On Wednesday, Yonder Yurts owner Sarah Peterson was on her way to State Forest State Park to take care of last-minute details as the yurt rental venture she runs with her husband prepares for its first guests.

“We are now taking reservations,” Peterson said. “Our website is up and live, and we have the yurts ready. We released reservations on Monday for guest stays starting this Friday.”

Peterson and her husband, Cory, were named concessionaires of the yurt system 76 miles northwest of Steamboat Springs in January 2024. They were tasked with taking over for Never Summer Nordic Yurts, which had its contract terminated by Colorado Parks and Wildlife in December 2022. At that time, the company was notified it needed to remove all of its property from State Forest State Park by June 30, 2023.

This spring, the Petersons, whose home is in Steamboat Springs, began the process of installing new yurts and getting the facilities in working order as they look forward to offering guests in search of outdoor adventures a chance to stay in one of Colorado’s most scenic areas.

“We’ve noticed that a lot of the people that have started booking are from Fort Collins,” Peterson said. “But we think this is also a nice, refreshing place for people in Steamboat Springs to go check out.”

Peterson said State Forest State Park, which is between Steamboat Springs and Fort Collins, is perfect for outdoor enthusiasts from both communities. The park offers 71,000 acres of incredible outdoor recreational opportunities and is a popular location for those who love to hike, fish, camp, hunt, ski and snowshoe.

Peterson said reservations are going fast, and for those hoping to take advantage of the area this summer, now is a good time to book for Clark Peak, Grass Creek and North Fork Canadian. Currently, reservations can be made though Nov. 15 at Yonder-Yurts.com. Anyone wanting to book a yurt for the winter season will have to wait until September.

“We’re going release our winter reservations on Sept. 15 for any reservations between Nov. 15 through April,” Peterson said. “We wanted to release them in stages, so people have an opportunity to plan, but also to book. It’s so hard to book so far in advance. We are doing a similar process to a lot of state parks.”

She said work continues on the Dancing Moose, Medicine Bow, Upper and Lower Montgomery yurts, which will also be made available over the next month once completed. The Petersons will also manage the Noku and Agnes Creek huts, which will be available once the state completes renovations.

“Everything turned out how we were envisioning it, and we’re super proud and love the final product,” Peterson said. “The devil is in the details. There’s are a lot of details we’re finalizing, and I’m heading up there today to take care of  the final touches on the three yurts that are opening this weekend. And then with the other yurts we’re just finalizing the decks, and we have a handicap ramp that we’re putting in and we have one more outhouse to finish. We will be opening those up as soon as they’re done.”