All roads are currently open. See cotrip.org for announced road closures.

The road is typically open around to highway legal vehicles June 1st and closed when snow is on the ground. For updates on closures, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/gmug/recreation/lands-end-observatory.

Most campgrounds are open from early July to the middle of September. Little Bear Campground will be closed for 2025 and 2026. (See neighboring campground info HERE)

The forest service will update when it is open. Check the status here.

Most ice is melted by mid May. Visit our Facebook Page to get regular weather updates: https://www.facebook.com/grandmesalodge

Check out our live cam or Facebook page for snow updates: https://www.facebook.com/grandmesalodge https://www.grandmesalodge.com/live-snow-camera

Forest fires can cause closures and fire bans periodically in the dry season. See up-to-date status on fire bans here.

See a nearby road camera here.

Yes. You can see local road closures at maps.cotrip.org.

During the winter months, the trails are usually pretty well groomed.

There is open water, fishing is good. Surface flies, wet flies, lures and bait are all working well.

There is an extensive network of groomed trails here in the National Forest that are open to the public for uses such as snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and much more.

A credit card is required to guarantee all reservations. A 50% deposit is charged upon booking. The remaining balance is charged 14 days prior to check-in. If you book your room less than 14 days prior to your stay, then the full balance will be charged at the time of booking. We require a 14-day cancellation notice to issue a full refund. Cancellations made within 14 days, or in the case of no-shows, are non-refundable. However, you may reschedule your stay one-time.

Check-in is 3:00PM. Check-out is 10:00AM. You may request and early check-in or a late-check out but there is no guarantee you will approved as we need the time for housekeeping.

The cabins are remote, rustic cabins in the woods. They do not have Wifi. However, the lodge has high speed internet and a great Wifi connection. Lodge guests and restaurant guests are welcome to and use it. Just remember, the great thing about the lodge is it gives you a chance to disconnect!

The kitchen is fully furnished with pots, pans, utensils, and cookware.

Yes, all linens and towels are provided.

In the summer you can drive to all of the cabins. And you can park right next to them. The farthest cabin is only a couple hundred yards from the main lodge. In the winter four of our cabins are not accessible by vehicle. Cabins 3, 4, 14 & 15. These cabins are ski / snowmobile access only. You can still book these cabins if you don’t have a snowmobile or skis, you will just have to walk a couple hundred feet down a snowmobile trail to get to them doable, but may be adventurous if it’s in the middle of a storm. Bear in mind that the winters have a lot of snow. So if you book one of the cabins that are snowmobile, ski access only, you may need to strap on snowshoes to get there. Even though it is only a couple hundred feet.

Different cabins have different sleeping capacities. You can see the sleeping capacity of each cabin here.

We have charcoal Weber grills available in the summer. There is one by every cabin. We also sell charcoal.

You can see our availability here.

You are welcome to bring your dogs. Pets are not allowed in the restaurant, in the main lodge, or in the gift shop/store. They are allowed in the all the cabins except #13, and they must be leashed when outside. There is a pet fee of of $20 per night per pet.

You can book a one-night stay in some situations. If there is a one-night gap in our schedule, the website will allow a visitor to book that cabin for one night in order to fill the gap. Sometimes we also allow one-night stays in our slow season. Otherwise, our minimum stay is normally 2 nights, and during some holidays it is 3 nights.

They do not. Disconnect and enjoy the scenery :)

18 years old.

Yes, we sell bundles of wood (approximately 8 pieces) for $7 at the lodge.

Most of the fleet is brand new.

We rent out the sleds when there is at least 3 feet of snow.

We do not hold sleds in reserve. A rental must be scheduled and paid for by the customer in order to be held.

The 600 cc - 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024 Ski-Doo Summits The 850 cc- 2024 Ski-Doo Summits The Double Deluxe - Arctic Cat Trail Sled

5 - 600cc 5 - 850cc 1 - 2up Deluxe Trail Sled

In some cases, we will rent to individuals without a guide; we only do this for those with backcountry riding experience on the Grand Mesa. Typically this requires customers to hire a guide for at least one day. If you rent a sled without a guide you will be fully responsible for any damage to the sled.

Guided rides are 3 hours in the saddle. A non-guided snowmobile rental is 24 hours.

All of our snowmobiles have 2 Stroke engines except the Double Deluxe. The Double Deluxe is a 4 Stroke engine.

All of our sleds are suitable for powder and trail riding except the Double Deluxe. The Double Deluxe is only suitable for trail riding.

