Las Almas Las Almas Locations

Las Almas • Unclaimed

Over a century ago, Las Almas was settled by folks in search of gold - it turned out to be less rich in that mineral than Camp Baron, but it grew into a small community all the same. That element remains largely unchanged, as the population of this sleepy mountain town remains just under a thousand people. What Las Almas lacks in human inhabitants, it makes up for with sheer wilderness, and the residents are easily outnumbered by critters living in the wooded areas around town. A low-income area with subpar infrastructure and wild animals in the backyard, this is not a part of town most people are willing to be out and about in after nightfall.

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Bosque de Las Almas

Taking up nearly a quarter of Las Almas’s place on the map, Bosque de Las Almas - or the Las Almas Woods - is a popular destination for outdoors lovers of all kinds. Dozens of trails of varying lengths and difficulty loop up and down the side of the mountains, for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. Each trailhead has a nearby parking area and compost restrooms, as well as signage for plants and animals to keep an eye out for.

Burning Rubber

This quarter mile dirt track is one of Las Almas's major sources of entertainment throughout the drier months of the year. The long stretches of the track are lined with bleachers, which stand over concession stands peddling the likes of beer and nachos, and several acres surrounding the track serve as parking and camping for drivers and their teams. On Saturday nights, you can pay to be driven around the track on a personal joy ride!

Copper Ridge

What was once a sprawling mining camp is now little more than a cluster of abandoned ramshackle buildings, which the surrounding woods have slowly reclaimed. The narrow, dusty roads are compromised by potholes and encroaching grasses, and the wooden shacks are precariously held together at best. Animals, homeless folk, and miscreants alike sometimes take up residence in what’s left of Copper Ridge.

Hester’s Hedge Maze

Just outside the more populated center of Las Almas, one can find this fun, affordable, sprawling hedge maze in nearly every month of the year. It’s a little reminiscent of that scene in The Shining when the place is covered in snow, amirite? Things also get spooky around here during Halloween season, and if you’re not into fake spiderwebs and employees dressed as horror movie characters, there’s a pumpkin patch out here all October as well.

Sandstone Amphitheater

Sandstone Amphitheater, a popular spot for music and entertainment lovers, is carved into the side of a towering ridge. The rocky wall that cradles the stage makes for fantastic acoustics, and folks in the crowd can often expect some fun special light effects with every performance.

Souls’ Craters

In the far reaches of the Las Almas wilderness, a handful of crater lakes are pockmarked into some of the higher ridges on the mountain. None of them are accessible by car, but the hike to the closest lake is less than half a mile from the parking lot. A couple of lakes at the higher elevations freeze over in the coldest months of the year, but in the summer, each of them is worthy of the trek it takes to reach them.

Tiger Pawn

Owner: Rebecca Peters
Tiger Pawn is windowless but bright, a one-story cinderblock building painted bumblebee yellow. Through the split doors (one ingoing, one outgoing, for security!) you find a dragon's hoard of arguable value under blazing fluorescent lights. On the right, a wall lined with firearms, ending in a cashier's counter with a wide white case full of jewelry. Filling the rest of the store are cheap white metal shelves and racks displaying everything from table saws to throwing stars to a Kitchenaid mixer to a mint condition original run furby to a mounted jackalope head. If you look hard enough, or perhaps ask an employee what they're keeping in the back, you are bound to find treasure. Or at least a preserved human arm.

Twin Sisters’ Drive-In

The most notable feature of the building atop which this drive-in theater sits is, well, the drive-in theater itself. The mall beneath has seen better days, and has fewer open stores than closed up suites available for rent, but Twin Sisters’ Drive-In keeps this place clinging to life. Parked in front of the big screen, which largely shows vintage and classic films, are several rows of equally vintage and classic cars that patrons can pay to use as theater seats. The overall cleanliness of these cars is questionable, but they are somewhat comfortable, at least!