{"id":850,"date":"2023-01-23T12:23:39","date_gmt":"2023-01-23T12:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=850"},"modified":"2026-08-11T21:32:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T21:32:47","slug":"hinsdale-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/hinsdale-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Hinsdale County, Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hinsdale County is a county in Colorado, United States, in the San Juan Mountains about 55 miles<br \/>\nsoutheast of Gunnison. It had a population of 788 at the 2020 census, an estimated 753 by 2025, and<br \/>\ncovers 1,123 square miles (2,910 km2) centred near 37\u00b049\u2032N 107\u00b017\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Lake City is the county seat and the county&#8217;s only incorporated town; its postal code is 81235.<br \/>\nThe county holds 1 incorporated town and 4 unincorporated places, and Colorado has no civil<br \/>\ntownships to group them under. It runs on Mountain Time.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Hinsdale County<\/h2>\n<p>Hinsdale County has five named places on record: one incorporated town, two census-designated<br \/>\nplaces and two former mining camps with no population of their own. CDP stands for census<br \/>\ndesignated place; Unincorp. covers historic sites and backcountry communities with no formal<br \/>\nboundary.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Lake City<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>432<\/td>\n<td>81235<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Cathedral<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Piedra<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Capitol City<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Henson<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Capitol City and Henson are former silver-mining camps from the 1870s boom, now largely<br \/>\nabandoned; a handful of cabins remain at each site but neither has a resident population counted<br \/>\nseparately from the rest of the county.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>81235 &mdash; Lake City, the county&#8217;s only ZIP code<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Cathedral, Piedra, Capitol City and Henson have no ZIP code of their own; mail to every address<br \/>\nin the county is delivered under Lake City&#8217;s 81235.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Hinsdale County sits deep in the San Juan Mountains, one of the most rugged ranges in the Rocky<br \/>\nMountains, and the Continental Divide crosses the county twice. Of its 1,123 square miles, 1,117<br \/>\nare land and 5.9 are water, about 0.5 percent &mdash; most of that in Lake San Cristobal, Colorado&#8217;s<br \/>\nsecond-largest natural lake, formed when the Slumgullion Earthflow slid across the Lake Fork of<br \/>\nthe Gunnison River roughly 700 years ago and dammed it. The county holds four fourteeners &mdash;<br \/>\nUncompahgre Peak, Wetterhorn Peak, Redcloud Peak and Sunshine Peak &mdash; and about 96.5 percent<br \/>\nof its land is public, spread across the Gunnison and Rio Grande national forests and the<br \/>\nWeminuche and La Garita wilderness areas.<\/p>\n<p>Gunnison County lies to the north, Saguache County to the northeast, Mineral County to the<br \/>\neast, Archuleta County to the south, La Plata County to the southwest, San Juan County to the<br \/>\nwest, and Ouray County to the northwest. <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/gunnison-county\/\">Gunnison<br \/>\nCounty<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/saguache-county\/\">Saguache County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/mineral-county\/\">Mineral County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/archuleta-county\/\">Archuleta County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/la-plata-county\/\">La Plata County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/san-juan-county\/\">San Juan County<\/a> and <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/ouray-county\/\">Ouray County<\/a> all border Hinsdale directly.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Hinsdale County had a population of 788 at the 2020 census, making it the second-least<br \/>\npopulous county in Colorado behind neighboring San Juan County, and the estimate for 2025 puts<br \/>\nthe county near 753 residents, a continued decline. Lake City is by far the only sizable<br \/>\ncommunity, holding more than half the county&#8217;s population inside its town limits. Population<br \/>\ndensity works out to about 0.71 people per square mile of land, the lowest of any Colorado<br \/>\ncounty, reflecting how much of Hinsdale is wilderness and national forest rather than<br \/>\nsettled land.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Tourism has driven the county&#8217;s economy since silver and gold mining collapsed around 1905.