Camp Hale, Colorado: See How To Make A Historic Daytrip
Words will never explain what your eyes see in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains – wide open spaces combined with 14,000-foot mountains covered in thick snow like someone poured fluffy marshmallow cream over their peaks. Snow slowly blends downward into lush green forests with an unpolluted deep blue sky as a backdrop. A scene the best landscape artists can’t possibly duplicate. This is the place dreams are made, along with the U.S. Army’s elite high-altitude extreme-weather mountain troops. We understand why the Army picked this location because of its ruggedness deep inside ski country.
Here, history and natural beauty combine to fuse outdoor experiences for visitors to enjoy again and again. No matter how often you visit, you’ll always find a reason to return. It’s not so much about military history but magnificent experiences deep in the heart of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. To experience natural beauty, Colorado is unsurpassed. See why the terrain around Camp Hale became a National Monument in America’s most visited national forest.
Why Camp Hale Is Important
Sitting off Highway 24, sixteen miles north of Leadville, we usually drive past Camp Hale when exploring the White River National Forest during central Colorado road trips. Highway 24 between Buena Vista and Interstate 70 proves to be a beautiful, relaxing mountain drive time after time.
Camp Hale originated after the Finnish Army wreaked havoc on invading Soviet troops during its invasion of the Scandinavian country in 1939. The Soviet Union suffered severe losses after Finland’s highly trained winter warfare troops defeated the Soviet’s superior forces. Charles Minot “Minnie” Dole, A World War I veteran, realized the advantages American forces could gain if they had a similar unit.
Dole, the U.S. National Ski Patrol founder, pushed military leaders to create a special mountain warfare unit. As a result, the Pando Valley was appointed as the location where Camp Hale would materialize. Soon after, in 1942, the 10th Mountain Unit was established when snow skiing was in the early stages of gaining popularity. With an elevation of 9,200 feet, Camp Hale became America’s premier training ground for the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, specializing in high altitude and winter warfare.
At the height of operation, Camp Hale’s training camp consisted of 226 barracks, a 676-bed hospital, a bakery, five churches, theaters, and approximately 100 mess halls, and it could accommodate 15,000 people. Notably, in the center of prime Colorado ski country.
Along with the camp’s manufactured structures, abundant natural resources served as excellent training grounds for mountain warfare—rock climbing, mountaineering, snowshoeing, and skiing, to name a few.
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10th Mountain Division
Since recreational skiing was still a new sport, the Army had difficulty finding soldiers who could ski or wanted to learn. In like manner, very few enlisted men wanted to brave extreme altitudes and temperatures. So, the Army decided to pursue men that thrived in cold weather environments. A heavy focus on mountaineers, outdoor sportsmen, and rural communities led to recruiting the 10th Mountain Division.
Soldiers learned to carry heavy packs of equipment and gear on skis at 12,000 feet while traveling over ten miles daily in high altitude, deep snowfall, and frigid temperatures.
Northern Italy became the first operation that drew the alpine soldiers into their World War II campaign. German Soldiers tightly held the Apennine Mountains east of Perugia. American forces couldn’t break through the axis stronghold perched high in the mountains. Consequently, the 10th Mountain Division valiantly seized Mount Belvedere with heavy casualties.
Camp Hale After World War II
After World War II ended, the military decommissioned Camp Hale in November 1945. However, the camp served as a Training ground for Tibetan soldiers by the Central Intelligence Agency from 1958 – 1964. They learned guerrilla warfare tactics to fight against Chinese forces in east Tibet. The government kept the training a secret by creating stories about nuclear testing on the property to keep the public away.
The Beginning Of Ski Resorts
Many soldiers who trained at Camp Hale returned to Colorado after the war to pioneer America’s recreational ski industry. Their experience in the 10th Mountain Division helped to create over 60 acclaimed ski operations, such as Vail, Aspen, Arapahoe Basin, and Steamboat. Thanks to the Army for surplussing excess ski equipment used in the war, including over 150,000 pairs of skis from the 10th Mountain Division. Additionally, thousands of the troops became ski instructors, helping the Colorado ski industry to rapidly grow by kicking off the public’s love for skiing.
Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument
On October 12th, 2022, President Joe Biden designated Camp Hale as a National Monument. One intention of the newly formed Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument is to protect outdoor recreation in the area, an enormous economic driver for the state. As a result, people who love Colorado’s outdoors can continue to enjoy activities like hiking, biking, fishing, camping, and off-road vehicles in warmer months and skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling in winter. The White River National Forest will manage Colorado’s 9th national monument. Two main territories, Camp Hale and the Tenmile area make up Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument.
White River National Forest
Camp Hale lies within the White River National Forest territory and consists of eight wilderness areas, ten 14,000 peaks, twelve ski resorts, backcountry huts, and more than 2,500 miles of trails for hiking and biking. With more than ten million visitors annually, the White River National Forest is America’s most visited national forest.
One of our favorite Colorado drives is Highway 24 between Leadville and Minturn on the 10th Mountain Division Memorial Highway. The highway also exists as a National Scenic and Historic Byway. We recommend stopping on Tennessee Pass at the entrance to Ski Cooper to see the 10th Mountain Division soldier’s memorial.
Check out another outstanding drive in Wyoming. Snowy Range Scenic Byway: A Drive-Thru Adventure For Something New
Our Experience Driving Camp Hale’s Mountain Roads
Although visitors can easily access Camp Hale, Colorado from Highway 24, we drove on two forest roads, also easily accessible, from the site of its former barracks. On the north end, the first, 702 or Resolution Creek Road, runs along Resolution Creek. Road 702 starts as a smooth gravel road but becomes a little bumpy as it follows the river. Look for marmots along the riverbanks in this section.
Snow began to cover the road as we climbed in altitude.
We turned onto road 715 and crossed over the river before the road began to rise higher in elevation. On this day, the gravel road was smooth and in good condition. However, snow began to cover the ground as we went higher and, eventually, covered the road on one curve waist high, so we didn’t feel comfortable trying to get through. Too bad because we could see the end of the road through the trees from where we turned around. Road 715 provides beautiful mountain views with a relaxing mountain drive. Please note that this mountain road has some steep drop-offs and soft shoulders.
After turning around and getting back to 702, we continued to drive toward Ptarmigan Pass. Granted that this is a beautiful mountain drive away from crowds and traffic, the road becomes very rocky and bumpy. It’s not a serious four-wheel-drive road by any means, but we were ready to try another route before we ran out of time.
We took Road 714 south through abandoned Camp Hale, then turned around before too long at Sheep Gulch because of time. According to maps. Road 714 looks like it eventually ends up on the backside of Climax Mine operations.
Another favorite drive of our is the Mount Evans Scenic Byway. You can read about it here Why Driving Colorado’s Mount Evans Is Scary But Popular
Kristi’s Final Thoughts
Tom and I have similar likes and dislikes, but one thing we are on opposite ends about is military history. I have no interest whatsoever, so when visiting Camp Hale came up, it was a thumbs-down for me. But, thankfully, I agreed to go and am so glad I did.
Don’t let the military history detour you from visiting Camp Hale. Camp Hale is located in such a beautiful area of Colorado with vistas all around. I actually even enjoyed some of the military history of the area.
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