There is something about a crisp mountain evening in Woodland Park that makes the shadows feel a little longer, the pines a little darker, and the history of the Ute Pass corridor a little more alive. That is precisely the atmosphere that the Haunted Mountain Tour leans into — and it does so with remarkable style. Equal parts local history lesson and ghost story walking experience, this guided evening tour has quietly become one of the most talked-about things to do in Teller County, and after joining a recent outing myself, I completely understand why.
The tour departs from the heart of downtown Woodland Park, right along Highway 24, where the little mountain city sits at a cool 8,465 feet above sea level. From the first moment your guide gathers the group beneath the glow of the streetlights, you get the sense that this is not your typical haunted hayride gimmick. The storytelling here is grounded in real regional history — the Ute people who called this pass home for centuries, the hard-luck miners and railroad workers of the late 1800s, the settlers who carved lives out of an unforgiving landscape, and the strange, sometimes inexplicable events that locals have whispered about ever since.
Guides lead small groups — intentionally kept intimate, usually no more than fifteen people — through the older sections of town and along routes that trace the original Ute Pass wagon road. As you walk, the guide layers in accounts of documented historical incidents alongside the ghost lore that has accumulated around specific buildings, crossroads, and landmarks over generations. The pacing is perfect: never rushed, never campy. There is real craft in how the stories build on one another, giving you enough historical grounding to feel the weight of the place before the more unsettling details arrive.
One of the highlights for me was a stop near one of Woodland Park’s oldest surviving commercial buildings, where the guide recounted a series of strange occurrences that past owners reported with enough specific, sober detail to make you genuinely reconsider what you think you know about old structures and the people who inhabited them. Whether you are a true believer, a friendly skeptic, or simply someone who loves a well-told story on a cold mountain night, the moment lands every time.
Dress warmly — temperatures in Woodland Park drop fast after sunset, even in summer, and you will be outside for the better part of two hours. Comfortable walking shoes are a must, as some sections of the route cover uneven ground. Tours typically run on weekend evenings and can be booked in advance online, which I strongly recommend since spots fill quickly, especially in October.
The Haunted Mountain Tour works beautifully as a date night, a group outing with friends visiting from the Front Range, or simply a way to see the town you think you already know through an entirely different lens. Woodland Park has real depth — geological, cultural, and historical — and this experience pulls that depth up to the surface in the most entertaining way imaginable. Come after dinner, bring a flashlight if it makes you feel better, and prepare to leave with a few stories you will be telling for years.
