Photo Trip to the Crystal Mill

The iconic Crystal Mill. “The most photographed structure in Colorado”

My trip last fall took me to Marble Colorado and Crystal, to shoot the famous Crystal Mill
The mill was built in 1893 and is considered the most photographed site in Colorado.
The mill and the old town of Crystal are on private property and the current access to the mill area is limited to the road. There is no longer any access down to the river or across the river. 
Just a short walk up the road is the town of Crystal, with some of the original structures from the mining days.

An original building from the mining days in Crystal Colorado

Yep, Elevation 9,000 feet

For our trip we stayed in Marble and took a special photography jeep tour to Crystal and the Mill from the Crystal River Jeep Tours. The tour is catered to photographers, giving us 3 plus hours and during the evening Golden Hour so we could get the optimum shots. They have an exclusive contract with the owners of the Crystal Mill and property and are very knowledgeable of the mill and surrounding area. 
From the town of Marble to Crystal is about 6 miles, on a narrow one lane 4x4 road.  If you are in good shape you can hike it, or driving a 4x4 with 2 inches or more clearance is possible.

A few notes from my trip last fall:

• There are no grocery stores or gas stations in Marble, so stock up in Carbondale

• No cell service or Internet, there is free wifi at the Hub Coffee Bar even when it's closed

• The Yule Mable Quarry is well worth a visit.  Seeing the giant blocks of marble is pretty amazing

• If you are going to photograph the Crystal Mill, be aware the only access is from the road, there is a cable barrier that runs along the road. You can put a tripod on the other side of the cable, but you cannot step over it

• From my observation, there are maybe 3 to 4 good locations to shoot the mill

• No Drones are allowed in Crystal

If you stay in Mable, there are some great photo op's at Beaver Lake and the Marble quarry.

Photo of the Milky Way over Beaver Lake

Morning fog on Beaver Lake