Cozy Cabin Escape in Jefferson

Colorado had a string of snowstorms in February, the kind of snowfall that whites out the entire front range for days. For some reason, not being able to see the mountains for an extended period of time tends to put me in a weird place. So after a few weeks of this, I found myself sinking into an all-too-familiar winter funk; the kind that suddenly makes you question your life choices while longingly staring at pictures of sunny beaches.

I didn’t realize how quickly I was slipping into a low-level seasonal depression until, over a mediocre warm beer at a trendy taco bar in Boulder, I told my best friend that I was feeling distant from Colorado. That I was questioning if I was fully happy here and if I could ever be fully happy somewhere that had this kind of winter.

We had both moved to Colorado at the same time three years ago in part to escape the bitter cold winters of Chicago; I had spent enough time complaining about the weather there to last a lifetime. Those long winter months were a major factor in what eventually propelled me to make a massive life change, leading me here to my new home state of Colorado. But here I was again, falling into the same winter blues trap. I had to admit to the truth that was staring me in the face…

Colorado winter wasn’t to blame for getting me down, it was me.

Wherever you go, there you are, and all that. I was forgetting why I moved here. Winter in Colorado has some rough days, but there are equally long stretches of days that see sunshine and warmth, so how you feel about the winters here can really just come down to a matter of perspective. A real world cup half-empty or half-full type situation.

Winter in Colorado also brings a kind of opportunity that very few other places do. There is a completely unique side to Colorado that only comes alive in the winter and you can rediscover some of your favorite summer Colorado destinations under a completely new, snow-covered perspective. And it was all there waiting for me, I just needed to wake myself up and find it.

With this new motivation propelling me, I knew I needed to get out of dodge for a few days; get out into nature and remind myself why I loved Colorado and why we lived here.

On a whim and with zero planning (our typical style), my husband and I decided to book a small A-frame cabin near Jefferson, an area of Colorado about 70 miles Southwest of Denver.

Getting to Jefferson

From Denver, you’ll take Highway 285 West past Bailey, get stunning views over Kenosha Pass and immediately reach the tiny town of Jefferson. Once you meet Jefferson, you take a left turn down the long and winding back-country road that leads you to this cabin.

Getting there can be tricky if you get unlucky with the weather. The night before we were scheduled to leave, we received a notification that road 285 to Kenosha pass had been closed all day because of high winds, and we nearly cancelled our trip since the only other route to Jefferson would extend the drive to about four hours.

When we checked again the next day, the winds had died down and we were relieved to get the “all clear”. We left our place around 2:45 on a Friday, experienced very minimal traffic, and arrived at the cabin in Jefferson some time around 4:30.

The area of Jefferson is essentially a large open plain surrounded by stunning mountain peaks, but there aren’t many places to stay, and the town is incredibly small (like, one grocery store and a church small). A local told us that the town only recently got WiFi, which was bringing in a few more people, but not many. We knew we’d have to pack up and bring all the food and drinks we wanted to consume during the weekend ahead of time.

Jefferson did feel more like an area you might pass by on the way to your final destination; stopping to take a few pictures of the mountains along the way. Because we didn’t want to drive anywhere too far from home, and we were craving a quiet and somewhat hidden getaway –the secluded nature of it was exactly what we were looking for. We didn’t hesitate to press the ‘book now’ button on the Accordion Ranch hideaway once we laid eyes on it.

The Cabin: Accordion Ranch Hideaway

As soon as we arrived, I felt the old familiar spark of adventure light up in me. We parked in a little lot off the side of the road and the cabin was nowhere in sight. Aspen forests and lodgepole pine trees surrounded us and we looked ahead to see a wall of granite rock formations.

We unloaded our car and pulled our stuff using little red sleds that were provided by the home owners, dragging them behind us for about 200 yards until we reached the little clearing where our cabin awaited us.

We loved the cabin from the moment we entered it. We could feel how intentional every piece of furniture was; how much care and attention the owners had put into each corner of the home. There were high ceilings, plenty of windows throughout with calming forest views, natural light pouring in from the font deck. My favorite touches were the large plush blankets strategically placed around the home, and the wood-burning fire place that was calling our names.

