Take a Virtual Hike to Colorado’s Oil Creek Tunnel

Colorado is known for many things, including being home to some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the country, which explains why hiking is so popular in the Centennial State.

There is also a rich history attached to the state, much of which is rooted in the mining boom that took place in the 1800s, which effectively gave birth to the state as we know it today.

Sometimes these worlds collide, and scenic hikes lead to historic sites, and while many abandoned mining sites are extremely dangerous to attempt to visit in real life, there are often opportunities to take virtual tours from the comfort of your couch.

If you keep scrolling, you can take a virtual tour of a hike that leads to the Oil Creek Tunnel located in the Pikes Peak region of Colorado:

The Oil Creek Tunnel, also referred to as the Cincinatti Mine, was first established in 1899 as an attempt to discover precious metals like gold and silver that had been dug up in numerous places across the state at the time.

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However, the efforts were halted shortly thereafter due to unfortunate circumstances, and the tunnel that was blasted out, as well as much of the equipment brought to the site to extract the materials, were abandoned.

The hike, however, remains a popular destination for hiking enthusiasts, and besides the act of actually entering the tunnel, it is considered rather safe.

Now that you've checked out the Oil Creek Tunnel hike, keep scrolling to take more virtual tours of old mining operations in Colorado: