You definitely need a 4×4 or truck to get out here – or you could simply hike.  We didn’t want to risk going too high on the roads because the shrubs were very thick and the truck we were in got scratched pretty good.  Also, the roads were narrow in some points.

Enter mines and mining areas at your own risk!

The minerals in Cherry Creek were discovered some time during the 1860s and have been mined on-and-off again since.  During the year of 1882, there was close to 8,000 people living in Cherry Creek complete with 28 saloons.  Now days, there are still a few residents who live here. More information about Cherry Creek click here.

Cherry Creek Mining Complex is located just a little bit north of Cherry Creek Nevada.  It is a sprawling area which features many short adits, vertical shafts, large tailings, foundations, buildings and more!  Many of the mines are still open but during our visit we found that a few are staked with “No Trespassing” signs.  Please be respectful and just explore the areas that are not marked.

On a planned Trek Planner Adventure to Goshute Cave (located a few miles north of Cherry Creek) we did a simple search and found out about all of these mines located in Cherry Creek.  We left Utah a little early so we could explore around the area before dinner that night at our camping spot and found the area to be very cool!

We started at the bottom and worked our way up to the top.  We first came to a large ore dump (which had “no trespassing” signs on it).  This was still cool to check out from a distance.

Just above this ore dump was a flooded adit with a good amount of water coming out of it.  This one was also “no trespassing”.

We went up the road a little ways from here and found a few building foundations and remnants of cabins or dug outs.

In the same area across the road were more foundations.  It would be really cool to see what this place looked like when it was in full operation.

Above these broken structures you will see the large tailings and another ore dump.  This is where I think the main entrance to the mine is located.  Unfortunately for us it is also staked with “no trespassing” signs.

Just east of the main entrance and passed the tailings is where I think the mill is located.  Is is  very large multi-level concrete pad with pillars and other things here.

There was a small adit located just above the mill.

Below the adit was a torn apart vehicle.

We continued our drive up the canyon to where you can see dozens of mines and prospects everywhere.  It was really cool to get out of the car and just crawl all over the mountain side checking out the many digs.