Hinsdale County, Colorado

Hinsdale County is a county in Colorado, United States, in the San Juan Mountains about 55 miles
southeast of Gunnison. It had a population of 788 at the 2020 census, an estimated 753 by 2025, and
covers 1,123 square miles (2,910 km2) centred near 37°49′N 107°17′W.

Lake City is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated town; its postal code is 81235.
The county holds 1 incorporated town and 4 unincorporated places, and Colorado has no civil
townships to group them under. It runs on Mountain Time.

Towns & Villages in Hinsdale County

Hinsdale County has five named places on record: one incorporated town, two census-designated
places and two former mining camps with no population of their own. CDP stands for census
designated place; Unincorp. covers historic sites and backcountry communities with no formal
boundary.

Capitol City and Henson are former silver-mining camps from the 1870s boom, now largely
abandoned; a handful of cabins remain at each site but neither has a resident population counted
separately from the rest of the county.

ZIP Codes

• 81235 — Lake City, the county’s only ZIP code

Cathedral, Piedra, Capitol City and Henson have no ZIP code of their own; mail to every address
in the county is delivered under Lake City’s 81235.

Geography

Hinsdale County sits deep in the San Juan Mountains, one of the most rugged ranges in the Rocky
Mountains, and the Continental Divide crosses the county twice. Of its 1,123 square miles, 1,117
are land and 5.9 are water, about 0.5 percent — most of that in Lake San Cristobal, Colorado’s
second-largest natural lake, formed when the Slumgullion Earthflow slid across the Lake Fork of
the Gunnison River roughly 700 years ago and dammed it. The county holds four fourteeners —
Uncompahgre Peak, Wetterhorn Peak, Redcloud Peak and Sunshine Peak — and about 96.5 percent
of its land is public, spread across the Gunnison and Rio Grande national forests and the
Weminuche and La Garita wilderness areas.

Gunnison County lies to the north, Saguache County to the northeast, Mineral County to the
east, Archuleta County to the south, La Plata County to the southwest, San Juan County to the
west, and Ouray County to the northwest. Gunnison
County, Saguache County, Mineral County, Archuleta County, La Plata County, San Juan County and Ouray County all border Hinsdale directly.

Demographics

Hinsdale County had a population of 788 at the 2020 census, making it the second-least
populous county in Colorado behind neighboring San Juan County, and the estimate for 2025 puts
the county near 753 residents, a continued decline. Lake City is by far the only sizable
community, holding more than half the county’s population inside its town limits. Population
density works out to about 0.71 people per square mile of land, the lowest of any Colorado
county, reflecting how much of Hinsdale is wilderness and national forest rather than
settled land.

Economy & Local Life

Tourism has driven the county’s economy since silver and gold mining collapsed around 1905.
Lake City’s restored 19th-century storefronts, listed on the National Register of Historic
Places since 1978, anchor a summer season built around fishing on Lake San Cristobal, hiking and
climbing the county’s fourteeners, and four-wheel-drive touring on the Alpine Loop, an unpaved
backcountry route over Engineer Pass and Cinnamon Pass linking Lake City to Ouray and Silverton.
With so few year-round residents, county and local government are among the largest steady
employers, alongside the seasonal lodges, outfitters and restaurants that reopen each summer
along Lake City’s Henson Street.

History

The Colorado territorial legislature created Hinsdale County on 10 February 1874, naming it
for George A. Hinsdale, a pioneer and former lieutenant governor of Colorado Territory. Lake
City, platted the same year and incorporated in 1873 ahead of the county itself, became the
county seat and grew into a silver-mining supply center that reached an estimated 3,000 to 5,000
residents at its 1870s peak.

The county is also linked to one of the West’s most notorious survival cases: in the
winter of 1874, prospector Alfred Packer led a five-man party into the San Juans near Lake City
and emerged alone the following spring, admitting to cannibalism after the other men died in the
snow. He was later tried and convicted in Lake City. The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad reached
Lake City in 1889, extending the mining boom until the ore played out around 1905, after which
the town’s economy shifted toward the tourism it still relies on today.

Getting There

No interstate reaches Hinsdale County. Colorado Highway 149, the Silver Thread Scenic Byway,
is the only paved route through the county, climbing Slumgullion Pass east of Lake City before
continuing on toward Creede. The unpaved Alpine Loop connects Lake City to Ouray and Silverton
for high-clearance and off-road vehicles only, and it closes with the first heavy snow each
autumn.

• Gunnison — about 55 miles north
• Creede — about 50 miles southeast
• Montrose — about 85 miles northwest
• Durango — about 110 miles south

Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport, about 55 miles north of Lake City, is the nearest
commercial airport. There is no Amtrak service anywhere near Hinsdale County; the closest
station is Grand Junction, on the California Zephyr line, roughly 170 miles northwest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Hinsdale County located?
It sits in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, about 55 miles southeast of
Gunnison, bordered by Gunnison, Saguache, Mineral, Archuleta, La Plata, San Juan and Ouray
counties.

What is the population of Hinsdale County?
788 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 753, making it the second-least populous
county in Colorado.

How big is Hinsdale County?
1,123 square miles (2,910 km2), of which 1,117 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Hinsdale County?
Lake City is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated town.

How many towns are in Hinsdale County?
One incorporated town, Lake City, plus two census-designated places, Cathedral and Piedra, and
two former mining camps, Capitol City and Henson.

What ZIP code does Hinsdale County use?
81235, covering Lake City and the rest of the county — it is the only ZIP code Hinsdale
County has.

What is Hinsdale County known for?
Lake San Cristobal, Colorado’s second-largest natural lake, and the 1874 Alfred Packer
cannibalism case, one of the most notorious survival stories in the American West.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Colorado.