Camp Hale

Camp Hale is a former training site in Eagle County, resting at about 2816 meters in a high mountain valley near Leadville. The grounds spread across sloping meadows and forested slopes, where visitors find remains of foundations, old roads, and interpretive panels recalling its military past.

The Army established the site in 1942 to train soldiers for winter combat and mountain warfare. After the war ended, the military closed the facility and removed the barracks, leaving only foundations behind.

The name honors General Irving Hale, a World War I officer who died in combat. Trails now cross the grounds, and hikers can still spot traces of the old training routes and camp roads.

Hikers find interpretive signs along former camp roads that offer brief explanations of the military use. The site is open to walk through, but it sits at high elevation, so visitors may need to pace themselves during exertion.

In the 1960s, the grounds served as a training site for Tibetan resistance fighters preparing for missions in the Himalayas. The terrain and thin mountain air offered ideal conditions for this secret instruction.