Wilderness Experience

The Call of

The Broadmoor Wilderness Experience properties—Cloud Camp, The Ranch at Emerald Valley, and Fly Fishing Camp—offer the ultimate Colorado outdoor experience.

BY GREG TASKER

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One

of my favorite places in the world is a rustic, charming cabin perched atop a mountain in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. It’s not just any cabin, and it’s not just any mountain. I’m talking about Cloud Camp, one of The Wilderness Experience retreats of The Broadmoor. As you would expect of any Broadmoor property, the cabin is well-appointed with rich, colorful furnishings, adhering to a Western motif. But it’s so much more than lodging.

Among Cloud Camp’s many delights is its top-of-the-world setting. Cloud Camp crowns Cheyenne Mountain, 3,000 feet above the expansive, well-maintained grounds of The Broadmoor’s main campus. Cabins are tucked amid pines and aspen trees, immersing guests in the natural landscape and removing almost all intrusions of modern life.

Like most people, I sometimes have trouble letting go of vacation to-do lists. Cloud Camp makes that easy. Conveniently, the cabins have no kitchens and no televisions (there’s one in the Main Lodge). Breakfast and lunch are served buffet-style, while dinner is enjoyed communally around an expansive table in the Great Hall of the Main Lodge. There’s no fussing in the kitchen— unless you’d like to partake in the daily afternoon Cooking Club, a glass of wine in hand—and no dishes to clean up. Daily activities including mule rides, pickleball, disc golf, archery, hiking, yoga, and more make it easy to stay active—or just plop yourself on a rocking chair on your cabin’s front porch or the wraparound deck of the lodge. It’s that easy; the scenery is as mesmerizing as any book.

The wilderness has never been so relaxing, comfortable and inviting.

Luckily, The Broadmoor offers more than one all-inclusive Wilderness Experience. The others are equally secluded, and each offers its own style and amenities. The Ranch at Emerald Valley, for example, boasts horseback riding, fly fishing, biking, hiking, and

Play All Day

Guests of Cloud Camp have the entire wilderness as their playground, and the allinclusive activities make the ease of enjoyment part of the luxury. Daily options include: • Guided hikes • Mule rides • Archery • Pickleball • Disc golf • Yoga • Cooking Club • Watercolor painting • Arts and crafts • Lawn games and more

more. Fly Fishing Camp, as you might expect, is ideal for casting a line and reeling in a brook trout in the company of an expert guide. Any of these boutique properties are ideal for families, couples, or solitary adventurers.

Cloud Camp

A PEACEFUL MOUNTAINTOP RETREAT

Cloud Camp is located on the site of historic Cheyenne Lodge, which opened in 1926. Built by Broadmoor founder Spencer Penrose in the style of America’s National Park lodges, the secluded retreat included a restaurant, four guest rooms, and a third-floor suite for Mr. Penrose. Guests could make the trek up the Cheyenne Mountain Highway on the backs of sure-footed mules—a tradition that continues to this day!

While the original lodge is long gone, Cloud Camp’s Main Lodge is built on its foundation. Today, guests can hike to the camp, ride a mule up the roadway, or choose to arrive in a chauffeured Cadillac Escalade.

My first trip to Cloud Camp was short—just a night—but enough to entice me to return. I remember not wanting to leave my cabin, but I was persuaded to join a three-mile guided hike with Ranger Rocky Shockley. We descended on a narrow path, past garage-size granite boulder outcrops, and through a forest of quaking aspens and pines. The views of valley and mountain peaks were mesmerizing.

“People are speechless when they get to Cloud Camp,” Shockley says. “The ride up primes them for the experience. They arrive with a smile on their face and say it can’t get any better. And then they see Pikes Peak and these views.”

Accommodations are fifteen comfortably appointed one- and two-bedroom guest cabins nestled into the forested summit, with a pair of outdoor hot tubs located nearby. Additionally, the Main Lodge offers seven guest rooms, including a honeymoon suite.

The lofty Fire Tower Suite, perched on a promontory high above the camp, offers the ultimate in privacy with sleeping quarters on its first floor, private hot tub, a wraparound deck, and second-story study that affords 360-degree views.

