August 4th, 2025
Every year, there is a celebration in Leadville based on the the town’s historical mining days. Boom Days usually occurs around the first of August. This year it was August 1-3. In the past, I have missed it, either being away from the Leadville area, or just didn’t realize what weekend it occurred. This year, I went to town to observe the activities.
While there were some events on Friday, I drove into town on Saturday morning, early enough to find a parking spot and then headed to the courthouse grounds for the $10 breakfast. After eating eggs, sausage, and pancakes (the first I have had in years, not normally consuming carbs) although I ate those without syrup. Then, I walked around town, checking out the various food and craft tents. At 10:00 a.m. I watched the parade as it traveled down Harrison Avenue through the center of town. There were a number of people dressed in 1800s era costumes as were worn in the mining days, along with burros, antique autos, and various company floats and marching groups. It was your basic small town parade, but based on the mining theme.
On Sunday, I parked, and waited for the start of the Burro Races. There were two routes, one long at 21 miles that went up to Mosquito Pass (13,000+ feet in elevation), and a shorter 15 mile course. There were 11 entries in the long race, and just over 40 in the shorter one. Burros varied from very small, waist height all the way up to large donkeys. Each racer carried a lead and the animals trotted alongside the runners.
The Boom Days event marks the start of several weekends of Leadville races, Including the MTB Trail 100 (mountain bike race) and Trail 100 Running race (ultra-marathon, but with mountains to climb and descend). The races are grueling, and fill the town and surrounding camping and lodging areas with elite athletes that can handle the 10,000+ foot elevation’s low oxygen pressures. For the average visitor to Leadville, just walking up and down the main street can leave you out of breath with a heart pumping very quickly and with possible symptoms of Altitude Sickness. So if you come, beware.
Starting All Over 