Ski-Doo 600 weight limit is 350 pounds Ski-Doo 850 weight limit is 450 pounds Arctic Cat Double Deluxe weight limit is 700 pounds

Yes! Children over 8 can ride with an adult as a double on a sled. They must be able to sit behind the driver and hold on to their waist, they are not allowed to sit in front of the driver. Please note that our guided rides are 3 hours long, so dress children appropriately for the weather. If your child gets too cold and needs to return to the lodge, your ride may be cut short. Partial refunds will not be provided for rides that are cut short.

All riders need to meet at the main lodge at 9 am. They will complete safety debriefing, sign waivers, purchase equipment protection plans (if applicable), and get dressed. The guided rides will leave around 10 am. If members of your party are late, the guide may leave without them.

If you are only renting sleds for the day with no guide, we do not offer equipment protection plans. Our liability policy on self guided is that the customer is responsible for any damage. The total buyout price of the 600 sleds is $14K. The total buyout price for the 850 sleds is $17K. These are the max amounts a customer can be liable for damage on a self guided rental.

An equipment protection plan must be purchased for all guided rides. These are purchased at the lodge the day of your guided ride.

We have a 2 sled minimum for a guided ride.

There is usually powder on the trails since it snows nearly every day. Being able to ride in powder meadows depends on the visibility, group size, weather, time of year, and rider ability. Your group will have an amazing time regardless as the views are amazing and unforgettable. We also take our groups to beautiful observatory sites.

Yes they have begun grooming these trails.

We recommend that you bring your own gear, and we will supplement you with anything you don’t have. We've got you covered---literally. :)

We have very good snow gear. We should be able to keep you warm for the duration of the ride.

Our policy is that if we cancel the ride due to weather, we will refund the customer 100%. If the customer doesn’t show up we will not give a refund. We only have about 10 snowmobiles. And if you book a ride, and then don’t show up, we can’t rebook someone else, and we have probably already turned many people away because we were full. As far as weather goes, highway 65 is a priority highway for CDOT. They run plows constantly during a storm to keep that road open so you can make it.

Our fleet is about 12 sleds. Generally we try to keep guided rides to about 8 sleds because larger groups are difficult to manage and get too spread out. If we have more than 8 we typically do a split ride with one leaving at 9 am and the other at 1 pm. As needed, we will facilitate a larger group.

If you need corrective lenses to see, yes. Although, we highly recommend wearing contact lenses. Some goggles can be very uncomfortable if worn with spectacles.

That road is called FS 116. It is open ONLY for highway legal vehicles from July 1-Oct 15. After Oct 15, you can operate off-road vehicles on that road. However, to operate a snowmobile on that road there must be at least 12" of snow. This is the same rule for all Grand Mesa Roads. (See https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/gmug/maps-pubs/?cid=stelprdb5191814)

Ride-alongs are permitted as long as they are cabin guests or customers of the lodge. They must also sign a waiver and follow all the same rules as the rest of the group. If the guide determines that is not the case, he may ask them to leave the group.

We do. We charge a small daily fee, but its not expensive. The backpack comes with Avalanche gear (beacon, probe, shovel, radio, etc). Our VIP guests get these bags free of charge.

Island lake is Forest Service property. It is open to the public. The Grand Mesa Lodge owns a boat dock on the lake. But the lake itself is all public land. There is also a boat ramp near Island Lake Campground with some amenities like an outhouse.

There are no RV spots at the visitor center.

All of the campgrounds around Island Lake have RV access. However they do not have sewer hook ups. There are no campgrounds on the Grand Mesa that have sewer hook ups.

The Grand Mesa Lodge Restaurant is the name of the restaurant that is inside the Grand Mesa Lodge.

There are no trash receptacles on the Mesa. If you’re a customer of the Grand Mesa Lodge, and you spend $100 in either the gift shop or the restaurant, or if you are a lodging guest, you can use our dumpster. (within reason! Typically one or two bags. You cannot unload a truck bed and completely fill our dumpster).

To walk to the lake, it takes about five minutes. The trail is 250 yards long. It goes down a moderate slope towards the lake. Due to the 2025 and 2026 road closure, there is no access to the boat ramp.

We used to sell hunting and fishing licenses, as well as OHV stickers for four wheelers, side-by-sides, and snowmobiles. However, CPW lets you buy those online and has made buying all of those things on the website, (or on the CPW app) super easy. Because of that, we no longer sell hunting and fishing licenses, or ATV stickers. However we have Wi-Fi at the lodge, and we can show you how to easily purchase the licenses online.

Grand Mesa has 300 lakes. 300! Besides the lakes, there are miles upon miles of creeks that link the lakes together. Of those 300 lakes, 100 hold fish year-round and have vibrant populations. All of the lakes do pretty well. Island Lake at the Grand Mesa Lodge is great for fishing. Enjoy!

