***UPDATE 12/3/2023: Winter is here! The yurts are accessible by 4.4 mile snowshoe, ski and snowmobile trek through April 2024. Please park at the Leadville Junction Parking Lot.***

Completely surrounded by National Forest in the heart of the Rockies at 10,600 feet in elevation, Sawatch Base Camp is one of a kind property at the site of an old turquoise mine offering accessible yet private backcountry lodging.

Sawatch Base Camp is located 6 miles northwest of Leadville, Colorado and 1 mile north of Turquoise Lake. The property is perched on a hill overlooking the Arkansas Headwaters Valley, historic Leadville and the Mosquito Range with 14er Mt. Sherman beyond. This prime location gives quick access to all the best outdoor recreation of the High Rockies, while also being removed enough to provide solitude and quality time. For mountain bikers, access to an incredible variety of trails and routes is literally right out the front door. In winter, hut trip enthusiasts and backcountry skiers will find treed and gladed terrain with groomed trail access.

In summer and fall (May through November), the property has vehicle access by Forest Service Road 103- known by many other names depending on mapping service including County Road 9A, Turquoise Chief Rd, and St. Kevin Rd. This segment of road is part of the famous Leadville 100 MTB race, lying at roughly Mile 8/Mile 95.

In winter months (roughly Thanksgiving through April), the camp is accessible by snowmobile, ski or snowshoe on groomed multi-use winter trails open to the public. The trek in is approximately 4.4 miles from the Leadville Junction Parking Lot, with an elevation gain of roughly 800 feet. The terrain around the yurt provides backcountry skiing through trees with occasional glades.

Our backcountry lodging is designed to have minimal impact on the landscape, intentionally rustic while also providing amenities like a wood stove, solar lighting, plush beds and a roomy indoor space to gather family and friends.

The yurt-cabins are a little different than traditional fabric yurts; they’re fully engineered structures designed to withstand our rugged climate with structurally integrated panel walls, a timber-supported roof and insulation throughout to provide an unparalleled backcountry yurt experience.

Sawatch Base Camp operates under Lake County CUPs 21-10 and 23-33.