Twin Pines Legacy Lodge

After a tragic loss in the East Troublesome wildfire in 2020, Twin Pines Legacy Lodge has been fully rebuilt from the ground up and we're so excited to share this masterpiece with our guests beginning June 2024! Note: We can accommodate up to 18 guests (not including babies yner age 1.) Rates are based on 16 guests--contact owner for discounted rates for smaller groups.

Nestled among pines and aspens on the original 1-acre lakefront property bordering Rocky Mountain National Park to our east, and the Arapahoe National Forest to our west, this rare location combines the best Colorado has to offer. Featuring a private dock with boats included in your rental, white-capped mountain views, two private beaches, 6+ bedrooms, 5 full bathrooms, two huge living spaces, and a large outdoor deck with a fire pit and hot tub making this your own private rustic mountain resort! (One caveat--you'll likely be sharing the property with a family of moose between the months of April-November! Our local moose population has doubled since the fire so you'll get the ultra-rare experience of seeing moose wander through the property daily--just feet from the deck! )
Relax on the large deck overlooking Sun Valley Lake and take a deep breath of clean mountain air in this classic Colorado mountain lakefront setting with towering pine, aspen groves, brilliant wildflowers, and soaring white-cap mountain views. Our mountain property offers peaceful seclusion in the beautiful Sun Valley Ranch neighborhood located just within the border of Rocky Mountain National Park. (no park permit is needed to access our house!) You'll experience the raw beauty of Colorado's wilderness while only being 3 miles from downtown Grand Lake Village. Twin Pines Legacy Lodge is one of just a handful of vacation rentals where you can snowmobile and ATV straight to the Arapahoe National Forest trails directly from our driveway. We're an easy 90-minute drive from Denver with well-maintained roads throughout the trip. Ski at the family-friendly resort Granby Ranch only 25 minutes away, or Winter Park Resort, only 45 minutes away.

This gorgeous custom log home was exquisitely created to reflect the authentic log home heritage with 18” full logs, heated wood floors, and many intentionally designed cozy nooks and spaces to relax and absorb the lake and mountain views. The main floor was thoughtfully designed to be universally accessible for our guests with limited mobility and includes large doorways and walkways plusa spacious main-floor primary suite with a roll-in double-head shower, and large sliding doors to a covered deck and hot tub. There is also another queen bedroom and full bathroom on the main level.

The warmth of hand-hewn natural log is everywhere, brightened by the soaring ceilings and a huge wall of windows overlooking the lake and mountains. Although Twin Pines Legacy Lodge is brand new--it's retained its classic old-time log home charm and is comfortable and inviting--tastefully decorated with quality furnishings and bedding, and vintage mountain lodge decor--yet totally family-friendly.

The luxurious kitchen features a 5 burner gas stove, two ovens, two dishwashers, two refrigerators, two sinks, and a wine fridge. Seating for seven around the large reclaimed island, which is open to the dining room with a large farmhouse table for 14+. Additional seating outdoors on the covered deck, and at our round-table game nook in the great room. A large gas grill on the covered deck makes for easy entertaining inside or out.

The spacious great room with a grand stone fireplace and comfortable seating offers plenty of space for families to play games or watch TV, and the separate main-floor office/library offers a cozy nook to curl up and read or work (fast, reliable wifi included). We designed Twin Pines Legacy Lodge to intentionally feature spacious gathering areas along with numerous cozy nooks and conversation spots around the house that make sense for how families gather together.

Twin Pines Legacy Lodge has space to sleep up to 18 guests with 6+ bedrooms (4 rooms with King beds); an additional "secret star room" sleeping nook off one bedroom, plus a loft sleeping area in another bedroom, and a full bed in a curtained sleeping nook in the rec room. With 5 full bathrooms (two ensuites) you'll have plenty of space to rest and freshen up.

