Getaways

Heart of the Rockies

Colorado’s Winding River Resort offers serene rides through endless forests of aspen and evergreens.

Article and Photos by Kent & Charlene Krone

For horse-owning adventurers, Winding River Resort in north-central Colorado is an equestrian paradise. Here, resort wrangler Marcia Dickerson crosses the North Fork of the Colorado River.

Deep in the heart of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains lies the Winding River Resort. Located in north-central Colorado outside the historic mountain town of Grand Lake, this scenic haven sits along the North Fork of the Colorado River, and borders Rocky Mountain National Park and Arapaho National Forest. Arapaho National Forest is managed jointly with the Roosevelt National Forest and the Pawnee National Grassland. Together, they’re known as ARP and comprise 1,730,603 acres.

Rocky Mountain National Park comprises 265,761 acres that provide varied terrain, including wooded forests, mountain tundra, and the

Continental Divide. It also contains the headwaters of the famed Colorado River. Approximately 349 miles of trails are in the park; horses are allowed on roughly 80 percent of them.

Note: The 2020 East Troublesome Fire created some unstable areas in this region. Check the websites before you go, and ask resort wranglers for current trail information.

Long Peak, at 14,256 feet elevation, is the highest peak in the park. It was named after Stephen Long, who visited the area in 1820. However, Enos Mills was the man ultimately responsible for the national park designation. A naturalist, writer, and conservationist, Mills lobbied for legislation to make this region a national park. His vision became a reality under President Woodrow Wilson in 1915.

Equestrian Paradise

For horse-owning adventurers, Winding River Resort is an equestrian paradise. Owned by Wes and Marcia House, the resort boasts 150 spacious recreational-vehicle sites, 24 corrals for guest horses, lodge rooms, tent sites, and cabins. Showers, restrooms, and laundry facilities are also onsite.

Wes has a Tennessee Walking Horse; Marcia owns a Missouri Fox Trotter. Thirty-five gentle horses and a baby-animal farm are also on the premises. Children are encouraged to pet and help feed the baby animals.

We pulled our living-quarters trailer into an RV site with two corrals. Nate and Cowboy, our Missouri Fox Trotter geldings, seemed pleased at the size of their accommodations.

From the flower-filled entryway to the modern bathhouse, Winding River is immaculately maintained. Our stay here was a comfortable, happy experience.

Arapaho National Forest

Ride in any direction from Winding River, and you’ll find gorgeous country to explore. Wes will also rent you a six-horse, bumper-pull trailer to access farther-flung trailheads. Before you set out on the trails, pick up a map from the resort’s gift shop.

If your horse tends to be spooky, take note: Backpackers frequently use llamas as pack stock. In addition to the backcountry horse campgrounds, there are three campgrounds dedicated solely to campers with llamas.

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Top to bottom: The Krones’ living-quarters trailer at one of Winding River Resort’s spacious recreational vehicle sites. The Krones’ Missouri Fox Trotter geldings, Nate and Cowboy, relaxing in their corrals, which were conveniently located near the Krones’ campsite. The view of the camping area from the trail going west into the Arapaho National Forest.

Top to bottom: Charlene Krone, aboard Nate, enters Big Meadows while following Tonahutu Creek. Kent Krone rides Cowboy up North Inlet Creek toward Cascade Falls. Charlene Krone along the North Fork of the Colorado River on the return trip from Big Meadows.

We went on three different rides from our camp at Winding River Resort. First, we went on a small, exploratory loop ride into Arapaho National Forest, which borders the resort. To do this loop, go past the snowmobile rental shed, through a gate, and take the immediate first right. The trail winds uphill and passes by numerous slash piles.

Sadly, portions of this area have been hard hit by beetle kill. To aid recovery, dead trees have been cut down and piled; they’re burned as conditions allow.

This loop will take you to long-distance viewing points. It then intersects with the incoming trail; you head back the way you came in. Depending on the time of year, you may see lots of sweet wild raspberries.

If you want to continue riding on this side of camp, follow the all-terrain-vehicle trails that head up the hill and branch off in various directions. You can do large loop rides and figure-eight loops.

Big Meadows

For our second adventure, we did the Big Meadows loop ride in Rocky Mountain National Park. To get to this trailhead, exit the Winding River campground, turn right at the Rocky Mountain National Park sign, and cross the bridge. At the three-way split, stay to the right, and look for the Kawuneeche Visitor Center.

Stay to the right of the visitor center, and ride past it. Within a half mile or so, you’ll come to an intersection. Go left to get to Big Meadows. If you turn right, you’ll head down to Grand Lake.

Nate and Cowboy thought this was a pleasant, easy trail. The 700-foot elevation gain to the meadows was a gradual incline on a mostly soft, shaded trail.

Arriving at Big Meadows, we saw where the word “Big” came from. The meadows are huge! They’re about two miles long and one mile wide, much like an expansive, emerald sea hidden in the mountains. Lush, green grass swayed in the wind. In the distance, Nakai Peak, at 12,216 feet above sea level, stretched skyward.

There’s a hitching post here, but we didn’t use it. Nate and Cowboy have trained us to hobbles! If there’s good grass, we hobble them, so we can all enjoy lunching together.

After Big Meadows, five miles remain on the loop back to Winding River. We left the meadows on the Green Mountain Trail, traveling mostly downhill.

At the bottom, cross the highway, go about a half- >>

mile to a junction, and veer right. Instead of a roadside trail, this trail follows the Colorado River and will lead back to the resort.

One joy of trail riding is viewing wildlife in a natural setting. This last portion of trail gave us two special glimpses of animals in their natural environment.

Our first thrill was a beautiful chocolate-colored moose. We stopped along the trail to watch him raise up his large head from the river where he was browsing for underwater foliage. The moose didn’t bother our boys. Nate and Cowboy thought he was a very large horse with a strange-looking head!

We then watched two geese shepherding their newly hatched babies—tiny balls of animated fluff—up river. The parents used their bodies to keep the tiny ones from getting separated and swept downstream.

Cascade Falls

On our last ride into the park, we rode seven miles to Cascade Falls. Begin this ride as though you were going to Big Meadows. However, after the visitor center, turn right at the intersection instead of left.

This will take you to the Tonahutu/North Inlet Trailheads. You’ll see two parking lots separated by a bridge. Turn left at the first parking lot. This puts you on the North Inlet trail; Cascade Falls is approximately five miles up.

Pastoral landscapes line the first mile or so of an old trail/road that winds through private property. A wooden rail fence encloses a matched pair of gorgeous dappled-gray Percherons. We stopped to admire them.

A small cabin marked the end of private land. The trail began to wind and climb up along a mountainside. Cliffs were festooned with greenery and boulders of golden hues.

Beware! Before the falls, the trail narrows, and there are sheer drop-offs. Not a place to meet backpackers coming the other way!

A low, rumbling growl signals the falls are nearby. An intersection with a stock trail to the left loops back to the falls. Friends had advised us to go no farther, so we walked from there to admire the falls tumbling down over the rocks. USR

Seasoned equestrian travelers Kent and Charlene Krone combine their interest in photojournalism with a passion for horses. They enjoy sharing their horseback adventures and equestrian-travel tips with fellow enthusiasts. Top to bottom: Charlene Krone rounds a bend as she nears Cascade Falls. Cascade Falls, located at the end of a 7-mile ride from Winding River Resort. The sun sets over the heart of the Rockies.