“It’s an exceptional experience,” says Cloud Camp guest Carrie Kaveney, noting that she and her husband, Kevin, have stayed twice in the Fire Tower Suite. “It’s close quarters, but the views are exceptional, and we had our own hot tub. Staying there was a standout experience for us.”

The 8,000-square-foot Main Lodge features a great room with two massive stone fireplaces. The lodge is decorated with Westernthemed objects and art. A highlight is actor Kevin Costner’s costume from the film “Dances with Wolves." The wraparound deck invites guests to kick back and relax and revel in the natural splendor of the surrounding woods and mountain peaks.

Lafe and Debra Bailey are regulars at Cloud Camp, first visiting five years ago and returning every year since. Their intent has been to check out other Wilderness Experience properties, but they have been unable to pull themselves away from Cloud Camp, “our first love,” Lafe Bailey says.

.ESSENTIALS. CLOUD CAMP

The Broadmoor’s Cloud Camp is available late May through October. Guests staying at the all-inclusive retreat have all the fabulous Broadmoor amenities at their disposal, with regularly scheduled shuttle service to the main campus via Cadillac Escalades. Visit Broadmoor. com or call (855) 498-7558 for information and reservations.

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“We’ve pretty much gone up and stayed there during the duration of our visit, which has been as long as ten days. It was unanimous during our second visit: We don’t want to leave Cloud Camp,” says Bailey, co-CEO and president of sales and corporate development for a Kansas manufacturer of processing systems for food and animal feed. “It’s just been wonderful. We love everything about it.”

The Baileys like to gather at Cloud Camp with their family—their son and three daughters, as well as spouses and children.

An abundance of free time at Cloud Camp is a big sell for the Baileys, who live in northeast Kansas. They’re content to relax, linger over meals, play board games and just enjoy being together.

“It sounds old-fashioned, but we just hang out together,” Bailey says. “As we were raising our kids, we placed an emphasis on family time. Sometimes we just play games together. It’s a lot of eating together. We made mealtime a priority. The food is exceptional at Cloud Camp.”

Meals are served communally in the Great Room. The menu is seasonally driven, but expect to find dishes like Maine lobster bisque, Rocky Mountain trout, and decadent desserts. The sweettea fried chicken is a perennial favorite of the Baileys.

In the evenings, the Baileys gather around a fire pit, roast s’mores, and recount the day’s adventures with other guests. The family has met some “incredible people” over the years, some of whom they keep in contact with, he says.

“Some families are all about getting together and going 100 miles an hour, doing this and doing that,” Bailey says. “We’ve always enjoyed nature and being a part of it. It’s just so relaxing, and you can really unwind. It’s that there is nothing to really do that is so captivating.”

The Ranch at Emerald Valley

A SECLUDED MOUNTAIN GETAWAY

The Ranch at Emerald Valley, which opened in 2013, boasts the distinction of being the first Broadmoor Wilderness Experience property.

Located about thirty minutes from The Broadmoor, The Ranch at Emerald Valley lies in the heart of a lush valley at the foot of Mount Vigil, surrounded by more than 100,000 acres of Pike National Forest. Broadmoor founder Spencer Penrose purchased the property in 1923 and created the Pikes Peak Camping and Mountain Trails Association, a subscription membership club with

.ESSENTIALS. THE RANCH AT EMERALD VALLEY

The Broadmoor’s Ranch at Emerald Valley is available May through October. Accommodations are ten one- and two-bedroom guest cabins, with a maximum of 32 guests at any given time. Guests staying at the all-inclusive Ranch can also enjoy the activities and amenities available at the main resort. Visit Broadmoor. com or call (855) 498-7558 for information and reservations.

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cabins and modern services. He called the ranch Camp Vigil, after the mountain.

Today, fittingly, The Ranch at Emerald Valley is very much an updated version of what Mr. Penrose envisioned all those years ago. The one-, two-, and three-bedroom cabins are outfitted with comfortable furnishings and modern amenities like handcrafted textiles and Western-themed art. Amenities include gas fireplaces, and heated floors in the bedrooms and bathrooms.

Kevin and Carrie Kaveney, who live in Colorado Springs, were among the first guests to visit The Ranch in the summer of 2014, with their two school-aged children, Conor and Carson.

