The town is a former mining camp situated in the canyon
of the upper Eagle River just off U.S. Highway 24 north of Tennessee Pass.
It was founded in 1879 during the Colorado Silver Boom by miners
from Leadville who came over Tennessee Pass scouting for better prospects.
The name derives from the red quartzite cliffs surrounding the town.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Cliff,_Colorado