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The gurgle of Geneva Creek, a tributary of the South Platte River that flows from Guanella Pass, is temporarily drowned out by the sharp hiss of water hitting hot rocks. I sit back in the wooden barrel sauna, close my eyes, and think about my boyfriend’s question while he pours another splash on the stones.
Do you think you’re an extrovert or an introvert?
We’ve had this conversation before. I’ve always landed firmly in the introvert camp: My ideal Friday night involves a bath, a book, and silence. But my memories from the previous day make me hesitate this time.
After less than 24 hours at Tumbling River Ranch—a recently renovated, 80-year-old Western resort tucked high in Pike National Forest—I could tell you something about every other guest. At the communal dinner table last night, I swapped stories with the young woman sitting next to me about the times we both worked as nannies. Later, a couple helped my boyfriend and me compare flight prices for an upcoming trip to London. I even “yeehawed” (loudly) during guitarist Randall McKinnon’s rendition of “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky” around the evening campfire. Not exactly the hallmarks of an introvert.
Usually, lots of small talk and forced proximity leave me feeling drained. But when I fell into the plush king-size bed in our rustic-chic cabin at the end of the night, I felt rejuvenated. “It feels like your friend invited you to their family’s mountain home for the weekend,” one guest said to me on a morning hike up Burning Bear Trail off of Guanella Pass. “You don’t have to worry about anything.”
Not only does the staff at the luxury dude ranch cater to your every whim, but there’s also a surprising sense of instant comfort at Tumbling River Ranch. As soon as we pulled up to the property, the staff promptly whisked away our bags and my car before showing us to our cabin. They encouraged us to settle in, explore the ranch at our leisure, and head to the lodge for our blueberry whiskey welcome drinks when we were ready to kick-start cocktail hour. Despite only re-opening a few weeks earlier, the ranch already seemed to operate seamlessly—likely because it already has 80 years of hospitality under its belt.
Ernie and Meezie Keyes established the Grant hideaway in 1946, but after eight decades of helping guests escape the grind of everyday life, the property was due for a facelift. New owners Heidi and Jasen Mark, who bought the ranch about three years ago, spent the past two (and $8 million) renovating the 21-room property, updating the interiors while preserving the log-cabin exteriors.
The renovation, which debuted to the public in late February, included redesigning and modernizing each of the guest rooms and cabins on the property without erasing their soul. You’ll find remnants of the past sprinkled throughout the ranch: The shelves in the lodge are lined with artifacts, such as old cholera medicine bottles, from the town of Grant, and the Trading Post teems with vintage farming equipment. The Tumbling River team tapped Avon-based Resort Design Architects for the task, with interior design touches from Denver’s Carma House of Design. The duo left much of the exteriors untouched, preserving the rustic look of the log cabins and ranch house, which dates back to 1936. The fact that the buildings look like they’re from the set of a John Wayne film makes the insides all the more surprising.
Our cabin, named Hogan, boasted a cozy living room with an electric stovepipe fireplace, a bedroom adorned with Western-themed oil paintings, and a bathroom featuring a shower that felt like a work of art, thanks to blue and black zellige tile.
That first night, I shirked the shower—and my usual bedtime—in favor of a soak in the stately clawfoot tub with my Kindle. (I couldn’t completely abandon my Friday night ritual.) My mind wandered from the plot of my thriller to the characters I’d gotten to know on the ranch all day. And I was surprised to find that I was eager to reconvene with them tomorrow.
We were awakened by soft sunlight filtering through the white chiffon curtains and a thermos of hot coffee outside our door. Before breakfast, we donned our bathing suits and made our way down to the cedar hot tubs and wooden barrel sauna that line Geneva Creek, the “tumbling river” the resort is named for. We thought about kickstarting the morning with a cold plunge in the river but decided against it when we saw the thin layer of ice coating the surface. Instead, we let the crisp March morning air serve as our cold therapy while we quickly shed our robes and hustled into the sauna.
