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Stone wall on the Highway of Legends
Photo by Jay Slater
Resorts and ranches near Trinidad are for living the western life amid dramatic vistas—whether you want contemplation on the lake’s shore, hiking to the mountaintop, quiet firelit evenings, or gourmet cooking, fishing, and horseback riding.
Colt Ranch
Trinidad, CO 81082
719-845-0353
coltranch.com
email: coltranch@msn.com
The ranch has onsite accommodations for up to 14 individuals and assisted arrangements for additional lodging in nearby Trinidad. The timber-frame ranch home has three large guest bedrooms, each with a distinctive western theme, fireplace, and private bath. A furnished two-bedroom and two-bath apartment sits above the carriage house. Adventurous guests may also spend the night in a large tepee or an authentic sheepherder wagon, both of which have been fitted out for extra comforts. A gourmet breakfast and snacks are served daily. Additional meals are available.
This adventure ranch offers horse-drawn carriage rides, chuckwagon cookouts, wine tastings, and tours of a mining ghost town that sits on the property. Jim and Darlene Colt will also help you plan a custom ranch wedding or family reunion. The ranch also offers unique learning experiences:
Tepee Raising Classes. As a team-building experience or just to understand a different way of life, tepee-raising is a great challenge for groups. Comfortable furnishings are provided for spending the night in your project!
Horse Harnessing & Driving Classes. When arranged in advance, these classes can be part of a team-building event. Also available as a stand-alone activity, these classes include information on general horse care, grooming, and even a short section on shoeing a horse. Plan a full day for this program and you will have the opportunity to drive a team of horses on a variety of vehicles.
Dutch Oven and Gourmet Cooking Classes. Your host the good Doctor Colt is equally at home in his elegant modern kitchen, a ranch line shack, or whipping up cowboy fare in Dutch ovens over the campfire. A graduate of the Chicago School for the Culinary Arts, Doc loves to teach others the joy of cooking.
The ranch is located 16 miles west of Trinidad off Highway 12. Call for directions.
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Monument Lake Resort & Campground
4789 Highway 12, Weston, CO
719-868-2226
monumentlakeresort.com
Though only minutes from the Highway of Legends, this beautiful fishing resort is a true getaway. The WPA-era, adobe-style lodge has 20 rooms with fireplaces. The resort also offers 13 cabins, RV and tent sites, bath house, laundry, and recreation room. The Store by the Shore carries flies, sundries, and gifts.
The Grubsteak Café serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a come-as-you-are-atmosphere. Outstanding venues and a wide variety of specialty menus are offered for occasions such as weddings, receptions, business conferences, and reunions.
The lake is stocked with rainbows, cutthroats, browns, splake, and kokanee salmon and is open for fishing year-round with a resort pass. Rental boats are available in season.
The resort welcomes day visitors for a modest fee. Call ahead for lodging reservations, as groups book early. Take Highway 12 (Highway of Legends) 37 miles west of Trinidad. Open mid-May–mid-October.
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Purgatoire Adventures Unlimited
38700 C.R. 165.4
Kim, CO 81049
719-384-5813
email: wootensj@hotmail.com
Look no further for the authentic working-ranch vacation. Located in the red sandstone region east of Trinidad with its “mini–grand canyons,” the ranch raises grass-fed beef with no antibiotics or hormones. Each member of your group may customize his or her activities—fully experiencing ranch life with branding stock or taking leisurely horseback rides, being present at the birth of the newest member of the herd, even participating in an arts seminar. The ranch offers hunting, fee fishing, tours, pack trips. The “Unlimited” in the name is not an exaggeration for those seeking connection to the land and its rhythms. This not-often-seen region of Colorado is only 115 miles from the center of Trinidad. Call or email for reservations, options for your daytrip or longer stay, and directions.
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Wall of Legends Guest Ranch and RV Park
6878 Hwy 12
Weston, CO 81091
719-868-3049
The ranch has 10 cabins, a restaurant, and a bath house. Fish in the pond and stream for rainbow and brown trout.
Yellow Pine Ranch
15880 State Highway 12
Cuchara, CO 81055
719-742-3528
yellowpine.us
A dude ranch where brooks babble, birds sing, and fish bite. This historic ranch at 8500 feet has barns of hand-hewn timbers, rail corrals and fences, and is bordered on the west and east by the wilderness of the San Isabel Forest. The ranch has horseback riding both for guests and for the public, fishing, barbeques, hiking, a large meeting barn (accommodates 60) for reunions and weddings. Cozy cabins are completely furnished and include fully equipped kitchens. The ranch is within walking distance of the village of Cuchara, which has excellent dining, a general store, and gift shops. A short drive away are Trinidad and La Veta and every attraction from golf to skateboarding and museums to boutiques. From Trinidad, travel 54 miles on Highway 12 to Cuchara. A bit further on, you will see the ranch sign on your right.
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