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Elwood Cabin Outhouse

Elwood Cabin

Front of Elwood Cabin

Elwood Vista

Elwood Cabin Wood Shed

<h2>Overview</h2>
Elwood Cabin sits in a saddle along the San Juan Mountains 

overlooking an open meadow, offering guests a unique lodging 

opportunity.<br /><br /> 

The cabin was built in 1911 by the Mountain States Telephone Company as a &quot;line 

shack&quot; to support crews maintaining the transcontinental telephone line. Remnants of this 

old telephone line are still found along Iron Creek to the southeast. The cabin was also used 

as a Forest Service Station from 1950 until 1962, serving as living quarters for Forest Service 

employees who worked on numerous projects in the area.<br /><br />

Although the phone line has been abandoned, today the cabin is a high-altitude getaway for 

guests seeking relaxation and recreation in south-central Colorado.<br /><br /> 

During summer months the cabin can 

be accessed by motorized travel. During winter months access to the cabin is by 

snowmobiles, cross country skiing or snow shoeing.
<h2>Recreation</h2>
The area around Elwood cabin offers a variety of recreational opportunities year-round. 

Summertime brings excellent scenic tour opportunities in and around the Summitville area 

as well as exploration of several historical mining sites.<br /><br />

Anglers have a spectacular backdrop to fishing streams such as Iron Creek or Treasure Creek. 

Nearby Platoro Reservoir, which feeds the Conejos River, provides excellent fishing for trout 

and salmon.<br /><br />

Great hiking can be found around the area, as it spans both the Rio Grande and San Juan 

National Forests, as well as the South San Juan Wilderness.<br /><br /> 

In winter, the Elwood cabin area can be blanketed with as much as ten feet of snow, requiring 

preparation and knowledge of winter travel. Snowmobiling, skiing and snowshoeing are 

popular activities in the area. <h2>Facilities</h2>
The one room log cabin is furnished with two bunk beds with single beds on the top and foldout double beds on the bottom, accommodating up to six people. The cabin has a wood stove for 

heat, propane lighting and a propane stove.  The kitchen is equipped with a table and chairs, 
cooking utensils, pots and pans and a fire extinguisher. Firewood is available in the 

adjoining shed. An outdoor vault toilet is also on-site.<br /><br /> 

Guests must provide a sufficient supply of water for cooking, cleaning 

and washing. Guests are also encouraged to bring an additional light source in case of 

emergencies.<br /><br />

Although the cabin has some amenities, guests do need to provide their own food, sleeping 

bags, linens, towels, dish soap, matches, first aid kit, avalanche equipment, toilet paper and 

garbage bags.<h2>Natural Features</h2>
High in the San Juan Mountains at an elevation of 11,000 feet, this cabin provides guests with views of nearby peaks, 

meadows filled with wildflowers and alpine forests.<br /><br />

While staying at such a high elevation guests will notice how light plays differently on the 

landscape and stars blanket the sky on clear cold evenings. Elk, deer, and other wildlife are 

often seen in meadows adjacent to the cabin. Bear, marmot and chipmunks also call the 

area home.


<h2>Nearby Attractions</h2>
Summitville is a nearby ghost town where gold was first discovered in 1870, then mined until 

the early 1990s. When contaminants leaked off-site and flowed into the local watershed the 

government forced it to shut down. Now a water treatment plant is on the site as part of a 

federal clean up program.

Elwood Cabin sits in a saddle along the San Juan Mountains 

overlooking an open meadow, offering guests a unique lodging 

opportunity.

ELWOOD - 5106

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