Out of all the haunted hikes in Colorado you might go on, some are more haunted than others.
There are so many mountains, rivers, and desolate forests in Colorado, and a few of these trips can take you through scary places.
When you head out for these treks, keep your eyes peeled for any strange situations or unexplained sightings.
Updated 2/9/2020 – Because the state has had so many different types of people live in the state over the years, there are plenty of local legends and scary stories about what has happened in the state.
Some forests are haunted by mountain recluses, but other places have much more mysterious backstories.
If you have the chance to take some hikes in Colorado, what do you think that you might see?
Title photo credit left: flickr/zearil – Title photo credit right: flickr/frankmartell
10 Colorado Hikes Filled With Paranormal Activity
1. Woodglenn Park
Near Adams in Colorado, you can go on a spooky walk through Woodglenn Park.
In the 1980s, some friends all came to this park together and played pranks on each other.
One of these pranks went horribly wrong, and two of the friends died in a raging fire.
According to visitors in the park, you can hear a boy screaming on windy days, asking for help.
Sometimes it feels as though someone is following you.
Photo credit: flickr/333bracket
2. Fitzsimons
This old military base in Aurora is still haunted today, even though part of it is used for a hospital now.
From what many locals say, there are still several abandoned buildings on the outskirts of the hospital.
One of the buildings was used to keep war victims before they received treatment, and many died before they were saved.
If you go to the top of these buildings and look down, you can see some of their ghosts wandering in the courtyard, looking for spiritual absolution.
Photo credit: flickr/alandicker
3. Carter Lake
On your walks, check out Carter Lake near Berthoud.
Hundreds of years ago, a settler named Mr. Bennet lived in this area.
Because of a land dispute, he was shot and killed by a rival settler on Bennet Road.
Sometimes visitors can see a man dressed in old fashioned clothes walking down this road and carrying a bag.
When they get closer, he disappears from view and does not reply.
Photo credit: flickr/fortphoto
4. Central City
Make sure that you visit Central City, an old mining town near Denver..
Even though Colorado is not as well-known for its ghost towns as California, Central City makes the list as one of the more haunted places in Colorado.
There are plenty of buildings in Central City which are still standing, especially the opera house and theater that were built hundreds of years ago.
There are even some people who still live in Central City, particularly along the outskirts, but even more inhabitants are spirits who never left the town.
There is one particularly haunted building on the old main street of the town, a bar from years ago.
It used to serve all the local customers in the town, and now it is still carefully maintained.
According to the locals, there is a beautiful painting of a young woman on the first floor of this bar.
The painting was created by a miner whose wife passed away suddenly, while she was still young and beautiful.
He was so distressed at her death that he painted a picture to remember her by.
He painted and painted for days until he had completed the picture, and then he too passed away.
Originally the painting was on the floor of one of the rooms, but the bar owner saw it and transferred it to one of the walls of the bar.
You can still hear the old miner and his wife whispering to each other on their anniversary.
Photo credit: flickr/9385421@N08
5. Helen Hunt Falls
By Cheyenne Canyon in Colorado Springs, you can hike this trail that everyone knows about.
Years and years ago, a woman named Helen Hunt died at this set of waterfalls, which are now named after her.
Every year since then, at least one person also dies in this area near the waterfalls.
Visitors report hearing voices all around the waterfalls at night, even though no one is there.
Photo credit: flickr/mikejonesphoto
6. Fort Morgan Nature Trails
Near Fort Morgan you can walk around through Riverside Park on the Nature Trails, which run for almost a mile through the park.
These hiking paths are scary because they are haunted by the River Witch, who died in the 1900s.
She killed herself after years of mistreatment by the townspeople who lived near her, and she still walks around these trails, looking for people so she can get revenge.
Photo credit: flickr/brynn67
7. Horse Thief Canyon
West of Grand Junction and near the Colorado National Monument, you can see a woman in a white dress wandering between the canyon walls.
In the 1800s, this passage was popular for horse smugglers, who would bring their stolen horses through this canyon before making a tidy profit.
One night they were riding through this canyon, when one of them accidentally trampled a young woman.
Her ghost still wanders around on the canyon floor.
Photo credit: flickr/michannephotos
8. Grand Lake
The hikes in Colorado around Grand Lake are always haunted, so be careful if you choose to visit there.
Years ago, there was a huge battle between the Ute and Cheyenne Native Americans.
The Ute sent their women and children across the lake in rafts to keep them safe, but a huge storm rose up and the rafts all capsized.
Now the spirits of these women and children still walk around the lake at night and look for their family.
Photo credit: flickr/39877441@N05
9. Sand Creek
Make sure to stop by Sand Creek in Kiowa County.
The terrible story of the Sand Creek Massacre is true, and people still see ghosts from the battle to this day.
In the 1800s, more than two hundred Native Americans were killed in an ambush, mostly women and children, even though they tried to escape.
Their bodies were treated disrespectfully and left unburied, so their spirits haunt the area around Sand Creek.
Photo credit: flickr/74347473@N02
10. Poncha Pass
Take a few hours to walk around the Poncha Pass area in Poncha Springs – you will not regret it (or maybe you will!), because there are plenty of spooky occurrences in the area.
Near the top of Poncha Pass, there is an old dugout cabin near a gold mine.
Even though the mine has not been operational for years, people still come up and try their luck.
Years ago, an old miner was digging in the mine, but he succumbed to fumes in the gold mine and died.
His body was not found until years later by someone else near the dugout cabin, and apparently there was not a mark on his body at all.
There are other mysterious occurrences at Poncha Pass.
On your hikes in Colorado, you can see plenty of ghosts from the Civil War.
Apparently years ago a group of Southern soldiers deserted and stole a wagon of gold as they fled.
There was a fight between these soldiers and a group of enemy soldiers, and the gold disappeared.
Some say one of the Southern soldiers escaped, but others say that he died in the woods with all of the gold.
People in the area say that they can hear screams late at night and gun shots, but no one can ever be found.
People still try to find the gold near this pass, but it can be dangerous at night.
Several locals have heard of visitors dying because they came too close to a steep cliff.
Be careful if you visit.
Photo credit: flickr/andrewpanshin