Linwood Cemetery

Linwood Cemetery is full of history! Even Doc Holiday is buried here! Well, they’re not exactly sure of his exact grave location, but they have a “supposed” grave location, see photos. The cemetery is a little hike up from the street and the parking is pretty limited on the street.

GHOST TOUR put on by the Historic Society during spooky season is top notch. They lead you up after dark (bring a flashlight) and you stop at a few grave sites where actors dressed in historic garb tell the story of their life before being buried there. It's a great time! Tickets on the historic society website, fun for all ages, cider and treats at the end!

The trail is about .3 mile from the trailhead to Doc Holliday’s headstone. It’s steep, and it is not shaded the entire way. Fill up your water bottle at the trailhead or bring it yourself. It’s a neat pioneer cemetery. If you’re an out of state visitor like me, I recommend going to the Historical Museum in town first and getting some literature on the cemetery first. It tells about others buried there. Doc’s headstone is only to mark that he is buried in the cemetery, but not necessarily in that spot- the exact location is unknown and has been lost to time.

Doc Holliday's Grave Trail head - Certainly NOT a climb for those who need help or out of shape (kinda-sorta). This takes a bit to get there.. Advice - Don't wear flip flops, you won't make the climb with a stroller and MOST certainly take your time. Of course you can stop and rest AND catch your breath. This is an elevation of 6000+ feet (Welcome to Colorado) already. This climb is about 1/2 mile higher. We completed this trek during July and the weather was 72 degrees and sunny. The road to the top starts off nice and easy with an entrance that is maintained very well (Don't be fooled). As you start to ascend the road turns to gravel and sand. The trail is about 20 foot wide in most cases and there are some stairs and a few obstacles to overcome, nothing hard. There is a tree of shame about 1/2 way up. (For those who wanted to leave a ribbon, or something that marked "I was here") Once you reach the top, you're offered a few ways to get into the actual graveyard. In our experience, we continued to the last entrance and proved to be a good choice. Now the reading and exploring begins. We spent about an hour going through each site and staying on the well marked paths. MOST of the sites are marked off and fenced so be respectful of the barriers. Going down is certainly a LOT EASIER than going up but be careful not to twist your ankle on the rocks and loose sand. In either direction, the views of the surrounding Gypsum mountains and community was very nice.

This makes for an amazing, historic hike! There are great views and I loved learning the history. I’ve visited GWS many times before and I’m glad I finally did this hike! More travels/rv living on ig @jessmtravels