Kutsu Point
The ridge and lodge catching the last gold light of the day

The week, planned

Your week at Kutsu Point.

Seven days on the ridge, already planned.

The hardest part of a big group trip is deciding what to do with all of it. So we laid out a week at Kutsu Point, from the wolves five minutes down the road to the summit of Pikes Peak, with slow days built in where they belong. Follow it start to finish, or lift the days that fit your group and leave the rest by the fire.

The week at a glance

  1. Day 1Arrive, and let the ridge go quiet.
  2. Day 2Meet the wolves down the road.
  3. Day 3Stand on top of Pikes Peak.
  4. Day 4A day that belongs to no one but you.
  5. Day 5Over the pass to Cripple Creek.
  6. Day 6Trails, fossils, and Gold Medal water.
  7. Day 7Coffee at the summit, red rocks on the way out.

01

Day 1

Settling in

You are home

Arrive, and let the ridge go quiet.

Come up Ute Pass in the afternoon, stop in Woodland Park to fill both kitchens, and roll through the gate before dark. Claim beds, light the first fire, and let sixteen people exhale at nine thousand feet. Dinner on the patio, the hot tub after, and the kind of quiet you drove all this way for.

  • Stock up in Woodland Park on the way in, the last full grocery before the ridge
  • Sort beds across the six rooms while there is still light
  • First dinner on the grill, then the hot tub under the stars
See the lodge

02

Day 2

Five minutes away

5 minutes to Divide

Meet the wolves down the road.

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast, then meet the reason many families find this ridge in the first place, five minutes away in Divide. Book the feeding tour at the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center and stand a few feet from rescued wolves, foxes, and coyotes while an educator explains every howl. You will be back at the house in minutes, with an easy afternoon still ahead in the dome.

  • Book the feeding tour, the last regularly scheduled tour of the day, when the wolves are most excited for their dinner
  • Reserve ahead: tours are timed and summer weekends sell out before you leave home
  • Finish with a group howl with the wolves, then head back for an easy afternoon on the acres
The Wolf Center5 minutes

03

Day 3

America's Mountain

35 min to the highway gate

Stand on top of Pikes Peak.

Give the group its bucket-list day. Pikes Peak fills the eastern sky from the ridge, and the Pikes Peak Highway gate is only about 35 minutes away. From there the toll road climbs to 14,115 feet, or ride the cog railway up from Manitou Springs, then drop into Woodland Park for a long lunch on the way home.

  • Book summit access or the cog railway ahead; both run on timed reservations
  • Pack real layers and water; the top is near freezing even in July
  • Lunch in Woodland Park or Manitou Springs on the drive back
Pikes Peak35 min to the gate

04

Day 4

No agenda

You are home

A day that belongs to no one but you.

Every good week needs a day with nothing on it. Let the kids run the forty acres, put a tournament together in the dome, keep the grill going, and let the afternoon turn into evening around the fire pit. This is the day people remember, the one where nobody had to be anywhere.

  • Marked trails and forty private acres, straight out the door
  • Pool, ping pong, and the basketball arcade game in the thousand-square-foot dome
  • The grill, the fire pit, and a long night outside
See the house

05

Day 5

The gold-rush road

30 minutes over the pass

Over the pass to Cripple Creek.

Take the group up and over to Cripple Creek, a gold-rush town that still looks like the 1890s boom that built it. Ride the narrow-gauge railroad past the old mines, drop a thousand feet underground on the Mollie Kathleen tour, and find the herd of wild donkeys on the main street. In late September, the gold aspen on the drive over is reason enough to go.

  • Ride the Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad past the mines
  • Go underground on the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine tour
  • The railroad, mine, and main street suit every age; the casinos are 21-plus
  • Drive about 10 minutes farther to Victor for Rita the Rock Planter, one of Danish artist Thomas Dambo's giant wooden troll sculptures
Cripple Creek30 minutes

06

Day 6

Close to home

15 to 40 minutes out

Trails, fossils, and Gold Medal water.

Stay close and let the group spread out. Hikers can take Mueller State Park's meadows and overlooks, fifteen minutes south. Curious kids can walk among thirty-four-million-year-old redwood stumps at the Florissant Fossil Beds, fifteen minutes the other way. Anglers can chase Gold Medal trout at Eleven Mile, then stay past dusk for some of the darkest, most star-filled skies in Colorado.

  • Pick an easy loop or a real half-day hike at Mueller State Park
  • Walk the flat Petrified Forest Loop at the Florissant Fossil Beds
  • Fish and stargaze at Eleven Mile for the group that wants water and quiet
Mueller State Park15 minutesThe Fossil Beds15 minutesEleven Mile40 minutes

07

Day 7

One last view

Heading down

Coffee at the summit, red rocks on the way out.

Take your coffee out to the carved summit marker at 9,310 feet for one last look, then pack up slow. On the way down Ute Pass, walk beneath the red sandstone spires of Garden of the Gods, or make a final family dinner in Colorado Springs before the drive to the airport. Leave the way you came, only quieter.

  • One last morning at the 9,310-foot summit marker
  • Walk the paved loop through Garden of the Gods on the way down
  • A final dinner and a resupply in Colorado Springs before the airport
Colorado Springs1 hour

Forty private acres

The best day of the week is the one with nothing on it.

Before you come

The inspiration is the easy part. Here is what the group actually needs to know before the drive up.

Getting here
Fly into Colorado Springs (COS), an hour (45 miles) east, or Denver (DEN), two hours (120 miles) north. The last stretch climbs Ute Pass through Woodland Park, so come up with a full tank and a full trunk.
The altitude
Kutsu Point sits at 9,310 feet. Drink more water than feels necessary the first day, go easy on the first evening, and let anyone coming from sea level take that first hike slow.
Staying connected
Cell service on the ridge is thin, but Starlink keeps the whole house online, fast enough to stream, work, and video-call. Download your maps before the last few miles up.
The two kitchens
The house has two full kitchens, so plan for the big cook-in. Woodland Park and Divide have the closest full groceries, ten to twenty minutes down the road, so a mid-week resupply is easy without a long drive.
Book the highlights ahead
The Wolf Center tours, Pikes Peak summit access and the cog railway, and the Cripple Creek railroad all run on reservations and sell out in summer. Lock the big days before you leave home.
Pack for the mountains
Even in July the summit is near freezing and the evenings cool fast. Bring layers, real shoes for the trails, sun cover for the reservoir, and something warm for the fire pit.

Where the week happens

Everything, and still back by the fire.

The whole itinerary radiates out from one ridge above Florissant, minutes from the Wolf Center and a short drive from the rest of the Front Range.

Your dates

Hold the week.

Check the dates, book the house directly, and give the whole group a week they will talk about for years.

Plan your stay
Check availabilityCall (847) 612-7572
CallPlan your stay