2012 Historic Mining Headframe Lighting

The giant headframes that remain as ghosts of 1890's gold mining days will again light up the night sky around Victor and Cripple Creek this holiday season. These unique mining artifacts, also called gallus frames by local miners, are one-of-a-kind remnants of the gold rush era.

Holiday ornaments, some as large as 20 feet tall, will be lit against the starry night skies of the Victor and Cripple Creek starting Friday of Thanksgiving Day weekend.

A self-guided driving tour map will be available at the Victor Hotel at 4th & Victor Avenue as well as the Cripple Creek Welcome Center and online at victorcolorado.com. The lights will be best viewed after dark and will be in place Friday-Sunday nights in December through New Year’s Day, weather/safety and volunteers permitting.

This holiday lighting tradition is 15 years old and is sponsored by the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company, on whose property most of the headframes are located. Volunteers staff the generators and line power connections each weekend. Other sponsors include an anonymous donor, Southern Teller County Focus Group and Cripple Creek Parks & Recreation. Support also comes from Black Hills Energy crews who help refurbish the lamps on the ornaments.

The Victor Hotel also decorates for the season and this year will feature a 1/2 life size nativity sign in its conference room. The scene was created by folk artist Bernice Ludau and will be lighted for viewing in the hotel windows at night.

Make the trip an overnight get-away by booking a room at The Victor Hotel or your favorite lodging in Cripple Creek and take in the traditional holiday Butte Theater that show that features gold mining legends, The Christmas Donkey. The holiday show opens Dec. 2 at the Butte Theater in Cripple Creek.

For the outdoors minded, the Vindicator Valley, Little Grouse, Independence Millsite, Golden Circle, Gold Camp and Battle Mountain Trails are open to the public during days in the winter. Come prepared to hike, bike, horseback ride in mountain weather. If there is enough snow, the trails are open to cross country skiing and snowshoeing.

The Southern Teller County Focus Group and the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company invite you to visit the historic City of Mines for a day, evening drive or weekend stay this holiday season to experience part of our good old-fashioned holiday spirit.