<br \/>\nLake City&#8217;s restored 19th-century storefronts, listed on the National Register of Historic<br \/>\nPlaces since 1978, anchor a summer season built around fishing on Lake San Cristobal, hiking and<br \/>\nclimbing the county&#8217;s fourteeners, and four-wheel-drive touring on the Alpine Loop, an unpaved<br \/>\nbackcountry route over Engineer Pass and Cinnamon Pass linking Lake City to Ouray and Silverton.<br \/>\nWith so few year-round residents, county and local government are among the largest steady<br \/>\nemployers, alongside the seasonal lodges, outfitters and restaurants that reopen each summer<br \/>\nalong Lake City&#8217;s Henson Street.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>The Colorado territorial legislature created Hinsdale County on 10 February 1874, naming it<br \/>\nfor George A. Hinsdale, a pioneer and former lieutenant governor of Colorado Territory. Lake<br \/>\nCity, platted the same year and incorporated in 1873 ahead of the county itself, became the<br \/>\ncounty seat and grew into a silver-mining supply center that reached an estimated 3,000 to 5,000<br \/>\nresidents at its 1870s peak.<\/p>\n<p>The county is also linked to one of the West&#8217;s most notorious survival cases: in the<br \/>\nwinter of 1874, prospector Alfred Packer led a five-man party into the San Juans near Lake City<br \/>\nand emerged alone the following spring, admitting to cannibalism after the other men died in the<br \/>\nsnow. He was later tried and convicted in Lake City. The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad reached<br \/>\nLake City in 1889, extending the mining boom until the ore played out around 1905, after which<br \/>\nthe town&#8217;s economy shifted toward the tourism it still relies on today.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>No interstate reaches Hinsdale County. Colorado Highway 149, the Silver Thread Scenic Byway,<br \/>\nis the only paved route through the county, climbing Slumgullion Pass east of Lake City before<br \/>\ncontinuing on toward Creede. The unpaved Alpine Loop connects Lake City to Ouray and Silverton<br \/>\nfor high-clearance and off-road vehicles only, and it closes with the first heavy snow each<br \/>\nautumn.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gunnison &mdash; about 55 miles north<\/li>\n<li>Creede &mdash; about 50 miles southeast<\/li>\n<li>Montrose &mdash; about 85 miles northwest<\/li>\n<li>Durango &mdash; about 110 miles south<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport, about 55 miles north of Lake City, is the nearest<br \/>\ncommercial airport. There is no Amtrak service anywhere near Hinsdale County; the closest<br \/>\nstation is Grand Junction, on the California Zephyr line, roughly 170 miles northwest.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Hinsdale County located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, about 55 miles southeast of<br \/>\nGunnison, bordered by Gunnison, Saguache, Mineral, Archuleta, La Plata, San Juan and Ouray<br \/>\ncounties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Hinsdale County?<\/strong><br \/>\n788 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 753, making it the second-least populous<br \/>\ncounty in Colorado.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Hinsdale County?<\/strong><br \/>\n1,123 square miles (2,910 km2), of which 1,117 square miles are land.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Hinsdale County?<\/strong><br \/>\nLake City is the county seat and the county&#8217;s only incorporated town.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Hinsdale County?<\/strong><br \/>\nOne incorporated town, Lake City, plus two census-designated places, Cathedral and Piedra, and<br \/>\ntwo former mining camps, Capitol City and Henson.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP code does Hinsdale County use?<\/strong><br \/>\n81235, covering Lake City and the rest of the county &mdash; it is the only ZIP code Hinsdale<br \/>\nCounty has.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Hinsdale County known for?<\/strong><br \/>\nLake San Cristobal, Colorado&#8217;s second-largest natural lake, and the 1874 Alfred Packer<br \/>\ncannibalism case, one of the most notorious survival stories in the American West.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/colorado\/\">Towns and villages in Colorado<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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\u00b049\u2032N 107\u00b017\u2032W. Lake City is the county seat and the county&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Hinsdale County, Colorado","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 4 places in Hinsdale County, Colorado - Lake City plus Cathedral, Piedra and Henson, with population, ZIP and San Juan Mountains geography.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-colorado","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=850"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9634,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850\/revisions\/9634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}