The town, which is named for Montezuma, the Emperor of the Aztecs, consists largely of historical buildings and houses lining unpaved streets at the end of the paved county road that ascends the Snake River from Keystone near the west side of Loveland Pass.

Montezuma has some of the most popular backcountry skiing, biking, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and hiking trails in Summit County.

In its inaugural issue, the Mill Run described the town as having two hotels, three stores, three saloons, two blacksmiths, one shoemaker, and a number of restaurants and boarding houses.

It eventually had a smelter, as well, which allowed local separation of the silver and lead ores, which are typically found together in the region.

It experienced a slight revival in mining interest in 1940, but has remained fairly quiet since World War II.

Other fires in the 1970s and 1980s destroyed additional historic buildings and businesses, leaving the town with little current economic base.

Presently, the town is experiencing a high surge of interest as the value of real estate in proximity to ski areas and with access to wilderness increases substantially.

Montezuma has a subarctic climate (Dfc) with short, mild summers and long, cold winters.As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 42 people, 20 households, and 6 families residing in the town.