It has been nearly a year since our first trip up to Columbine Cabins. Robb + I headed up on a whim after a few friends recommended the area. Since then we’ve been up there four times, always in the winter. In the past we have opted for the more hard-to-access huts or yurts for our weekend getaways, but those are quick to book up in the middle of the winter. We decided to give the Columbine Cabins a try + have zero regrets!
So far we’ve made the trip north four times, often taking different groups of friends or our parents with us. What can I say…we love the solitude. It’s an excellent excuse to ditch your cellphone, curl up with a book + eat your way through the weekend.
A Weekend in the Honeymoon Cabin at Columbine Cabins in Clark, CO
We arrived late on a Friday night, as usual. The Columbine Cabins are about a 2.5 hour drive from home + we leave after work, getting to our cabin by 8pm or so. Courtesy of a road trip full of snacks we got to skip dinner + jump right into ‘do nothing’ mode…well, after Robb got the fire going!
It’s become a known fact that we have two very different views on what temperature a room should be — he’s usually all about a warm room while I prefer to hang out in a hoodie. For whatever reason that changes when we get into a situation where we have less control over the temperature. He’s fine being a bit chilly when winter camping or in a cabin dependent upon a wood fed stove. I’m not. I need to be almost too hot all the time. I have this weird fear that once it starts to get cold it won’t stop. Clearly I’m the logically sound one here…
Oh, yea…that’s the cabin we stayed in! We opted for the one room ‘honeymoon’ cabin for this trip up to the cabins. I actually avoided this cabin the first time we came up, simply because the name seemed way too presumptuous for our first road trip as a dating couple. I’m more okay with it now…but also, we are running out of two-person cabins to stay in!
It is an adorable cabin with a full oven/stove, toaster, coffee maker + all sorts of modern kitchen necessities. Yet it was still rugged + unfinished. My favorite part of many cabins here at Columbine Cabins is how rustic they are. They’re obviously very clean + well maintained…but still authentic to their historic feel!
My second favorite part of staying in the Columbine Cabins is the food. I’m not sure why, but I extra super-duper love cooking in the cabins. Meals are a highlight to my days up in the cabins + I always end up bringing way too much food. I can’t help myself. We tend to sleep in then take on a hefty breakfast before heading outdoors. This trip was no different.
It was early afternoon by the time we finished up breakfast + convinced ourselves to put our books down. Yea, we’re exactly that exciting — rather than get up early to earn our turns on splitboards we opted to sleep in, read books + go on a low-key hike. We’re losing our adrenaline driven ways + I’m not too sure how I feel about that.
Hiking at Pearl Lake State Park in Clark, CO
Our hike took us to Pearl Lake as the road to Steamboat Lake appeared to be closed for construction. There were a few semi-obvious trails but before long we were plowing through snow on a mission to scope out the campground. Aside from a few yurts, the area was closed down for the season…but that didn’t stop us. We tromped around the lake throwing rocks at the ice + a rogue ball for Max. Like I said, it was a pretty low-key hike. I’m pretty sure we were on paved road most of the time, but it was hidden by about a foot of untouched snow so I’m pretending it was at least a dirt 4WD road!
We talked ourselves back to the cabin simply because we were ready to eat again. Like the grown adults we are we had packed the fixings for grilled cheese with spaghettios. I mean, isn’t eating whatever you want the actual beauty of being an adult?! Yea, probably.
Shortly after cleaning up dinner it was time to venture over to the lodge to check out the festivities. We had unintentionally booked our stay during the annual lighting of the tree get together. Neither of us celebrate Christmas, but we can appreciate how the holiday brings people together…plus, there were cookies! It was actually really refreshing to see the community come together with fresh-baked cookies, DIY ornaments + general chatter. We hung back a bit, watching it all happen.
The Tree Lighting Ceremony at Columbine Cabins
Once it was dark everyone gathered around the Christmas tree at the entrance near the General Store to watch it light up for the season. Decorated with traditional ornaments as well as homemade ornaments it was quite the sight to see! After it was lit we wandered back to our cabin to listen to the caroling while we read our books. Homebodies, I know…I blame Robb!
As usual, it was a near perfect trip. We spent a solid 48 hours without any cell service, I read an entire book [The Martian] + we ate just enough home cooked food to top off our winter insulation! I did manage to burn a batch of cookies…so I guess we’ll have to return next month for a do-over. See, I’m full of perfectly sound logic!
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