• Downtown Lake City and Town Park

  • Lake San Cristobal Overlook

  • Hinsdale County Courthouse

  • County boat dock at Lake San Cristobal

  • View of Lake San Cristobal from Wupperman Campground

  • Moose at Deer Lakes

  • Ute-Ulay Historic Mine and Townsite Buildings

  • Deer Lakes area

    Deer Lakes Area

Welcome

Hinsdale County, Colorado, is the most remote area in the Untied States' lower 48. Our beautiful county is covered by mountains, including multiple 14 and 13,000 ft. peaks, and contains one of the most roadless areas in the country. The continental divide crosses the county twice, and Hinsdale County is home to three national forests (Rio Grande, GMUG and San Juan) and Bureau of Land Management lands.  With a total area of 1,123 square miles, our county is made up of almost 96.5 percent public land.

The county is home to 774 residents. The only town in Hinsdale County is Lake City. With a population of 374 (at an elevation of 8,671 feet), Lake City is also the county seat.

Whether you are a resident, part time resident or visitor, and whether you come to Hinsdale County to live, work or visit, it is our job to make your experience more enjoyable. Our website is designed to provide information about County government and the community in which we live.

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EMERGENCY UPDATES

11:45 am March 18:
There is a public meeting today at 4 pm in the Lake City Armory.

Two new avalanche slides have been reported – one in Cataract Gulch and one in the Alpine Vista subdivision.

The emergency operations center activated at 7:00 a.m. today.

Follow Hinsdale County Facebook page or website for updates.

Sign up for Code Red Alerts on the Hinsdale County website.

 

6:00 p.m., March 17
- A public meeting will be held on Monday, March 18, at 4:00 p.m. at Lake City Armory
- By order of Hinsdale County Sheriff’s Office, mandatory evacuations of County Road 30, County Road 20, the Monte Queen subdivision, the Lake City Ski Hill and adjacent properties, the 400 west block of Bluff Street, and the damaged house from the Station 11 slide remain in place.
- Hinsdale County continues to implement a Rapid Tag system for those wishing to temporarily access their mandatory evacuated properties.
- Monday, March 18, at 7 a.m., the Hinsdale County Sheriff’s Office will implement a Phased Re-Entry for specific residents of County Road 30. There will be no unauthorized access and trespassers will be prosecuted.
- Areas of concern remain all of Bluff Street, Water Town Hill (Alpine Street), the T-Mountain Addition, the Waterdog area, and the area near the previous Station 11 slide.
- The emergency operations center was activated at 8:00 a.m. and into remote operations 4:00 p.m.

11:45 a.m. March 16 update
The BLM backcountry is closed as of 4 pm March 15, 2019, and will remain so until Hinsdale County re-opens roads and allows residents to return home. According to the BLM Closure Order, "Ice climbing at Henson Creek Ice Climbing Wall and snowmobiling on the Continental Divide Snowmobile Trail are not affected by this Closure and are open for public use." Hinsdale County last groomed snowmobile trails on March 11.

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