Cripple Creek

Colorado's third legalized gambling town, Cripple Creek once had the most lucrative mines in the state—and 10,000 boozing, brawling, bawdy citizens. Today the main street is lined with casinos housed in Victorian buildings. Outside of the central area, old mining structures and the stupendous curtain of the Collegiate Peaks are marred by slag heaps and parking lots. Take a side trip to nearby Victor, walk down streets where hundreds of miners once took streetcars to the mines, and learn about their lives.