A Bit of Ranch History

Our home ranch is on 300 acres located a few miles north of Boulder, Colorado near the town of Lyons.

John Burnside's Original Cabin

Moonshine and a Raccoon

The property was homesteaded in 1885 by Johnny Burnside, a moonshiner who kept a raccoon for a pet and arranged to get caught by the “revenuers” every October so that he could spend the winter in the Larimer County jail. Or so the story goes, anyway.

We're pretty sure the moonshine part is true at least. We had a “Founders Day” picnic in the 70s where we invited all of the old timers, some of whom knew old Johnny personally and they remembered the moonshine. We also have the apple orchard that he planted to feed his 'still growing in our backyard. Johnny's second house, a one-room stone building he built with local river rock, now serves as our living room.

The Old Stage

The Estes Park stagecoach passed through the property on its way up the river valley and remnants of the stage road are still evident. In fact, the old stage road goes right through our ranch headquarters.

The Three Owls

Native Heritage

Before Johnny and the stagecoach, Ute Indians lived in the valley under the three grand spires that overlook our property which they called “The Three Owls”. Petroglyphs in a grotto along the river were removed in the 50s and taken to the University of Colorado and a stone circle lies on an adjacent property.