Moving to Black Hawk

Who lives here

Black Hawk is one of Colorado’s smallest cities. The State Demography Office’s census file gives its incorporation year as 1864 and its count at every census since: 1,068 people in 1870, a peak of 1,540 in 1880, 253 by 1920, 118 in both 2000 and 2010, and 127 at the 2020 Census (State Demography Office historical census file). The same file counts Gilpin County at 3,070 in 1990, 4,757 in 2000 and 5,441 in 2010.

The City’s own website, cityofblackhawk.org, refused automated reads when this page was written (10 October 2026), and Gilpin County’s site could not be reached, so this page says nothing about city government, utilities, police, zoning or permits. Read those sites yourself for anything that matters to you.

Housing

No official page that could be read for this guide gives a home price for Black Hawk, so there are no figures here. The listings in the sidebar show what is for sale.

Schools

Gilpin County School District RE-1 is the one district, and it is in Black Hawk: a single campus at 10595 Hwy 119, Black Hawk, CO 80422, phone 303-582-3444, that serves preschool through 12th grade with three schools, Gilpin County Preschool, Gilpin County Elementary and Gilpin County Secondary (district, about). The district’s about page says its history begins in 1862, a year after the county was established, that RE-1 was formed in 1959, that the present campus opened in 1978 and gained a three-story middle and high school building in 2000, and that in 2008 Black Hawk’s voters approved a sales tax increase for the schools, the Educational Enhancement Tax, which it reports brought in $1,846,257 in 2025 through December (about). The district’s pages list no enrollment figures and do not give the grade span of each school.

Getting around

Black Hawk sits on the Peak to Peak, which CDOT calls Colorado’s oldest scenic byway, established in 1918: 55 miles and about 80 minutes of driving through Black Hawk, Central City, Nederland, Allenspark and Estes Park, past Golden Gate Canyon State Park and Rocky Mountain National Park (CDOT byway page). CDOT’s page does not number the highways, so check COtrip for the live state of Colorado 119 and 72 before a winter drive.

There is bus service aimed at the casinos. Saratoga Casino’s visitor page says the Ramblin Express runs seven days a week from Lakewood, Arvada and Aurora with hourly or bi-hourly departures, and that a free Black Hawk and Central City tramway runs continuously seven days a week from mid-morning until early the following morning (Saratoga Casino, Visit); that is a casino’s description, not the transit operator’s, so confirm times before you rely on it.

Services

• Library is the Gilpin County Public Library at 15131 Hwy 119, Black Hawk, 303-582-5777. Its site does not publish regular hours on the pages read for this guide; its 2026 holiday schedule closes it on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (holiday schedule).
• Schools are the district above, on Highway 119 north of town.
• City services, water, sewer, fire and police: the City’s site could not be read, so nothing is stated here.

Before you decide

• The land around town is public. Golden Gate Canyon State Park, 12,119 acres with 35 miles of trails and 156 campsites, is open for day use from 5 am to 10 pm, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife expects it to hit capacity on fall weekends by 9 am (CPW). The Forest Service’s Cold Springs Campground is five miles north of Black Hawk beside Highway 119 at 9,200 feet (Forest Service); closures and fire restrictions on the national forest are on the Arapaho and Roosevelt alerts page.
• Elevation. The school district’s campus and the library are on Highway 119 north of the casinos; the campground above is at 9,200 feet. Expect snow on the Peak to Peak and in the canyons; check COtrip.