“When you live in Colorado, there’s a lot you can do outdoors, but they make The Ranch such a genuine experience. Our kids were young at the time, but we all really enjoyed it,” said Carrie Kaveney, a former marketing manager for an IT consulting firm and now a stayat-home mom. “The staff was so accommodating. We were really impressed.”

The family embraced the myriad activities at The Ranch. Their long list of adventures included archery, fly fishing, canoeing, and horseback riding. They also enjoyed the hot tub and sitting around the fire pits in the evening.

“Seeing the kids being able to catch some of their first fish was just awesome,” Kaveney recalls. “It truly piqued their interest in fishing.”

Meals are served in the Main Lodge. Unlike the other Wilderness Experience properties, families and couples can dine alone at separate tables. The Ranch at Emerald Valley offers buffet-style cookouts every Wednesday and Saturday nights, with lobster tails, prime rib, trout, fried chicken, salads, homemade cobbler, and more, as well as live music

“The food was absolutely amazing,” Kaveney says.

The all-inclusive Ranch features two private ponds for fishing and canoeing, and also offers guests a variety of activities, including horseback riding, guided hiking and mountain biking, and archery.

What strikes most visitors, says Ranch Manager Aaron Kuper, is the mountain valley setting, surrounded by Pikes Peak National Forest, the two lakes on the property, and the cabins.

“This is the picture-perfect postcard of Colorado,” Kuper says.

FLY-FISHING LODGE

Fly Fishing Camp

AN ANGLER’S PARADISE

The Orvis-endorsed Fly Fishing Camp is the farthest from The Broadmoor, about 75 miles west of the main campus, along the border of the 125,000-acre Lost Creek Wilderness. Reservations with Gray Line, The Broadmoor’s transportation partner, are recommended for travel to and from Fly Fishing Camp.

A five-mile stretch of Colorado’s famed Tarryall River runs through the camp, which was once a homestead with cabins in the early decades of the last century before The Broadmoor purchased the property. You can learn or perfect your fly fishing skills here under the guidance and tutelage of professional guides. Wild brown, cutthroat, rainbow, tiger, and brook trout can be found in the river. It’s all catch and release here.

This idyllic landscape of timbered canyons, grassy meadows, and winding bends is reminiscent of A River Runs Through It, Norman Maclean’s novella about family relationships and fly fishing.

Seven of the original cabins, which date back to the 1920s, have been reclaimed and reimagined in The Broadmoor style. The cabins boast two double or two single beds. Wooden-hewn beams, log furniture and accent pillows embroidered with rainbow trout accentuate the camp décor.

The Main Lodge serves as the hub of activity and is where guests enjoy communal meals at the large dining room table. Breakfast

The Ultimate SevenDay Adventure

The Broadmoor Wilderness Adventure Seven-Night Package includes two nights at The Ranch at Emerald Valley, two nights at Cloud Camp, two nights at Fly Fishing Camp, one night at The Broadmoor, and airport transfers from the Denver or Colorado Springs airports. Guests also enjoy chauffeured transportation to and from the resort and between our Broadmoor Wilderness Experience properties. Available May through October 2022, rates start at $7,000 based on single or double occupancy, not including taxes and fees.

is a hearty affair, complete with eggs, bacon, sausage, omelets, potatoes, fresh fruit, yogurt, and specially prepared granola. Lunch is more casual, and guests are encouraged to eat outside. Typical dinners include trout, steaks, chops, fresh vegetables, salads, and freshly baked bread. The Main Lodge is also a place to relax after a day spent outdoors. Guests often gather around the large fireplace and share fish stories. They also congregate outside at the fire pit.

Fly Fishing Camp offers more than fishing, however. Guests can also enjoy hiking, bird watching, horseshoes, and the opportunity to see some of Colorado’s most spectacular wildlife, including black bear, deer, and elk.

.ESSENTIALS. FLY FISHING CAMP

The Orvis-endorsed, all-inclusive Fly Fishing Camp is available for overnight stays, family reunions, and meeting retreats from May through late October. All equipment is provided. Visit Broadmoor.com or call (855) 498-7558 for information and reservations.

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