May 15th is opening day for 2025! - Get ready for some great fun!
The South Park Historical Foundation's Mission
Our mission is to research, restore, preserve, protect, and exhibit historic buildings, artifacts, and documents, in an effort to engage, educate, and inspire all who visit, of the rich history and heritage of Park County and the Mountain West.
The year was 1859. Gold was discovered in South Park, a 900 square mile basin surrounded by Colorado's majestic Rocky Mountains. The gold rush was on! Hordes of gold-seekers spilled into the Park. The mountains were dotted with mining camps sporting names like Tarryall, Leavick, Eureka, and Buckskin Joe within a few short months. These camps grew to become thriving communities on the edge of the frontier. Gradually the mining dried up, and the people moved on, leaving their towns and camps to the elements until all that remained were decaying ghost towns.
South Park City is a remarkable representation of these early towns, preserving the history of our Nation's frontier while it educates and entertains the present. Located in Fairplay, Colorado, the museum accurately represents a mining town between 1860 and 1900. Forty-four authentic buildings are filled with over 60,000 artifacts. They portray most of the economic and social aspects of boom town life. Seven of the buildings are on their original sites. The other buildings were moved from abandoned camps and ghost towns in the South Park area. They contain period room settings and exhibits that illustrate the professions, trades, and industries that contributed to life in a 19th century Colorado mining town.
South Park City is open to the public from May 15 to October 15 every year.
May 15 to May 22:
May 23 to Labor Day Sept 1:
Day after Labor Day Sept 2 to October 15:
10:00am to 6:00pm (Tickets are last sold at 4:30pm)
9am to 7:00pm (Tickets are last sold 5:30pm)
10 am to 6:00pm (Tickets are last sold 4:30pm)
Burro Races
July 26th - 28th, 2024
Living History Days
August 10th & 11th, 2024
