Rental cabin(s) for large family get-together in the mountains of Colorado?
 

I'm thinking of trying to organize a family get-together for August 2005. Our families will be coming from Tulsa, Denver, and New Mexico. Does anyone know where I should look to find a large cabin or collection of cabins that would accomodate three family units with young kids plus the grandparents (15 people total)? We'd like something in the mountains, away from the cities, but not too rustic with the little ones. We'd probably stay a week or so.

One place that caters to family reunions like yours is Snow Mountain Ranch, just north of Winter Park, CO. It is a YMCA of the Rockies property. It's a beautiful setting, and has two log cabins built for large groups, with four bedrooms, huge kitchen and great room. Also lots and lots of other cabins and housing to choose from. There are many options for recreation there, too-- horses, hiking, biking, mini-golf, crafts house, indoor courts, tennis courts, etc. It's an easy drive from there to Grand Lake, too. My family has spent lots of time there as our cabin is across the road. We love it there. Very homey, friendly, a great value. But, it does fill up quickly, so for this coming August you might already be too late. But it's worth a try if it sounds good to you. I'm sure they'd have a website.
Another, more upscale place is the C Lazy U Ranch. It's a bit further north, between Granby and Grand Lake. Also a great setting. More a resort ranch, much more expensive, but a very nice place for families. I think they have a rule about nannies required for really young kids, though. Try their website, too.
Ok, one more-- Grand Lake Lodge in Grand Lake, CO. A bit more rustic, but a historic and lovely place. Great restaurant with porch overlooking the awesome lake. Individual family cabins set in the woods. Also books up quickly.
Have fun looking!

Great synopsis Maureen. I just wanted to add that YMCA of the Rockies also has a location in Estes Park.

We have used White Cloud Lodging for properties in Breckenridge. We had a beautiful, huge home on the golf course. They have homes/condos of all sizes.

Their website is www.white-cloud.com.

Breck is a great place for multi-generational get togethers. We will be there for x-mas this year!

Their website is www.white-cloud.com.

For Christmas-New Years 1999 we rented this house, along with the attached apartment:

http://www.piecemakers.com/pm/co_b_b.html

It is in Ouray, CO not far from Telluride. The setting is wonderful, though I've only seen it in winter. The house is quite large. There is a living/family room area in the house and another in the apartment so if you rent both you could have an adult area to gather when the kids want to play indoors. The kitchen and pantry are very large and worked well for cooking for our large group.

I don't remember the details of the bedrooms, but there were many beds. I know that there were 4 adult couples plus one adult single and each of those groups had a private bedroom. There was one large room that on this trip was shared by two brothers and their sister and the brothers' wives. This was not an ideal arrangement, but it sounds like you won't have as many adult groups as we did, and this room may be able to hold all the kids in one place. It has its own bathroom.

Anyway, Ouray was a nice town, it's a nice drive up to Silverton (very small historic town) or Telluride, and there's plenty of space for outdoor activities.

Thanks all. I have a query in to Snow Mountain Ranch, and I'll check out all these other suggestions, too.

Also in Estes Park, check out Glacier Lodge (800) 523-3920 and Pine Tree Cabins (800) 484-9523 (code 6346).The Mohawk cabin, the Shawnee cabin and the Anasazi are next to Pine Tree cabins and handled by the woman who is the proprieter of Pine Tree Cabins, though the other 3 are individually owned. I think Pine Tree Cabins itself includes 5 or 6 cabins, sleeping from 2 to 6 people. They are well kept up and clean. Some of these can be viewed at vrbo.com. If you're going in early August you could have a problem finding something as that's peak season. Good luck!

Sue