5 Backcountry Hut Experiences Around Colorado

5 Backcountry Hut Experiences Around Colorado

You might not know it, but there are a ton of huts around Colorado’s backcountry. Providing a shelter in extremely remote locations, these spots are perfect for winter hikers, skiers, and snowshoers, as many are rentable. Here are five different hut experiences you’ll find in the state.

1. 10th Mountain Division Huts

1-970-925-5775,  huts.org

This network of 34 cabins in remote locales across the Colorado Rockies is extremely popular, with 350 miles of skiing and showshoeing trails and limitless powder for skiers willing to work for it. Some even have saunas. While most are usually filled in a lottery for the peak of winter, those willing to go on weekdays or early or later in the season should be able to find spaces. There’s also a message board where people are often looking to buy and sell huts. Most rent by the bed at $30-$40 per person per night, while cabins can be rented in their entirety. Dogs are not allowed at these and most other backcountry cabins in winter.

2. Leadville Backcountry Yurts

1-719-486-0092,  leadvillebackcountry.com

You’ll earn your scenery on this difficult 5.5-mile ski or snowshoe up to 12,000 feet, but the thrill of camping high above timberline in a brutal mountain winter is worth it. There are two cozy yurts, both of which sleep five. The views of the Mosquito Range from the yurts’ deck are unparalleled, and the opportunities for skiing or side trips in the wide-open tundra are limitless. Each yurt rents for $105 on weeknights and $115 on weekends.

3. Lost Wonder Hut

lostwonderhut.com

In the high country below Monarch Pass is a large cabin that brings the modern comforts like electricity to the wilderness, in a stunning mountain setting. The Lost Wonder Hut is a mild 2.6-mile ski or snowshoe, and with sleeping accommodations for 12, it makes a great trip for large groups looking for the scenic reward without a brutal approach. Water comes from a spring, so there’s no need to melt snow. You may even be able to hire a local company to haul your gear (or beer) by snowmobile. The cabin rents for $300 per night November through April.

4. The Section House

summithuts.org

On the opposite end of the luxury spectrum is the Section House, a restored 1882 building high above Breckenridge and South Park on Boreas Pass. This was once a thriving town at 11,481 feet, but snow closes the road in winter, so you can appreciate the isolation those early miners and railroad men must have felt. What it lacks in amenities – no oven or sauna – it makes up for in raw natural beauty. And the trip in may be long, about 6 miles, but it is rarely steep. Each bed rents for $30 per person, per night.

5. Mueller State Park

21045 Highway 67 South, Divide

The snow isn’t as deep if you stay nearer to home, but you can still enjoy the winter beauty of Mueller State Park in three cabins available for rent all winter. Unlike the others mentioned, you can drive right up to them, so they’re ideal for family trips or those just looking for some relaxation. Rates are $140 per night at Pine Cabin, which sleeps four, $200 a night at Spruce Cabin, which sleeps six, and $260 a night at Ponderosa Cabin, which sleeps eight.


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