Mingus Ranch

Very peaceful location. Nice to have the whole valley to yourself. If you can, definitely explore the surrounding Forest Service roads via bike, ATV or 4x4 vehicle. The wildflowers were beautiful as were the views.

Very peaceful location. Nice to have the whole valley to yourself. If you can, definitely explore the surrounding Forest Service roads via bike, ATV or 4x4 vehicle. The wildflowers were beautiful as were the views.

nice scenic view in front of the cabin. and great location to travel southeast of the rocky mountains.

nice scenic view in front of the cabin. and great location to travel southeast of the rocky mountains.

rustic but very pleasant - interesting history - we hiked and made a visit to nearby Bishop's Castle - we had dinner one night at a pizza joint in Silver Cliff (about 23 mi) - There were no open businesses between Silver Cliff and Colorado City. Description seemed lacking, so I'll supplement it here. A good dirt road leads up a steep hill to the cabin. There is a sink with drain, but no water - bring your own. There is electricity, but no outlets - just a few well-placed lights, an electric range (the photo with antique stove is out-of-date), and a couple electric floorboard heaters. There is no refrigerator. There is a collection of pots, pans, and dishes that would get most people by. There is one double bed and four single beds. We had one or two bars of cell service at cabin (our carrier is Xfinity).

rustic but very pleasant - interesting history - we hiked and made a visit to nearby Bishop's Castle - we had dinner one night at a pizza joint in Silver Cliff (about 23 mi) - There were no open businesses between Silver Cliff and Colorado City. Description seemed lacking, so I'll supplement it here. A good dirt road leads up a steep hill to the cabin. There is a sink with drain, but no water - bring your own. There is electricity, but no outlets - just a few well-placed lights, an electric range (the photo with antique stove is out-of-date), and a couple electric floorboard heaters. There is no refrigerator. There is a collection of pots, pans, and dishes that would get most people by. There is one double bed and four single beds. We had one or two bars of cell service at cabin (our carrier is Xfinity).

This place was excellent. My wife and I stayed here for the weekend and really enjoyed it. We slept upstairs in the full bed. The cabin is rustic but nice. We did notice some evidence of mice so don't leave out food and make sure you wash anything left out if you're going to cook/eat off it. The cabin has electric heat but even in August we didn't need it as the evenings stayed quite warm (not much of a breeze through the windows) well in to the night. No fires but that's anywhere in Colorado and not a drawback for this cabin. We opted to cook using a stove on the front porch as it was nice to sit out there and enjoy the weather. The surrounding history is cool (signage and buildings) but I was disappointed that there was a large ranch home across the valley making this feel not as secluded. The vault toilet was mostly clean but the cool morning air and the warm ground caused the smell in the mornings to be (understandably) revolting. We propped the door open in the morning to help clear out the smell which worked well. We did see chipmunks, field mice, wild turkeys, deer and a red tail hawk. The green hummingbirds were very curious and not leery of humans. We did hear coyotes at night (calling to each other) which was cool (since we were safely inside). No other weird sounds/noises. A total of about a dozen cars traveled past the cabin at various times over the weekend on FS383, presumably to go off-road or camp in the area. No one stopped. The cabin is about 5 minutes from Bishop's Castle (check it out) and 10 minutes from Lake Isabel (also cool). We off-roaded in the area which was fun. Lots of dispersed camping that wasn't very busy. Not many astounding views, however. The loss of 1 star is for the lack of seclusion. Overall, I recommend this place!

This place was excellent. My wife and I stayed here for the weekend and really enjoyed it. We slept upstairs in the full bed. The cabin is rustic but nice. We did notice some evidence of mice so don't leave out food and make sure you wash anything left out if you're going to cook/eat off it. The cabin has electric heat but even in August we didn't need it as the evenings stayed quite warm (not much of a breeze through the windows) well in to the night. No fires but that's anywhere in Colorado and not a drawback for this cabin. We opted to cook using a stove on the front porch as it was nice to sit out there and enjoy the weather. The surrounding history is cool (signage and buildings) but I was disappointed that there was a large ranch home across the valley making this feel not as secluded. The vault toilet was mostly clean but the cool morning air and the warm ground caused the smell in the mornings to be (understandably) revolting. We propped the door open in the morning to help clear out the smell which worked well. We did see chipmunks, field mice, wild turkeys, deer and a red tail hawk. The green hummingbirds were very curious and not leery of humans. We did hear coyotes at night (calling to each other) which was cool (since we were safely inside). No other weird sounds/noises. A total of about a dozen cars traveled past the cabin at various times over the weekend on FS383, presumably to go off-road or camp in the area. No one stopped. The cabin is about 5 minutes from Bishop's Castle (check it out) and 10 minutes from Lake Isabel (also cool). We off-roaded in the area which was fun. Lots of dispersed camping that wasn't very busy. Not many astounding views, however. The loss of 1 star is for the lack of seclusion. Overall, I recommend this place!

We spent two nights here on a November weekend recently and had a lovely time. The wind was fierce and howled across the valley, but we stayed warm with hardly any draft. I do not believe that we encountered any ghosts, though it was plenty dark and lots of creaks and noises throughout the night with the wind. The area is very beautiful and quiet, and we even had some cell signal. The hiking nearby was also nice, we only came on foot but the trails would have been good for OHVs and 4 wheelers, too.

We spent two nights here on a November weekend recently and had a lovely time. The wind was fierce and howled across the valley, but we stayed warm with hardly any draft. I do not believe that we encountered any ghosts, though it was plenty dark and lots of creaks and noises throughout the night with the wind. The area is very beautiful and quiet, and we even had some cell signal. The hiking nearby was also nice, we only came on foot but the trails would have been good for OHVs and 4 wheelers, too.