Well 2020 can suck a rotten piece of candy.... but we at least got to drive by and SEE the St. Elmo General Store! What do you do when visiting Buena Vista and you NEED something to do to get away from the AirBnB? You send an hour driving up snow-packed roads to check out a ghost town! The St. Elmo General Store is simply tucked away in a (nearly) abandoned ghost town. Lovely sitting, squished between the mountains... the views are stunning. The town is small, one single road in and out of the town. No public options are currently open.. everything is close for an undetermined amount of time until our friend Aunt 'Rona decides to give us a break... nonetheless it was nice to stroll around the town and peek in some windows of some lovely old shops and stores. Hope to go back some day when the world is normal again and we can actually go inside and get to experience what we read in other's reviews! read more

This ghost town is a waste of time. Nothing to do. You can't go in most of the buildings. Very little explanatory signage. The general store won't let you use the restroom. You have to hike a few blocks away to find the only restroom. Really nasty. It all felt very unwelcoming. read more

I wish their website had current information. It states they are open every day at 9 and then after Labor Day they are open at 10. Just disappointed, was looking forward to see the store! read more

This general store is very cool as it sells not just snacks and drinks, but antiques and other very cool wares! But the reason you absolutely MUST go to this place is so that they can give you the lowdown on feeding wild chipmunks from the palm of your hand, just across from the general store! The seeds to feed them are sold right outside the store for just a couple quarters, and as soon as you hold out your palm, chipmunks come flooding over to you! It was one of the most magical experiences of my entire life, and more people need to know how amazing this place is! read more

WOW! St Elmo is a hidden gem!! We wanted to explore St Elmo after hearing about the history from my family. Staying at Mt Princeton, it was about a 50 min drive due to construction, some bumpy roads along the way but worth it! The history is beautiful and each building at St Elmo has the story of the history. It was an old ghost town that is preserved to history. There is a general store at the entrance of the town that sells souvenirs, old school candy (candy cigarets anyone?). We ended up buying a steel mug showing St Elmo and some Bazooka bubble gum! Prices are definitely reasonable and meeting the man who mainly works at the store, he is extremely friendly and will feel you in on anything you want to know. The store has antiques you can buy, St Elmo swag (t-shirts, stickers, mugs) and if you need any pain relievers or travel items, they have a small section! Great store, love supporting places like these. read more

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Very friendly owners. Popped in early in the morning when the crowd had not yet showed up. They were very helpful and informative about the town and how to best discover it. They also have a cabin right by the store that they rent to guests. The cabin does not have indoor plumbing, but it may be the best way to experience St. Elmo away from the throngs of tourists. The ghost town is invaded by tourists from about 10am until about 5pm. So an overnight stay would provide a respite from the crowds and a chance to see all the wildlife that populates this area. Just as a note...as I see some misleading reviews, a drive to St Elmo DOES NOT require a 4 wheel drive if you come in the summer and if you drive from Nathrop. I drove my Prius, which is notorious for low clearance, and the gravel road was extremely well graded. Little to no bumps, large enough for two cars to comfortably share the road and absolutely no issues to speak of ;-) St. Elmo is approximately 1hrs drive from Buena Vista and approximately 30 more minutes passed Mount Princeton Springs. read more

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So much fun. We weren't sure what to expect with this little town but it was one of the highlights of our whole trip. The general store was cute and had a lot of interesting things to look at. Staff was friendly and talkative. Be sure to buy a bag of sunflower seeds to feed the adorable chipmunks. read more

St Elmo General Store - St Elmo, CO ghost town - Antiques Near Me - Nathrop, Colorado

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St. Elmo, Colorado is quite the drive, and WILL require a 4 Wheel Drive vehicle (preferably truck/SUV). Next to Bodie, California, this is probably the second most pristine ghost town in the nation. Regardless of season, it'll be cold up here due to the altitude - dress accordingly. If Hot Springs are your thing, be sure to visit Mt. Princeton Resort. I'd highly recommend an overnight stay there (and a dip in the spring water) before/after this trek into the mountains. Bring your camera! read more

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Drive the 16 miles off the Hwy 285 and enjoy the past, a ghost town. Store is a tourist trap which you at least want walk in to. Limited Summer hours. Hardtop road till last 6 miles will be gravel to St Elmo. From town just 6 miles more to Tin Cup Pass but do not plan to go past the top without 4 wheel drive!!!!! Road to the top of pass passable in car but can be rough. Not open in winter. Trees now are at their peak. Mt Princeton Hot springs also on this road but we have never tried - we always go to the city pool in Salida and enjoy the hot springs much cheeper year round. read more

