Gold Hill

About Gold Hill

Gold Hill is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of the Gold Hill CDP was 218 at the United States Census 2020. The Boulder post office (Zip Code 80302) serves the area.

Gold Hill is located to the northwest of Boulder, perched on a mountainside above Left Hand Canyon at an elevation of 8,300 feet. Originally a mining camp, it was the site of the first major discovery of gold during the 1859 Colorado Gold Rush and remained an important mining camp throughout the late 19th century, with a population approaching 1500 at its height, before falling into decline. It has been revived somewhat in recent years as a quiet, isolated haven, but easily accessible by dirt roads. The town contains numerous historic wooden structures, some restored in recent years, as well as decaying ruins from its mining heyday. It has a small museum and two-room schoolhouse, the Gold Hill School, which since 1873 has been the oldest continuously operating public school in Colorado. Other businesses include a General Store and the Gold Hill Inn, a restored inn listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The town is laid out on a small grid of unpaved streets.

Gold Hill is accessible from nearby Left Hand Canyon Road via Lick Skillet Road. Easier approaches to Gold Hill include Sunshine Canyon Road from 4th and Mapleton in Boulder, Gold Run Road from Salina (on Four Mile Canyon Road), and Gold Hill Road from the Peak to Peak Highway (State Highway 72) south of Ward. All of these roads are susceptible to heavy snows during the winter, which at times render Gold Hill inaccessible to vehicles not equipped with chains or four-wheel drive.

Gold Hill is sometimes labeled a ghost town, which is an inaccurate designation. Gold Hill is part of unincorporated Boulder County, and while it does not have a municipal government, it does have an active town meeting with elected officials.

Text: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Gold Hill weather: 7-day forecast

Source: National Weather Service (NOAA).

Live webcams in Gold Hill

Webcams: Windy.com

Living in Gold Hill

Median home value

$611,900

Median age

59.1

Map of Gold Hill

Tap any street on the map to see it in Street View below. Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Gold Hill Street View

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Gold Hill, CO population

Gold Hill had 218 residents in the 2020 Census.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census.

Gold Hill at a glance

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (Gazetteer, ZCTA), USGS GNIS, Wikidata.

Towns near Gold Hill

• Sunshine2.6 mi E
• Crisman2.7 mi SE
• Sugarloaf2.9 mi S
• Mountain Meadows2.9 mi SE
• Glendale3.1 mi NE
• Bar-K Ranch4.2 mi N
• Hidden Lake4.4 mi NW
• Jamestown4.5 mi N
• Tall Timber4.8 mi SE
• Lazy Acres4.8 mi E
• Seven Hills5.0 mi E
• Ward5.1 mi W

Straight-line distance between town centers.

Frequently asked questions about Gold Hill