The first reviews for our new Tiny Home are coming in, and they are fantastic!
Check them out on our Testimonial Page.
Author: Jlhostsadmin
We now have a brand new accomodation!
We now have a brand new accomodation!
We have been renting out our Winnebago View now for two years with great success. There is a limit though, as it is not possible to use the motor home past October as temperatures over night start to freeze, sometimes hard, which can damage the water systems. The motor home just doesn’t have the insulation to stay warm enough when it’s in the teens at night.
We have been wanting to build a cottage since acquiring our property so that we would have a guest house for guests in the winter when its a great time of year to visit and take advantage of the world class skiing just up the road from us at Telliuride. We went through several ideas and designs only to be hampered by supply shortages and extreme inflation on the cost of building.
We had identified a company to build a tiny home for us. Unfortunately after putting a substantial deposit down they filed for Chapter 11. Needless to say this was a big hit for us. After weighing the options we determined the fastest path to recovering our loss was to build our own design.
I am a retired contractor so the skills were there and we would have the freedom to create exactly what we wanted and build it with the highest level of craftsmanship.
We begun the middle of July and have just completed and furnished it. Please take a look at it in our accommodations. It is available now!
We will have another post soon giving details on the process and specifications of the tiny home build. Stay tuned.
Summer Activities Dolores Colorado
Dolores, located in Southwest Colorado, offers a multitude of opportunities for summer activities. Everything that comes to my mind is outdoors, for good reason. The attraction is what you see outdoors; mountains, rivers, lakes, canyons. The activities in this part of the world are available four seasons of the year. They differ by season, because of the weather during the four seasons, but for the outdoor lover this part of the world can’t be beat. In a series of posts I have outlined some of the things to do, by the season. I have also listed some resources you can use for further research and planning. And of course if you need a great place to stay, please keep us in mind.
Summer
Hiking – One of the summer activities near Dolores Colorado is hiking. There are countless trails with trailheads an hour from our accommodations. To help you choose where to go, you will want to consider a few things:
- Weather – The summer weather can be dangerous in the Southwest Colorado Mountains or at the very least you can get soaked by a summer thunderstorm if you are still hiking too late in the afternoon.
- Your Conditioning – How far are you able to comfortably hike/walk?
- Altitude – Are you acclimated? Did you just come from sea level?
- Your Ability – Are you a seasoned hiker, a beginner or somewhere in between?
Answering these questions above will help to guide you to the right trail. If you are new to hiking and would like some pointers, please visit our article ‘Tips and Hacks for Beginning Hikers’. Also keep in mid that we offer a Guided Hiking Tour if would like some company or are new to the area.
A good resource for researching different hikes is AllTrails. AllTrails will provide critical information for you including; length of the hike, elevation gain, the type of route, access, directions, photos and reviews. Following are links to searches on AllTrails with some possibilities for you to explore.
Lower Altitude Hikes Near Dolores
Some of the results given are not lower altitude so please pay attention to that. Most of the lower elevation hikes given are in the Boggy Draw trail system. Boggy Draw is a beautiful area that sits above the town of Dolores. The trails meander through ponderosa pine forests, open meadows and canyons with views of the Dolores River Valley and Mcfee reservoir. Keep in mind the biggest activity in Boggy is mountain biking, so you will need to be alert and ready to share the trail.
Lizard Head Wilderness
A 45 minute drive from our accommodations will get you to Lizard Head pass which sits at about 10,000′. Everything is up from there so be prepared for the high altitude. The rewards though are fantastic! Most of these trails offer views of 13,000′ and 14,000′ peaks and some of these trails will get you up close and personal with the peaks. Timberline is around 12,000′ feet and many of the trails get above timberline so you can expect some good altitude gain. One hike that is a little more mild is Wilson Meadows Trail.
From the Dutton Side
There is a great trail, The Navajo Lake Trail, that is also part of the Lizard Head Wilderness. This trail head is accessed from FS 535 above Dutton Hot Springs. This is an out and back trail that is 9.5 miles with some serious elevation gain mostly towards the end of the hike as you climb up towards the lake. This trail offers possibilities to take a shorter milder hike. There are plenty of amazing views of the peaks, beautiful flowers in the meadows and at about 1.5 miles in you’ll hear the sound of some waterfalls that you can hike to.
Another trail from this side is the Kilpacker Trail.
On the Other Side of Lizard Head
One of our favorite hikes is Hope Lake.
This is a very popular trail and can be busy, much like the Blue Lakes trail over on the Dallas Divide. It is best hiked during the week. The distance to the lake is about 4.5 miles. The trail starts out pretty flat meandering through some nice forest then begins to climb as it switchbacks up toward timberline. Once at the lake, you can stay to the left and continue up the trail. This is a good way to avoid any people that stayed at the lake and the elevation of the trail gives a better vantage point for viewing the lake. If you want a little more, continue up the trail to the saddle that sits at 12,440′. There are beautiful views from up there.
Telluride
One of the great attractions for summer activities near Dolores Colorado is Telluride. The town offers great dining, window browsing and shopping. The Telluride Ski Resort offers many activities in the summer including the Telluride Bike Park.
We recommend driving to Mountain Village and jumping on the free gondola for a fun ride right down into town. The parking is usually much easier at the gondola parking garage. Helpful Hint – you will change gondolas at lift four. The next gondola has another station halfway up, stay on the gondola here if you want to go into town.
