Area Information

Park County was established in 1861 and named after South Park, a 900-square mile park in the geographic center of Colorado. The mountain men who hunted and trapped in South Park during the early 19th century were the first Europeans to capitalize on the area's resources. Prospectors discovered gold in 1860, and numerous towns quickly sprang up to support them.

Average precipitation is from under 8 inches to 50+ inches in some alpine areas. Annual temperatures range from 90 degrees in summer to 30 degrees below zero in winter. Snowfall is from 2 to 8 feet in the forest. Rapid weather changes frequently occur. Fairplay, the seat of Park County, is on the eastern slope of the Continental Divide. Park County boasts more breathtaking scenery above 9,000 feet altitude than any other county in Colorado! We are served by State Highway 9 and US Highway 285. Recreation and heritage tourism remain important industries in the county today. Perhaps nowhere else in rural Colorado is there a larger concentration of pioneer structures than in the South Park area. Among them is the state's last intact railroad roundhouse and gold dredge. The highest discovery of a Columbian mammoth in North America was near Como. The remains of this and other prehistoric animals are now on display at the Como Mammoth Museum. Established in 1957, South Park City Museum in Fairplay protects 34 local buildings replete with 60,000 artifacts from the late 19th century. Four working cattle ranches offer horseback riding across the grasslands of South Park. Park County is known internationally for its productive trout waters. Two Colorado state parks (Spinney Mountain and Eleven-Mile), several high-altitude reservoirs and 12 Colorado state wildlife areas are open to the public for fishing, wildlife viewing and boating. South Park also possesses the most miles of gold medal water in the state. To qualify as gold medal, a river must offer the greatest potential for trophy trout fishing. In recent years the South Park area has become a high-altitude proving ground for climbers and mountaineers. The extensive mountain bike trail system throughout South Park and 32+ miles of snowmobile trails in the Pike National Forest are ideal for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

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