Unique site offers educational adventure in the Colorado wilderness

By David Young

Sometimes the best part of a day away from home is the lodging. There’s no more unique place to spend a night than a yurt under the starry Colorado night skies. The Seven Utes Yurt in Northern Colorado offers a one-of-a-kind wilderness escape.

Seven Utes Yurt sits at 9,500 feet in elevation on Cameron Pass in Northern Colorado. The remote site is roughly a three-hour drive from the Denver metro area. Located off Highway 14, it has a parking lot for visitors that is plowed in the winter, making it possible to access year-round.

It's built for any season. Summer activities include amazing hiking trails, fishing, biking, and four-wheeling. In winter and spring, it is a prime basecamp for backcountry skiers, split boarders and snowshoers when the surrounding majestic peaks.

If you don’t know how to backcountry ski, the good news is that Seven Utes Yurt is also home to the Colorado Mountain School (CMS). Russell Hunter, owner and CEO of the CMS, built the Seven Utes Yurt in 2021 as a combination adventure basecamp, mountain lodge, and outdoor education center. According to their website, CMS has an agreement with Colorado Parks and Wildlife requiring them to offer education and recreation with every yurt reservation.

“It worked well in winter to do a lot of avalanche training and skiing out there,” Hunter said. “People get some creature comforts of home like a nice kitchen and they can sleep under a roof, and then can start branching out to the outdoors.”

The large 16-person yurt is at the base of Cameron Peak in the Medicine Bow Range, which features steep chutes, wide open bowls and tree skiing. Adjacent to the yurt is State Forest State Park, comprising 71,000 acres of mountain terrain.

“That area is a hidden gem. It does not get anywhere near the traffic (other areas do),” Hunter said. “We teach courses on (Cameron) pass. You can also tour out the door into the Seven Utes area and make it to the Nokhu Crags. Both are accessible from the yurt.”

Visitors can view sunrises and sunsets from a massive 64-foot deck that surrounds the yurt and overlooks the Michigan River.

Inside, 16 people can sleep comfortably in roll-away cots. There is also space available in the loft above the main area, where a few more people could sleep.

The yurt has a kitchen with a large oven, a stove top and plenty of utensils. There is propane and a wood stove that keeps the insulated space warm.

CMS has been around since 1981, teaching people how to rock climb, backcountry ski, and now backpack and hike in the summer. Hunter said they attract everyone from families and school groups to young professionals and retired people who stay at the yurt.