Totally worth the drive--best ghost town of the 6 we hit on this CO trip, but also the hardest to find. Signage is nearly nonexistent; combine that with a road detour and you have non-locals literally driving in circles. With the detour, we had no way of knowing the total mileage we needed to travel on the narrow road (which led to an isolated unpaved road with STUNNING vistas--total ended up about 15 miles). After backtracking a couple times and conferring with other confused backtrackers who also were stopped along the way, we decided we'd missed a turn or made a wrong one. On our way back to civilization, we spied a woman who assured us St. Elmo was only 8 miles back in the direction we'd just come from. Lesson: if you're detoured, keep going but stop everyone you can to make sure you're headed in the right direction. The drive is glorious--it's crazy thinking of those who traveled this on foot, horseback, wagon, or whatever to get to St. Elmo and live in the surrounding areas. And again, the drive is totally worth the distance. St. Elmo is a great ghost town experience, with a few fire-scorched shambles of buildings heaped on the hillside, a dusty street still lined with its creaky boardwalks and deserted, weathered clapboard structures. A couple buildings are in use, particularly the St. Elmo General Store. You can buy a snack or tee shirt in the general store--but watch out going in! There's a faint, high-pitched hum we didn't really notice while we strolled the street, but the volume increased closer to the store--and then a couple of no-nonsense hummingbirds smacked me upside the head. I ducked another little beater just as a couple chipmunks charged across my foot. I'd breeched two traffic patterns in one move. Dozens of hyper-beating iridescent hummingbirds swarm the feeders outside the store, and a sizable chipmunk contingent charges back and forth from the store entrance (where you can pick up a little bag of chipmunk food), across the designated chipmunk crossing, and over to the clever chipmunk playground on the other side of the dusty street. Our group was 3 enthusiastic adults, but the young kids we saw seemed just as happy. Great ghost town experience! read more

Best place ever. First time I went to the General Store was over 20 years ago. I rented a 4-Wheeler, was handed a sheet of paper with a hand drawn map, and sent on my way into some of God's most breathtaking and beautiful country a girl could want to see. Since then, I've never said, "Nah, I've already been there, let's go someplace else." read more

If you can spare the time, do not miss this special place. The road from the Nathrop sign leads you through the spectacular Chalk Creek, past hot springs and horses, through green and white stands of aspen, waterfalls and rocky mountainsides covered in wild flowers. When I think of Colorado, the drive to St. Elmo covers it all. It's like a dang beer commercial. At the very end of the road, you are in St. Elmo - it's impossible to get lost. The buildings are in fantastic condition, and a couple aren't, but are fascinating in their own broken-down way. The town is mostly populated with hummingbirds and friendly chipmunks. You can feed these chipmunks (and some ground squirrels) with black sunflower seeds sold exclusively at the St. Elmo General Store for fifty cents. If you have a child and you don't take them to this place, I'm pretty sure that constitutes child abuse. Word to the wise: if a regular squirrel approaches you while you are feeding the other varmint, turn around and pretend you never saw it. He is a jerk squirrel and he loves the taste of human flesh. In the words of a man explaining this while we were there, feed the ones with stripes and avoid the ones without, if you can't tell the difference. The store carries everything you want, at surprisingly decent prices. They also have great antiques. There are no public restrooms in St. Elmo: use the one on the road before St. Elmo that loudly exclaims in block letters that it, just it, is the last toilet. read more

Nice place to buy a refreshment or snack when visiting St. Elmo near Buena Vista, CO. If you're into antiques, then you're sure to enjoy yourself picking through all the goodies they have to offer here. read more

St Elmo General Store - Antiques Near Me - Nathrop, Colorado

This wonderful little gem of a place is run by the nicest, most informative folks you could meet. We went up to the town to check out the 1800s buildings and take some ghost town pictures and ended up spending 2 days in the area. We had a great experience renting ATVs from the General Store, they patiently showed us everything we needed to know to ride them safely including maps and a driving lesson. We took off right from the store and drove up to Tin Cup Pass - it was beautiful! We saw Elk and deer and I believe a woodchuck. We had no experience driving ATVs so we took the 1/2 day rental and it was perfect for us. There are dozens of hummingbirds congregating around the general store, just take a few quiet moments to stand there and feel the air vibrate around you from their wings. Very very neat!! We really enjoyed our time in this valley and particularly St. Elmo ghost town. read more

My brother and I had a GREAT experience with all the wonderful staff at St. Elmo General Store. In addition, our exploration on ATV's were a great time and more than reasonably priced. read more

We have rented ATV's from the General Store on 2 separate vacations for a total of 3 full days of riding. We had a great time and will be back again. read more