Ride In/Out Lodging in CO and WY

[bigislandgrrl]

Hey Kids!

I am just getting started trying to make a little planning for this season. We want to hit some places we havent been to before and wanted to get everyones uptake on good places to stay that are ride in/ride out!

Nothing better than being in your warm cozy cabin, take a shower, put on gear and get to riding right out the door!

What are your favorite places to stay that you can ride from in Colorado and Wyoming???

 

[trackvs2wheels]

Favorite is Steamboat Lake!!! That's a really nice place to ride if there is snow

 

[shonuff]

For the Snowies:

http://www.albanycabins.com/

 

[rusty_jigawahowski]

Look at vagabond ranch near grand lake! Vrhuts.com

 

[BOHICA]

Thunder Mnt Lodge on the Grand Mesa, Great service and Billy's food will make your mouth water.
Mark
thunderrnountainlodge.net

 

[sledsrock]

Another vote for Thunder Mountain Lodge.

 

[snowgood]

another for vrhuts

another vote for vagabond ranch jeremy is a great guy and its in a beautiful setting

 

[bushy]

Where the most powder usually falls is a good first step. But it depends what kind of experience your looking for. What kind of riding your looking for? Most places have something that stands them apart from others. Steamboat Lake/Hahns Peak area has something for everybody, vast territory, great trails, varied terrain and riding chanllenges. Always find powder somewhere between the 8-11K feet elev. range. Last year was a crap year for snow but we hit a 3' dump over Pres. weekend that made for a great 3 days of riding out of the Midnight Ranch, up there. Base was thin, but good enough we had no real carnage. A lot of lodging choices too, from motel rooms to vacation houses with killer sledding out the back door. About 4.5 hours from Denver. Steamboat is about 25 miles south.

Haven't stayed at the VR Ranch yet, but love the riding in the area and plan to ride out of Jeremy's place this season. The scenery of the Medicine Bow range is incredible, with lots of challanging terrain above tree line that will test out your fear of heights.

 

[aphoric]

Vagabond Ranch is awesome, can't wait to get back up there this winter!
vrhuts.com

 

[Covelli44]

My vote is for thunder mountain lodge also. I have nothing bad to say about vagabond or the others as I have never been. TML is ride in/out. Can boondock right from your cabin or hit the trails if you want. Something for everyone there is no doubt in my mind.

Oh ya, Mark will do anything to help you or your crew and make your stay enjoyable and Billy will cook some of the best meals to eat.

 

[Coldfinger]

Grand Lake is great. Lots of lodging option. Family loves it. Lots of trail riding though. good scenery. Can ride sleds in town.

Albany is great, but you are going to do more trails from there and it is a one pony town, only one place to eat, though it is good food.

Mtn Meadow Cabins in Snowies - very convenient to good riding. No fuel so must bring your own. Have to sled up to cabins about a mile. No restaurant unless you go a mile back to Snowy Mtn Lodge (I think they're open to general public now). These cabins sit at about 10,000'.

Snowy Mtn Lodge - I've never stayed there but I think they are open for biz, cabins and restaurant and I can't recall on fuel. These cabins are somewhere around 9700'.

 

[CANNONMAN]

Bigislandgrrl, please give us a call, I have just what you are looking for. We have 6 cabins remodeled (15 total) in the last year. Cabins sleep anywhere from 4 to 13 comfortably. Everything inside is new, windows, doors, beds, plumbing, electrical, appliances, foam insulation, Rinaii heat, completley gutted down to the studs. They all have full kitchens, private bedrooms. Wait until you see the glass in the new cabins, 18' x7' wall of glass, you'll need sunglasses inside. lol They are the nicest on the mountain, I know this as I have personally looked at every lodge and cabin up here. Park and ride right from your cabin, full bar and restaurant, Hot Tubs with new privacy enclosure, fuel, rentals, guides, Avalanche classes, both classroom and field classes with Mike Duffy (who also guides for us), BCA Dealer, webcam, Sled and ATV storage, easy CO state highway 65 access, the works. We did a ton of site work this summer removing buildings, moving poles, eliminating rock walls, widening driveways to add space for 16 more trucks and trailers in the lot. All the cabins have plenty of room right at their door for the people staying.
I'll try and get some pics up of the new cabins shortly. If you have never ridden the Grand Mesa you will be amazed, the area is huge, largest in CO with every type of terrain imaginable. Give us a try, if you are truly unsatisfied (you won't be) I'll give you your money back. Try and find that deal anywhere else!!!!!!!!!! Thanks, Mark

