Mountain Adventures

There is gold in them there hills, or at least there was

In the late 1860s and early 1870s, prospectors discovered precious metals in the mountains around what is now Cooke City. Gold, silver, copper, and lead drew adventurous miners into the wild terrain. In 1871, the first mining claims were filed on Miller and Henderson Mountain.   By the 1880s, with the Crow Reservation boundary shifted, mining began in earnest. The region became known as the New World Mining District.  Present day picture on Henderson Mountain.

While the district held promise, mining in Cooke City was no easy task. High elevation, heavy snowfall, and steep terrain limited operations to a short summer season. Transporting ore out of the mountains and bringing supplies in was difficult and costly.  One of the earliest and most famous mines was the Shoo Fly Mine, perched high on Miller Mountain. Later, the McLaren Gold Mines Company became one of the last big operations, running from the 1930s into the 1950s. In its lifetime, the McLaren operation produced nearly 60,000 ounces of gold, 170,000 ounces of silver, and over 4 million pounds of copper.

Though most of the mines closed decades ago, their legacy remains. Visitors to Cooke City today can see remnants of old cabins, smelters, and mine tailings that tell the story of a community shaped by boom and bust cycles. Environmental restoration has been underway for years, repairing creeks like Soda Butte, which flows directly into Yellowstone National Park.