Rusted Star Ranch was started by long-time Colorado residents Janet & Pete. With the intention of establishing a community connection to both Lyons and Allenspark, Colorado, they have brought together their passions for design, architecture, horses, locally-grown food, craft beer and environmental sustainability. Rusted Star also hosts beautiful weddings, private events, and bohemian getaways throughout the summer season. You will usually see Pete & Janet with horses, pulling invasive weeds, throwing a stick for their dog Vigo, or cooking on their wood-fired BBQ.

Janet and Pete purchased this cabin in 2002

Inspiration abounds; and the opportunity to explore is endless. It’s up to us to find it. Rusted Star is a place for you to feel at home and seek something new. Here you can soak up a certain kind of quite solitude the Colorado high-country offers.

If you’ve been daydreaming about the mountains and feeling a pull inside yourself to travel some where just to see what’s there… or if you’ve been longing for a trip that gives you a true chance to escape and see something new and exhilarating, then Rusted Star Ranch is for you.

If you’ve found our listing and love our Rocky Mountain location or modern rustic/bohemian vibe but expect the full service amenities of a hotel, ski resort condo or pricey dude ranch, this place is not for you.

Rusted Star can be your home base for microadventures with local discoveries of all sorts and sizes; it’s a place that can rekindle the spirit of adventure for a day or 2 or 3 depending upon what you’re up for; or it can be your Base Camp to hike, climb or mountaineer the world-famous Longs Peak.

Rusted Star is also a place to rock in the hammock, soak up the sunshine, and listen to the hawks and hummingbirds.

If you like scenic drives and amazing vistas, take a drive to Rocky Mountain National Park and Trail Ridge Road, which will take you from Estes Park to Grand Lake. Covering the 48 miles between Estes Park on the park's east side and Grand Lake on the west, Trail Ridge Road more than lives up to its reputation. Eleven miles of this highway traverses above tree-line, the elevation near 11,500 feet where the RMNP's evergreen forests come to a halt. As it winds up and across the tundra's vastness to its high point at 12,183 feet elevation, Trail Ridge Road (U.S. 34) offers visitors thrilling views, wildlife sightings and spectacular alpine wildflower exhibitions, all from the comfort of their car.

Whether you walk or drive, you’ll find pockets of amazing beauty nearby.

> Head to Lyons, Colorado, the center of the bluegrass universe as generations of legends and future-legends and Festivarians converge under the red rock cliffs of the St. Vrain River.

> Hike up to the pass between Meadow Mountain and St Vrain Mountain just for the grand view into the southern most end of Rocky Mountain National Park; if you can’t make it all the way to the pass, the walk up the trail is truly beautiful with great views, wildflowers, and wildlife – well worth a walk in the woods.

> Eat breakfast or lunch at our local favorite, Meadow Mountain Café. If you’re in a rush and forget that good local people are making you really good food… don’t count on much attention or service. No worries; it’s just a local tradition ;)

> Visit The Old Gallery in Allenspark. Local art, crafts, play ground for the kids, open mike, summer musicals, local potlucks or our favorites - the annual Hog-a-palooza… and Run Like the Wind.

> Take a trail ride out of the Allenspark Livery; a short ride into the Roosevelt National Forest or longer rides to Ouzel Falls or up the Ouzel Lake inside the southern end of Rocky Mountain National Park.

> Drive to the Chapel on the Rock at the Saint Malo Retreat Center at the base of Mt. Meeker. The location, view, stonework, and/or a conversation with its local caretaker, Johnnie Davis is worth the short drive from Rusted Star.

> Have an IPA, shoot pool, or watch the Tour De France in the bar at Aspen Lodge with an awesome view of Long’s peak from its deck. It survived a massive landslide from a 500-year flood event in 2013, and the local owner would be grateful for your business.

> Drive to the Lily Lake Visitor Center; walk around Lily Lake, hike up Lily Mountain (9,786 ft) or hike up to the summits of Twin Sisters Peak (9,090 ft.) is often a warm-up hike, or to acclimate for other hikes in the park, such as the Keyhole on Longs Peak or Hallet Peak.