There was a VHS player and a bookcase full of classic 80’s and 90’s movies, and we instantly agreed that we wouldn’t use any other form of digital entertainment unless it was VHS related. After much serious deliberation, we selected Big and Speed to watch over the next two nights, our 90’s kid hearts were as full as could be.

Our movie selections would have to wait though because we only had a few short hours left of daylight and I was determined to get up that granite rock wall before the sun fell. I wanted to survey the land around us and get a better sense for where we were.

We trudged through snow that was twelve inches deep, regularly falling through it as the snow moved from below our feet to our waists, until we finally reached the top of the rock wall. The view was stunning; the nearby mountains and soft blue sky opening up to us.

I felt grounded, grateful; my love for Colorado reinvigorated.

As the sun set, we fumbled our way down the rock, excited to head back to our little cabin oasis and get our hygge on.

One thing to mention is that because the cabin is so remote, there is no running water in the winter. That meant we had to use our water sparingly while cooking and cleaning, and it also meant that we would use the compost toilet that was located in a small shed outside of the cabin.

The owners provided a basket with hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and a little red lantern to help make sure we had everything we needed each time we trekked out to the shed.

At first, trekking outside to use the bathroom was fun and added to the whole rustic mountain experience. However, it became a little less enjoyable when we heard noises outside of our door all night and desperately had to go to the bathroom at four in the morning. In the end, we survived!

Anyway, after a delicious home cooked dinner, great conversation and a lot of laughs, we snuggled up on the couch with a beer and watched Tom Hanks navigate life as a twelve year old stuck in an adult’s body.

The Hike: Kenosha Pass North

The next day, we woke up to a cloudless blue sky and forty degree temperatures, excited to dive into the hike we had picked out for ourselves the day before. We decided on Kenosha Pass North, a quick 15 minutes from the cabin to the trailhead.

According to All Trails, this is a very popular hike, so I was anticipating a lot of foot traffic, but was surprised to see only a few cars parked on the side of the road at the trail entrance. Since it was so popular, I was also expecting a clearly marked trailhead letting me know I was at Kenosha Pass North, but that wasn’t the case. Just a campground sign for Kenosha Pass next to a small wooden sign that read ‘The Colorado Trail.” Al and I spent a good 5 minutes bickering about whether or not we were in the right place before finally deciding that we probably were and just started moving.

Kenosha Pass North is a 7 mile out and back trail, and we hiked about 2.5 miles out before deciding to turn around. For some reason we left our snow shoes at the cabin, and although they weren’t absolutely necessary, the hike would have been considerably less difficult and we likely would have been able to hike much longer if we had brought them. We still had a wonderful experience, but would recommend bringing them if you go in late February after a string of snowstorms and want to do the entire hike (stating the obvious here).

Besides regularly falling through the snow, the hike was relatively easy, and filled with incredible views and plenty of forested areas. The highlight for me was walking along the ridge while enjoying a long stretch of white-peaked mountain views, fully absorbing the nature around us.

Once we felt ready to turn around, we took a trail beer break and sat down in the packed snow, and I thanked the snow for being the ultimate koozie.

It was a great hike, and we didn’t see a single soul on the trail until we were almost back to the parking lot, when a few hikers (smartly wearing snow shoes) started rolling in.

A couple more of my favorite pictures from the hike:

One Last Look

After the hike, we were excited to head back to the little cabin and spend some time just enjoying the space. I snuggled up in the attic area of the cabin, and allowed myself to become completely engrossed in a good book (Chanel Miller’s powerful memoir Know My Name) while Alex rotated between reading and tending to the wood-burning fire in the living room.

It was everything you want a quiet, relaxing, soul healing weekend in the mountains to be.

Time slipped away in the lazy hours of the afternoon and before we knew it, it was nearing sunset. We forced ourselves out of our comfortable cocoons to face the rock wall one more time, climbing up a different side this time so I could get one last view of the mountains before dark.

We returned to the cabin for the last time, ready to settle in to our nightly cabin routine of dinner and and old movie. When the morning came it was time to pack up the old sleds and say goodbye to our quiet, cozy, perfect cabin in the woods.

It had given me so much in such a short amount of time. A place to reconnect with ourselves, with one another, and a gentle but much needed reminder of why I moved to this wild, beautiful state in the first place.