 

[bigislandgrrl]

Thank you everyone for your imput! I dont see why we wont have a chance to visit all of the above - since there will be EPIC snow all around!

As far as our style of riding: I prefer boondocking and playing in meadows of deep deep - my guy enjoys the boondocking and meadows but is also a serious hill climber - so we like to go to places that offer all types of riding! We also travel often with beginners (we like to get as many people into the sport as possible) and are often looking for comfortable riding for the newbies!

Sounds like Thunder Mountain and Vagabond will be our first choices as they received many accolades!

 

[jfox1995]

I have not done any riding in CO yet, but in the snowys in WY I would suggest Mountain Meadow Cabins. Here is their website: http://www.mtnmeadowcabins.com/

I don't know about your group, but my group prefers to bring our own food so we don't have to eat out everyday. All the cabins have kitchens and if you take the time to bs with Chris he can usually point you towards some untouched areas to try. There is no place to buy gas on that side of the mountain except in Centennial, but It isn't too hard to carry enough for a few days.

As previously stated Snowy Mountain Lodge is an option as well, I stayed there when the previous owner had it. The cabins are nice and have kitchens as well. I know they are renting again this year, but have not heard for sure if the kitchen will be open or not. I don't think they will have gas this year either, but have not heard for sure on that either. Both places you can ride out of and are no more than a few miles from hillclimbing or boondocking.

One other place we like in the snowys is Winter Creek Condo's... http://wintercreekcondos.com/
They are halfway down the mountain from the other 2, but if the snow is good enough you can ride from there. Otherwise it is a quick 5 minute drive to the top. There is some great riding out of there especially if it windy/snowy up on top. You just head west out of there down a forest service road and end up down in a river bottom that also has very dense trees.

As someone stated earlier Albany lodge is also good in the snowys but they are further down the mountain and if you want to ride up top you end up riding 10 or so miles each way on the trail to get to the top. When we stay there we end up bringing 5 gallon cans up the hill. We fill up when we get to the top and stash the cans in order to start the day full. The nice thing about Albany is there is a restaurant/bar if you don't want to cook. In Albany there are other options for cabins to rent as well by individual owners. Just ask around on here and you can usually find somewhere to stay in the Albany area.

I think all of these are also listed in the Wyoming section along with some other options.

Have fun,
Jim

 

[PJ-Hunter]

Only place I have ever done it is Steamboat Lake. They have new owners now so I don't know what has changed as far as decor, pricing or food.

Bushy hit it on the head, so no need to elaborate. You can however ride into the backside of the Snowies if you carry extra fuel but it's a butt buster if you take the trail into Hog Park. Plenty of fun to be had "finding" the shortcuts. No cell service so be prepared.

 

[highstick]

Coulter lake lodge

Just north of Rifle, is coulter lake lodge http://www.coulterlake.com

The food is excellent, the staff is very helpful and the cabins are clean.

They will meet you at the parking lot and haul your gear in on sleds. You do need to bring fuel though.

 

[highstick]

Medicine bow lodge

Here's one more terrific place to sled in and out of. The folks who run the lodge are helpful and gracious hosts. The food is always nicely done and the fire is warm. Cabins are clean and they have been continuously fixing it up. Well worth the drive because you don't have to ride 30 miles from Albany to get to the good stuff
http://Www.medicinebowlodge.com