At a Glance
- Mine Name: Bachelor Syracuse Mine
- Distance from Town: 2 miles above Ouray
- Tour Duration: ~1.5 hours
- Temp Underground: Constant 55°F
The Bachelor Syracuse Mine Tour
The Bachelor Syracuse Mine, perched above Ouray in Canyon Creek, offers guided tours that take you 1,500 feet horizontally into an original gold and silver mine tunnel aboard a mining train. The constant 55°F temperature inside is refreshing in summer and bracing in fall.
Guides explain the geology of the San Juan mineral belt, demonstrate original mining equipment, and show where gold and silver veins still run through the walls. It's appropriate for ages 5 and up.
Ouray's Mining Heritage
Silver was discovered in the Ouray area in 1875, triggering a rush of prospectors that transformed a rough camp into a town of 2,500 within a decade. Hundreds of mines operated in the surrounding mountains by the 1890s, making Ouray County one of Colorado's wealthiest.
The legacy is visible everywhere — ghost towns on the high passes, tailings piles above timberline, and the Victorian downtown built on silver money. The Ouray County Museum on 6th Avenue fills in the social history.
Mine in the Morning, Soak in the Evening
The Bachelor Syracuse Mine tour typically runs mornings and afternoons — book ahead in summer. Pair it with a ghost town jeep tour the same day for a full immersion in Ouray's mining past.
The Lumberyard Condos is your historic base camp. Book at ouraycondos.com.