It’s here, sitting across from each other, dripping in sweat, that my boyfriend poses the introvert/extrovert question to me. We’ve been together for about two years, and yet he still doesn’t seem to believe me when I say that I’m an introvert. I can’t help but wonder if his timing is intentional—like he knows the past day might make me reconsider.
“I think I can be a little bit of both,” I tell him. He gives me a knowing smirk.
The rest of the day seems to drive his point home. We and 10 other guests pile into a Sprinter van and head up Guanella Pass for a mellow hike with director of guest relations John Collie and his ranch-dog-in-training, Augusta.
I spend most of the hike peppering Collie with questions about his childhood. He grew up just down the road in Evergreen and would often spend weekends camping and four-wheeling with his father on Guanella Pass. So, when the opportunity arose to return, he couldn’t say yes to the Tumbling River Ranch job fast enough.
“I find it like a whole full-circle moment,” he says. “I know all of these landmarks. I know all of these areas. Within the first two days of arriving, I did a guided hike to Coors falls—a hike that I did as a kid. So it just felt like getting into my backyard again.”
Collie can’t help but share personal anecdotes and little-known history about the area as we walk. By the end of the hike, it feels like it’s my backyard, too, and Collie a long-lost friend.
Although most of us are still stuffed from the morning’s hearty meal—fluffy waffles with whipped cream and fruit, bacon crisped to perfection, and huevos rancheros topped with tender rib-eye—it’s time for lunch, and the moment we step back into the lodge, the intoxicating smell of fish roasting over a fire tells me I’ll make room.
The lodge is the heartbeat of Tumbling River Ranch and received one of the most extensive updates in the renovation. The centerpiece of the two-story structure is the dining room, where massive picture windows frame the 12,000-foot Twin Cone Peaks on one side. On the other, an open kitchen with a live fire vies with the view for my attention. Chef Alex Calderón turns out dishes like fire-roasted branzino with shaved fennel, water crest, Castelfranco radicchio, and a citrus vinaigrette; tortellini in brodo with duck fat, rainbow chard, and black truffle; and dry-aged rib-eye drizzled with au poivre sauce.
Despite our earlier whines about “still being full,” my tablemates and I manage to dust off an entire branzino and bowl of saffron rice pilaf. While some guests mosey off to their cabins for a feast-fueled siesta, I settle into an Adirondack chair on the lodge’s balcony, crack open an Odell’s Lagerado, and get a little writing done in a setting far more inspiring than my cubicle.
In the summer, this is the part of the stay when guests can choose one (or more) of the activities the ranch offers: horseback riding, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, fly-fishing, and more (all for an additional fee). Thanks to the recent infrastructure updates, the resort now operates year-round, so in other seasons, guests can try cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and even downhill skiing in nearby Breckenridge. When the recovery room and wellness area are complete (likely within the next few weeks), guests will be able to book a massage or take a yoga class. But since it’s shoulder season and the staff is still putting the finishing touches on the property, we spend the afternoon playing lawn games, sipping wine, and mourning the impending end of our stay.
The evening’s fire feels bittersweet. Collie cooks popcorn over the fire while another staff member teaches us the art of beer poking (sticking a red-hot rod into a pint to caramelize the sugars). I’m not sure if it’s the third glass of wine or the melancholy Noah Kahan song playing through the speakers, but I suddenly find myself missing these people and this place I haven’t even left yet.
“We want people to feel like it’s their family cabin,” Collie says. “We really want people to feel like they’re family.”
For me, Tumbling River Ranch achieved just that. The experience strikes a careful balance: polished but not stuffy, social but never forced, with seamless hospitality that always felt authentic. I’m still an introvert. But in the right place—somewhere that feels like a family cabin—other sides of me show up. Like the one that wants to “yeehaw” during a country song.
Tumbling River Ranch is located about 60 miles from Denver (drive time: 1 hour and 15 minutes) at 3715 County Road 62, Grant. Nightly rates (inclusive of food, drinks, and some activities) start at $1,180 in the summer and $840 in the winter for double occupancy. An additional nightly charge of $250 (adults) and $150 (children) per additional guest applies.
