Former Colorado Movie Set + Theme Park is Now Totally Abandoned
One bit of Colorado history that you may not be aware of is the fact that numerous western movies were filmed at the same location. The former movie set was known as Buckskin Joe's Frontier Land and was located just outside of Cañon City.
However, the land is now completely abandoned but some of the old structures are still standing.
What Was Colorado's Buckskin Joe's Frontier Land?
Buckskin Joe's Frontier Land first opened as a movie set by MGM in 1957. It was home to countless western films throughout several decades with arguably the most famous film that was shot there being True Grit starring John Wayne.
In addition, when movies weren't being filmed there, Buckskin Joe's Frontier Land was a tourist attracting western-themed amusement park. The park hosted things like gunfights, entertaining shows, a saloon, a restaurant, and even what they called a 'mystery house.'
Later, in 1993, a college-aged pair of amateur filmmaker University of Colorado students by the names of Trey Parker and Matt Stone filmed their first movie, a Colorado historical spoof piece based on Alferd Packer called, 'Cannibal! The Musical.' Parker and Stone would of course later go on to create the TV show 'South Park' and become household names.
What Happened to Colorado's Buckskin Joe's Frontier Land?
Eventually, the park and movie set was sold and closed by the buyer who decided to move the amusement to a different area near Gunnison, Colorado in 2010.
The property has been left completely abandoned since then, but there are still some structures and other odd things left still standing including a lookout tower, some sort of bunker, and other buildings with all kinds of odd treasures left inside.