An examination of the preservation efforts implemented in historic Colorado ski towns, which are successful and accordingly could be used for development of preservation guidelines to be implemented in other similar communities. Three case studies, the historic mining towns of Aspen, Breckenridge, and Telluride, Colorado, have been selected and a brief history of their mining and skiing past, an assessment of their preservation practices and analysis of such practices is presented. By examining the practices these towns have put in place, one can look at their effectiveness and thus form general guidelines that could prove beneficial to towns of similar background.