The most accessible lakes are Ward Creek reservoir and Cobbett lake which are all accessible from Highway 65. Also, Grand Mesa Lodge guests who rent our boats will find Island Lake is easily accessible. However, while the damn is under construction, the boat ramp is closed to the public.

Yes! The restaurant inside of the lodge is called the Hungry Moose. Our hours of operation are 10 am - 7:30 pm.

There are 3 other operating lodges On our part of the mountain. Mesa Lakes lodge, Thunder Mountain Lodge, and Alexander lodge. Thunder Mountain Lodge does not operate a restaurant. Alexander lodge does operate a restaurant, but they have special hours and a lot of times by reservation only. ADVANCED RESERVATION ARE REQUIRED. Mesa Lakes has a restaurant that is open seasonally. There is another lodge called Altitude Outdoor Adventures, but it is not open. ***We (Grand Mesa Lodge) has the most uniform hours, we operate a restaurant, and we have more cabins than the other lodges. We also have the largest store/gift shop.***

We are extremely accessible. We are located right off of Highway 65 which is maintained year-round.

We don’t offer any special discounts because we strive to bring EVERYONE the absolute lowest cost that we can. 🙂

We sure do! Give us a call at 970-444-1517 to learn more about hosting your wedding at the Grand Mesa Lodge. We host live music and other events regularly, you can see what events are coming up by going to our Facebook page.

The Grand Mesa is home to deer, moose, elk, bears, mountain lions, foxes, marmots, rabbits (hares), and a whole host of birds.

Unfortunately, Grand Mesa Lodge cannot vouch for the disposition of all wild animals, and especially predators. However, in the past, bears and mountain lions have not attacked humans on the Grand Mesa.

Grand Mesa offers outstanding hunting for mule deer, elk, moose and bears. Grand Mesa is a great place to stay during hunting season. You can find out more about regulations here: https://cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/regulations.aspx

We rent kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, and skiffs. We also provide, for a little extra, a small trolling motor and battery that can help get you around the lake easily. You can learn more about our rentals here.

In the summer, we are pretty liberal on who can park there. In the summer, we have abundant room, and we don't have to move snow. Any lodge or restaurant customer can park there for the day. We don't allow overnight camping in our parking lot. In the winter, due to high demand and the extreme difficulty of plowing the lot, we enforce our parking permit system. All vehicles parked in our parking lot must have a parking permit. GML customers, including (cabin guests, clinic & riding clients, and restaurant/store customers, are given parking permits. One pass per cabin (valid for the entire stay) One day pass per $75 restaurant tab One day pass per $100 store transaction. If capacity is limited, cabin & clinic clients have priority. Day passes may be available for $50 per day–capacity allowing. An overnight parking permit costs $75–capacity allowing.

Yes we do! We rent a backpack with a saw, shovel, radio, probe and avalanche transceiver for $30 per day. Our backpacks do not come with an avalanche air bag. Avalanche backpacks can be reserved on the phone prior to your trip.

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No. It is against the law to ignite fireworks in the National Forest.

We would actually be OK with you taking our canoes or kayaks to another lake, however, it doesn't really make practical sense. The reason is because you have to hike down about five minutes to get to our dock. And then from there it would be a very arduous track to carry the boat back up to where you could load it onto a truck and take it to a different lake. However, our paddle boards are inflatable, and they roll up into a nice little pack. You can take those to any lake. The motorized fishing boat is only allowed on Island Lake.

We provide helmets as well as a tire repair kit. The tire repair kit will have 3 CO2 cartridges and a CO2 pump. We will only charge you for the CO2 if you actually use it. Typically we don't give you the charger, simply because most people use the bikes near our property and usually for a day. If you are renting the bike for several days and you want to take the charger, let the staff know and they will let you take one. Although Colorado State Law doesn't require you to wear a helmet, your rental comes with a helmet and we strongly recommend you wear it. We rent backpacks, they cost extra but they are not very expensive.

When you rent a boat, we provide PFD (life jackets) and paddles. We also give you a key to unlock your boat. We recommend you have sunscreen. We sell it at the loge, as well as bug spray. We also sell snacks and water. We sell fishing supplies too.

Our motor boat is only allowed on Island lake per our policy. Our other boats, such as our canoes, kayaks and paddlebaoards, are allowed on other lakes. However because our canoes, kayaks and rowboats, are kept at our boat dock, which is about a 3-5 minute walk from the road, it is not very logistically possible to take the boats to other lakes. People take the paddle boards to other lakes, all the time.

Yes. (Only VIP guests can bypass signing a waiver for boats and snowshoes)