The St. Elmo General Store has issued a special invitation from now through Sunday afternoon, December 10, for residents to make the trip to St. Elmo. Our historic mining town at the end of CR 162 up Chalk Creek Canyon is a tourist mecca at all times of the year (especially in summertime) but it is beautiful in winter.
“Welcome to our very first-ever December opening,” reads the new St. Elmo General Store Facebook post. “The county plowed the road Monday and the drive is beautiful!”
Chaffee County residents know that when the snow begins to fly, the snow can pileup in Chalk creek Canyon. The Chaffee County Road and Bridge Department now plows CR 162 all the way to St. Elmo consistently after each snow. Residents along the road report that “it may not happen immediately, but is typically addressed within 24 hours of the end of a storm’s snowfall.”
“We’ll be open from around 10-ish to 4-ish,” reads the invitation from the St. Elmo General Store. There is no indication (yet) as to whether Friday morning’s snowfall in Chalk Creek Canyon will influence the condition of the road.
An AVV reader has also been in contact with AVV and notes that “snowmobiles are NOT allowed on CR 162. And it is ill-advised to suggest that people should be snowshoeing on that curvy, mountainous road between Alpine and St. Elmo.”
For those who are game, this could be a great time for a winter wonderland visit.
Ark Valley Voice had originally reported that Chaffee County Road & Bridge Department only plows CR 162 only as far as Alpine, which was true for decades. But call it climate change, better equipment, or a really hard-working Road & Bridge Department — they now plow the entire length of CR 162
Featured image: St. Elmo in wintertime.
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