John Holzwarth, Sr., a Denver saloonkeeper forced out of business by statewide prohibition in 1916, homesteaded here in 1917. When the Fall River Road to Rocky Mountain National Park opened in 1920, the Holzwarths began taking in visitors for $2 a day. The original, 1917 “Mama Cabin” soon had baby buildings, of which an ice-house, a woodshed, a taxidermy shop, guest cabins, tent cabins, and the 1945 Rose Cabin survive in a lush meadow on the headwaters of the Colorado River. John Holzwarth, Jr., ran the dude ranch until 1973, when it was acquired by the National Park Service. Known as the Holzwarth Trout Ranch and most recently as the Never Summer Ranch, the Holzwarth spread exemplifies dude ranches where city slickers exulted in rusticity. The National Park Service has restored the hewn, V-notched log structures with simple gable roofs.
