Cripple Creek (population 1,155*), curious to check out its main street vibe. Cripple Creek is a registered National Historic District due to its significance in Colorado’s gold mining history. The historic buildings downtown have been beautifully renovated, often as the home of casinos and related businesses as part of the area’s gambling tourism.

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Cripple Creek – A Brief History

Gold Strike!

Located in a high elevation (9,494 ft) valley, Cripple Creek came relatively late to the gold mining party in Colorado. That changed in 1890, Robert Miller “Bob” Womack discovered a substantial vein of gold, propelling Cripple Creek into the history books as the last great Colorado Gold Rush.

By late 1891 hundreds of prospectors were camping in the area. A couple of Denver realtors platted 80 acres of land for a townsite which they named Freemont. More plats were added and given the name of Hayden Placer. Then another plat was filed and named Cripple Creek. It was the federal post office that settled on Cripple Creek to describe all 3 areas, which was incorporated into a town in 1892. The very next year, the famous Independence lode was discovered and eventually recognized as one of the largest gold strikes in history – driving the population from around 500 to 10,000.

A couple of fires in 1896 leveled much of the town. Making the best of the situation, Cripple Creek was rebuilt using brick and better construction methods in a period of just a few months. Most historic buildings today date back to the 1896 reconstruction.

Between 1894 and 1902, the population grew to around 50,000 people living within the mining district of which 35,000 lived in the town of Cripple Creek – making it the fourth most populous town in Colorado at the time. The seven adjoining boom towns include Victor, Gillette, Alban, Independence, Goldfield, Elton, and Cameron—all of which were connected by rail. This population boom did not last long; its decline began as the mines began to close starting in 1905. While there were 500 mines at the height of the gold rush, there were only 40 by 1920 and only 20 by 1945. Today there is a single large mine is still in operation.

For several decades Cripple Creek’s population held firm at a couple hundred inhabitants as it became known as a beautiful decaying historic town – and as such, a tourist and photography location.

Cripple Creek’s Transformation to a new but related tourist Economy

The next economic chapter for Cripple Creek began in 1991 when Colorado voters allowed it to establish legalized gambling. Today it is known as a gambling and tourist town. Casinos now occupy many historic buildings, bringing revenue and vitality back into the area. Proceeds from gambling provides funding for the State Historical Fund, administered by the state of Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. In 2012, Colorado casinos produced over $104 million in tax revenue for these programs.

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Our Favorite reasons to visit that do not include Gambling

1. Walk around the downtown area to enjoy beautifully restored historic buildings!

The main street through Cripple Creek business district is E. Bennet Avenue. After an exploratory drive, we parked on the west end of Bennet Avenue next to a pretty city park. We appreciated that the sidewalks were visibly separated from the traffic, making for an easy and safe walking experience.

The first thing to note is the sheer quantity of beautifully restored historic brick buildings on Bennet Avenue – Amazing!

The second thing that quickly becomes evident is the large number of Casinos housed in these buildings. There is a brand new hotel – in a similar historic architectural style – being built on the north side of the block housing Bronco Billy’s Casino. The other side of the street houses Century Casino and Triple Crown Casino and McGills Hotel and Casino. There is little doubt that this small town has successfully evolved into a gambling mecca! It is good to see that the gambling tourist economy has provided the tax dollars to revitalize the buildings in this beautiful historic town.

2. Enjoy the local options for good food and drink

There are plenty of food options associated with the local casinos. However, if you want good food with a historic town vibe that are not part of the bigger casinos, consider the following good-looking options. We didn’t find any microbrewery or distillery type venues in town, but plenty of other good options.

• Gold Camp Cafe – Google Maps – Looks like a local coffee shop! we didn’t stop here (closed just before we arrived), but they get good reviews for coffee and snacks on Google map reviews… we will visit next time!
• The Creek – Google Maps – good reviews and cool looking atmosphere photos online
• El Burro Loco at The Mercantile – Google Maps – good reviews and comfortable local atmosphere photos online

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3. ‘City Hiking’ the nearby historic neighborhoods – admire the architecture and the views!

We once had a friend coin the term ‘City Hiking’ and it has stuck with us. The concept is to trek through neighborhoods – much like you might hike through nature – to see the sights. Cripple Creek has fantastic historic neighborhoods to explore beyond the main Casino Street!

Having reached the end of Bennet Ave, we turned onto the next block and walked down E. Carr Ave. Our next stop was at the unique Carr Manor – formerly a school, and now a historic hotel – and admired the statues of children playing. A little further down the street we admired a couple of renovated Victorian houses and even more ornate historic brick business buildings.

• Carr Manor – Google Maps

After our walk through the downtown area, we continued through a nearby historic neighborhood and enjoyed the overlook view of the town. We also admired several beautifully restored homes and historic churches.

• St. Peter Catholic Church – Google Maps
• Cripple Creek Baptist Church – Google Maps

4. Business Spotlight: Creations Everlasting – Tea Room & Boutique

We passed the most obvious concentration of casino buildings and continued down Bennett Avenue, admiring more historic buildings and a few more local businesses along the way. Being that our visit was on a Sunday afternoon in April, we found that not many of the non-casino businesses were open.

However, we did find a lovely shop called Creations Everlasting that we want to mention. The owner gave us a friendly greeting. When she learned we were from out-of-town, she showed us her very sweet tearoom behind her retail space. We appreciate places that provide a place for local community. She hosts private events in this space, as well as a coffee shop available based out of her retail space.

• Creations Everlasting – Google Maps – cute place with a very nice owner!

We noticed that the east side of Bennet Ave appears to have several empty storefronts and wonder if there are development plans.

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5. Interested in History and Culture? there is so MUCH more to Explore!

We didn’t get to try out the cultural options in Cripple Creek this visit, but our online research later has indicated that there are a variety of options to further explore the history of Cripple Creek, including live performances at the Butte Theater ( build in 1896), the Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad, Cripple Creek District Museum (includes several historic buildings), and several other historic locations.

You can learn more at the Cripple Creek Heritage Center Visitor Information and Museum building on the town Attractions webpage.

• The Butte Theater – Google Maps – live performances!
• Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad – Google Maps
• Outlaws & Law Men Jail Museum – Google Maps – Jail house photo ops available here!
• Cripple Creek Heritage Center – Google Maps

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6. Cripple Creek has a busy calendar of interesting “non-gambling” Activities and Events

Cripple Creek features a couple of unique and popular annual events:

• Ice Festival – head-to-head carving challenges; free and open to the public to view the sculptures.
• Donkey Release – Wild donkeys are released from winter grazing grounds into the town of Cripple Creek (annual event, May 15 every year). The donkeys then have free rein in the city throughout the remainder of spring, summer and early fall. Sponsored by the Two Mile High Club, caretakers of the donkeys.

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