Ghost Town Route

**This is an easy mostly unpaved route (outside of El Dorado City Limit) 

This route starts at the El Dorado Oil Museum which hosts a large collection of historical equipment from El Dorado's oil boom. The route follows the El Dorado Bike Path and passes through a residential neighborhood on the North side of El Dorado. This area was home to one of El Dorado's two refineries and a large oil field. The route follows refinery road and passes through beautiful scenic countryside before looping back into El Dorado. On the path back you can see the plot of Stapleton No. 1. This is the marker of oil discovery in the El Dorado region (during WWI the El Dorado Oil Field produced 12% of global oil production). As you continue you will also notice the ghost town of Oil Hill. The few abandoned buildings that remain are all that is left of this small community on the outskirts of El Dorado that housed the oil field workers during the 1910s, 20s and 30s and at one point was large enough to have it's own school district.