Mountain Biking
Southwest Colorado is a mecca for world class mountain biking. There are two primary systems that include several trail loops near our accommodations, Phil’s World near Cortez and Boggy Draw above the town of Dolores. Phil’s is known to be more technical while Boggy is mostly tame. Between the two you could ride several days on different trails before repeating. Scenery is amazing from both! There are other trails and trail systems nearby and I would recommend using Mountain Bike Project or Trailforks to discover all the possibilities. Both offer apps for your phone and are a great way to discover, research and navigate.
If you need any biking gear or maintenance, Kokopelli Bike Shop has locations both in Cortez and Dolores.
If you would like a tour or company on a Boggy Draw ride, remember we offer a guided mountain bike tour.
Dining
After your day out on the trails, Dolores offers some options for dining many with outdoor seating so you can enjoy the mild summer temperatures. One of our favorites is the Dolores River Brewery with great pizza, really good brews and live entertainment. Another one of our favorites is The Farm Bistro in Cortez where everything is fresh and sourced locally. Here is a link to Trip Advisor’s Dolores dining guide.
Winter Activities Dolores Colorado
Dolores, located in Southwest Colorado, offers a multitude of opportunities for winter activities. Everything that comes to my mind is outdoors, for good reason. The attraction is what you see outdoors; mountains, rivers, lakes, canyons. The activities in this part of the world are available four seasons of the year. They differ by season, because of the weather during the four seasons, but for the outdoor lover this part of the world can’t be beat. In a series of posts I have outlined some of the things to do, by the season. I have also listed some resources you can use for further research and planning. And of course if you need a great place to stay, please keep us in mind. We will have our winter accommodation ready for this winter.
Winter
Skiing! – I love skiing! I grew up in a family passionate about skiing. As I’m sure you know, Colorado has some of the best skiing in the world. The San Juan mountains of Southwest Colorado have some great terrain to ski and usually we have plenty of deep light snow. Keep in mind that the following resorts offer year-round activities as well. The following are ski areas nearby:
Resort Skiing – Closest
Telluride – Telluride is the closest to our accommodations. Telluride is a great mountain with terrain to suite the whole family. It is one of the most scenic locations I have ever known with jaw dropping views every direction you look. There are plenty of dining opportunities on the mountain, in town and in Mountain Village. It is convenient to get on the mountain from our location. When the roads are dry, you can be in the Mountain Village parking lot for the gondola in less than an hour. My favorite things about the mountain are The Plunge, all the hike to terrain and most of all – its hardly ever crowded.
Hesperus – Hesperus is a little. One old chair that services 60 acres of skiing with 700 feet of vertical. To date I have not skied here but I intend to. I have heard from friends that it is fun and the price is certainly right. Hesperus is about a 50 minute drive towards Durango from us.
A Little Further Away
Purgatory – Purgatory is about an hour and a half drive. Purgatory is up the road from the town of Durango on highway 550. I haven’t skied there in a number of years, mostly because I love Telluride so much! The mountain is wide across and offers a good variety of terrain. The width of the mountain does require some effort to get around. some have nicknamed it ‘Traverse-atory’. The catwalks can be a pain on a snowboard. They typically get great snowfall with plenty of powder days.
Wolf Creek – Wolf Creek is famous for early and plentiful snow fall. They are typically one of the first ski areas to open up. Last year they had 385″ of snow. It’s a fun mountain, though smaller compared to Telluride and Purgatory. It is also a good drive from here at 2 1/2 hours. It sits at the top of Wolf Creek Pass northeast of Pagosa Springs. I don’t frequent it but I have gone for the day when they opened in October just to make some early turns.
Silverton Mountain – This mountain is on my list. Located deep in the San Juans Silverton offers more of a backcountry experience. This is from their website:
“Imagine a place where the average total snowfall of over 400 inches exceeds the amount of daily visitors. Advanced and expert only riding, no groomers, no clearcut runs and a real mountain experience with plenty of adventure on tap. All thrills no frills.
Welcome to Silverton Mountain, Colorado. Here you will find amazing skiing in every direction and one chairlift perfectly located to deliver you to the goods.”
They also offer heli skiing and guided cat skiing.
Beyond the Resorts
Ski Touring and Heli Skiing – The San Juans have some great terrain for ski touring. Below is a search result for Guides that can keep you safe and provide the proper avalanche training. This is a dangerous sport. There are multiple fatalities every year around here, most involving experienced backcountry skiers. The terrain in the San Juans is incredibly steep and the variable snow conditions make them ripe for avalanches.
Cross Country and Skate Skiing – There are two groomed trails nearby, one at the top of Lizardhead Pass and another on the other side of the pass near Trout Lake. For Winter Activities near Dolores Colorado there are some trails in Boggy Draw, above the town of Dolores that are groomed.
Fat Tire Winter Mountain Biking
The trails in the Boggy Draw trail system get groomed for riding in the winter.
Snowmobile Tours
There is good opportunities for snowmobiling on the way and at the to of Lizardhead Pass. The link below is a search result of companies offering tours.
Snowshoeing – Many of the trails that offer such great hiking in summer and fall get buried in snow come winter and are still accessible to snowshoe. This is another Winter Activities near Dolores Colorado that can be dangerous due to variable weather conditions and avalanches. Only venture into the backcountry in winter if you have been trained and properly assess the risks.
Tips and Hacks for Beginner Hikers
Hiking is really just going for a walk on a trail but there are some variables that need consideration. Hiking can be so rewarding. Getting to spend time in nature is very beneficial for our physical and mental health. Being able to take in scenic views, experience the quiet of the forest and breathe in fresh mountain air is so wonderful. For the most part it’s free.