Five Long-Time Families at the Heart of Boulder County

A Quiet Old Ranch

If you’re headed to Trevarton Ranch, bring a map. A physical map. Smart phones won’t serve for much—there’s no cellphone signal once you turn off Highway 7 approaching Estes Park. Keep driving down the old country road, farther than intuition would suggest. Trevarton Ranch keeps itself off the radar. The place’s isolation and its resistance to human encroachment lends it appeal.

For the few who finally reach Trevarton Ranch, the drive is rewarded with a piece of natural history. The 2000 acres of family-owned territory sprawls out in a mountain valley, surrounded by national forest, with the famous peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park—Longs, Twin Sisters and Meeker—visible on a clear day. The land has been in the Williams family since 1929.

The territory was granted special status in 1996. That year, the Williams family entered into a Conservation Easement with Boulder County, which is an agreement of sorts about how the land is to be used. Boulder County protects the land from development interests and ensure that it can continue to operate as a traditional ranch, and in exchange the Williams adhere to good forestry and animal husbandry practices.

Gary Williams is the ranch’s current manager, dwelling there year-round. His earliest memories of the family land are from his childhood. At age 8, he began making trips to the ranch with his dad, who was remodeling the kitchen. The year was 1965, and the property was changing hands within the family.

“In the 1930s, Uncle Ed began running a seasonal dairy operation. He sold milk and vegetables to homes and hotels in Estes Park,” recounts Gary. In the ranch’s hay days of summer, Ed had a dozen or more ranch hands working with him on the land from April through October. They’d migrate to nearby Lyons for the winter. New buildings sprung up — the original two-story ranch house, and several cabins where the hired hands would board. Today, one of these bachelor bunk houses, known as the “Brown Palace,” is still standing, although in poor repair.

The ranch’s greatest monument to the past is its enormous main barn, which predates the Williams family. Boulder County historical authorities estimate that it was built as far back as 1898. The roof and foundation have been overhauled, but its walls and interior are original. “We still get good utility out of it,” says Gary. We store hay in it every winter.”

Up until recently, daily life at Trevarton Ranch was basic. The Williams had been running their lights and fridge on propane and heating the home with a wood stove. Water ran through a simple gravity system. Then, from 1995 to 1998, they installed solar power and drilled a well. Without a telephone landline or cellphone coverage, they stay in touch with the world through a satellite Internet connection.

What does the next 100 years have in store for Trevarton Ranch? Gary foresees the increasing challenge of a traditional ranching livelihood. The ranch produces lumber from the sawmill, hay, pasture space for horses and cows, and hunting grounds. He looks optimistically toward diversifying into more recreation. “Even 25 years ago there wasn’t much camping here. Now, you’ll see up to 30 sites on summer weekends in the forests around us.”

More campers, hikers and 4-wheelers would bring about a human impact (not to mention a little more traffic and noise) that the quiet old ranch has never known. Recreation enterprises could rub up against the terms of the Conservation Easement. Williams hopes that whoever manages the ranch in generations to come will at least consider the heritage of the 116-year-old barn. “I’m hopeful that the barn is unique enough that anybody who owns the ranch will respect that building.”