Its a beautiful place. The comfort of your stay is dependent on whether there is power at the tower (not a guarantee) and how respectful the previous renters were.

Its a beautiful place. The comfort of your stay is dependent on whether there is power at the tower (not a guarantee) and how respectful the previous renters were.

Awesome view and experience. Snow cover is not deep enough to require snowshoes, just boots. Awesome 360 degree views from the tower. The plug-in space heater that we had last year was missing, and the wall heater in the tower could not get it above 30 degrees inside with all the wind. The downstairs was warmer. A very unique experience.

Awesome view and experience. Snow cover is not deep enough to require snowshoes, just boots. Awesome 360 degree views from the tower. The plug-in space heater that we had last year was missing, and the wall heater in the tower could not get it above 30 degrees inside with all the wind. The downstairs was warmer. A very unique experience.

Beautiful views, working heaters, dirty sheets, no more extra blankets, people just walk onto the balcony without asking

Beautiful views, working heaters, dirty sheets, no more extra blankets, people just walk onto the balcony without asking

The good : Location is truly stunning and historic. The turn off is just past the entrance to Echo ski area, on other side of road. The bad : Downstairs has mice and smelled a bit funky. Upstairs had no power due to someone tripping the breaker (flashlights were provided but don't rely on that). Incinerator toilet is idiosyncratic, takes getting used to. The path to the toilet could be slippery in winter. The toilet uses a sort of paper bag arrangement, and partially burnt pieces of paper were all over the floor of the toilet, which was becoming a mouse nest as a result. Try to get the "paper bag" to drop all the way down in toilet when you "flush" with the pedal before incinerating. If you do that, it's quite effective. There was a broom specifically for the toilet, but nobody had used it recently. Bunks creak loudly every time someone rolls over. Tourists turn up and want a look inside. There is a shooting range not too far away. Road in is more suited to four wheel drive, although going slow in a two wheel drive works. Only water is what you carry in (or snow in winter). Other : Verizon cellphone coverage came and went. Overall : If you're OK with the outdoors being, well, the outdoors, this is an excellent trip. I did some cleaning and even though cloud limited the view, I loved it. I'd suggest limiting group size to two and staying upstairs. Consider taking an extra trash bag or two and going out of the way to clean and pack out trash. Keep food sealed and hung up due to mice. Better instructions on how things work might help. Also consider visiting mid week to keep tourism and shooting range activity down. It really could be fantastic. It's in danger of being loved to death. Also consider visiting nearby historic Arapaho Springs, built as a campground 1937.

The good : Location is truly stunning and historic. The turn off is just past the entrance to Echo ski area, on other side of road. The bad : Downstairs has mice and smelled a bit funky. Upstairs had no power due to someone tripping the breaker (flashlights were provided but don't rely on that). Incinerator toilet is idiosyncratic, takes getting used to. The path to the toilet could be slippery in winter. The toilet uses a sort of paper bag arrangement, and partially burnt pieces of paper were all over the floor of the toilet, which was becoming a mouse nest as a result. Try to get the "paper bag" to drop all the way down in toilet when you "flush" with the pedal before incinerating. If you do that, it's quite effective. There was a broom specifically for the toilet, but nobody had used it recently. Bunks creak loudly every time someone rolls over. Tourists turn up and want a look inside. There is a shooting range not too far away. Road in is more suited to four wheel drive, although going slow in a two wheel drive works. Only water is what you carry in (or snow in winter). Other : Verizon cellphone coverage came and went. Overall : If you're OK with the outdoors being, well, the outdoors, this is an excellent trip. I did some cleaning and even though cloud limited the view, I loved it. I'd suggest limiting group size to two and staying upstairs. Consider taking an extra trash bag or two and going out of the way to clean and pack out trash. Keep food sealed and hung up due to mice. Better instructions on how things work might help. Also consider visiting mid week to keep tourism and shooting range activity down. It really could be fantastic. It's in danger of being loved to death. Also consider visiting nearby historic Arapaho Springs, built as a campground 1937.

Like others have said, what is wrong with people? We were awakened by voices instead of the sunrise. A couple and their dog at 5:50am decided the signs didn’t apply to them? This seems to be a common annoyance. Please add more signs to discourage this. Aside from some trouble with lifting the stairs in 40 mph winds, it was delightful - although I don’t know if I could have done it by myself so there’s that. The nest is stunning! Views for days. Thanks to whoever brought all the newer games. We opted to leave one as well. The lower level is basic and would serve as food storage and extra sleeping. We had terrible weather but still had a great a time - minus the people. I think we all book this tower hoping for privacy though so I love that we are trying for peace and quiet. It’s a great experience! Would definitely do again with friends.

Like others have said, what is wrong with people? We were awakened by voices instead of the sunrise. A couple and their dog at 5:50am decided the signs didn’t apply to them? This seems to be a common annoyance. Please add more signs to discourage this. Aside from some trouble with lifting the stairs in 40 mph winds, it was delightful - although I don’t know if I could have done it by myself so there’s that. The nest is stunning! Views for days. Thanks to whoever brought all the newer games. We opted to leave one as well. The lower level is basic and would serve as food storage and extra sleeping. We had terrible weather but still had a great a time - minus the people. I think we all book this tower hoping for privacy though so I love that we are trying for peace and quiet. It’s a great experience! Would definitely do again with friends.