The upstairs rec room also features a spacious TV/seating space with an adjacent kids' play area with tons of kids' toys and games, plus a game area with Skeetch Ball (like a shuffleboard), giant Jenga, giant Connect Four, plus

The property rental includes the use of our private dock and 2 private sandy beaches, a canoe, 2 stand-up paddle boards (SUP), a pedal boat, a kayak, fishing poles, life vests, and 4 mountain bikes. (2 kids, 2 adults). On our lakefront park-like property you'll also enjoy 2 fire pits (one wood, other propane), hot tub, tether ball, corn hole, horseshoes, Giant Jenga, outdoor checkers, and more. Walking distance to RMNP and hiking trails, access to Colorado River, 150+ miles of ATV/snowmobile/mountain biking trails, and more--everything you need for the Colorado experience you're dreaming of!
Property is abundant with wildlife-- watch the Moose graze along the pristine mountain lake shoreline--just a few feet away from the deck. Sun Valley Lake, a 22-acre non-motorized mountain lake, is also known as 'Moose Lake' because it's natural habitat where Moose live--and Moose calves are born here each spring. Unlike most other areas of Colorado, our local moose population has been living peacefully amongst the human neighbors of Sun Valley Lake for so many generations that they've become habituated to people and casually stroll around the lake all day long. Bald Eagles, Elk, Deer, Fox, Otter, Beaver, Bear, Osprey, and Hummingbirds are also frequent visitors. From late August through October, you'll hear the beautiful sound of elk bugling every night along with a front- row seat for viewing the Elk in rut season.
The Winding River Resort is within walking distance, and here you can enjoy guided horseback rides into RMNP, pony rides, a petting zoo, Chuckwagon Breakfast, Cowboy Church, pickle ball, disc golf, basketball courts, volleyball courts, and evening activities such as square dancing, cowboy poetry, etc. An 18-hole golf course is 2 miles away, and you can also ride your ATV or snowmobile right from our driveway to 150+ miles of groomed trails. (trailhead located 1/4 mile from the house) The neighborhood outfitter offers ATVs and snowmobiles for rent and guided horseback trail rides through Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park.

The wonderful, family-friendly town of Grand Lake is less than 5 minutes away and offers several full-service marinas for renting pontoon/fishing/water ski boats and jet-skis on any of the 'big lakes' Grand Lake, Shadow Mountain Lake or Lake Granby. There's a wonderful public beach and a huge playground in the center of town--great for families with kids! Wander the downtown 'boardwalk' and explore local art galleries, gift shops, restaurants, live music cafes, ice-cream shops, mini-golf, go-karts, etc. COnnect with one of our local outfitters for a guided fishing trip, white water rafting, and many other adventures. Grand Lake is also known for its fine live theatre productions at the Rocky Mountain Repertory Theater, check out the incredible summertime drama productions of our favorite Broadway shows!

Need help planning your gathering? The owner is a professional event planner/interior designer and is happy to assist you with any details you need to make your family vacation, reunion, wedding, corporate or church retreat the quintessential Colorado experience you've been dreaming of.

NOTE FROM THE OWNER: In full transparency, we want to make sure our guests understand the reality of how Mother Nature operates here in the Colorado Mountains. For more than a decade Twin Pines Lodge was one of the most popular vacation cabins in Grand Lake. In October 2020 the East Troublesome Wildfire impacted the northwest area of Grand Lake indiscriminately burning some properties as it was fueled by thousands of acres of beetle-kill pine trees in the National Forest to our west, and RMNP directly to our East. Sadly our beloved Twin Pines Lodge burned to the ground.

Now, as of June 2024, we celebrate the re-opening of the BRAND NEW Twin Pines Legacy Lodge born from four years of imagining, designing, and building the most spectacular custom mountain log cabin we could have ever dreamed of. Having hosted thousands of guests in the past, we knew exactly what guests wanted in a quintessential Colorado log home for entertaining large family gatherings.

While the fire did alter the landscape in some areas, it has not diminished the natural beauty of our Colorado vista and Twin Pines still offers a magical lakefront setting with more moose visitors than ever before! We were fortunate to retain dozens of our shady pine trees while adding hundreds more Aspens and sunny flowerbeds. In the 4 years since the fire we've seen nature's grand design as it took out the beetle-killed trees and has brought the new growth of Aspens and Lodgepoles, wildflowers galore, and an impressively open vista of Sun Valley Lake, Mount Baldy, the Never Summer Mountain range, and the Rocky Mountains.