Medicine Bow - Routt National Forests
Thunder Basin National Grassland

USDA Forest Service
Medicine Bow-Routt
National Forests,
Thunder Basin
National Grassland
2468 Jackson Street
Laramie, WY 82070
307-745-2300

Telephone for the
Hearing Impaired
307-745-2307

The Michigan River Guard Station is a historic Ranger Station that was originally built in 1914 to house someone to oversee a large timber sale operation. An addition was constructed in the mid 1900's. For a rustic facility, it has modern amenities like electricity and indoor running water. This cabin sleeps 6 people, and we will be renting it out later this winter 2003-2004 or starting sometime in 2004. The cabin will be available in the Fall and Winter. The Forest Service may use the cabin during the summer to house employees. Fall access will be by vehicle, winter access will be by snowmobile or cross-country skiing about 1/4 mile. The adjacent horse corral can be rented out in conjunction with the cabin, for an additional fee. This is a non-smoking facility.

Access

This cabin lies about 25 miles southeast of Walden. Take State Highway 14 from Walden south to Gould Colorado about 21 miles. Turn south (right) onto Forest Development Road (FDR) 740. Drive about 3/4 mile to the first road junction past the Forest Boundary. Turn right toward Aspen Campground, pass the campground, go through a green cattle gate, cross the bridge and then got straight ahead (instead of turning left). You will come to a metal pole gate, which you can unlock with the key you receive when you visit the Forest Service office. The Guard Station is about 400 feet past the gate.

Attractions & Considerations

The surrounding country is a mixture of lodge pole pine, aspen and mixed conifer forests, with scattered sagebrush and willow bottoms. Rolling hills and tree covered mountains are in the immediate vicinity, however the Never Summer Wilderness and Rocky Mountain National Park, with large expanses of tundra and rock, can be seen off in the distance.

If you like driving secondary gravel and dirt roads for pleasure, then this is a good place to stay. You can travel miles and miles on open roads, and see many aspects of the National Forests. Traveling about 8 miles from the cabin on some 4-wheel drive roads, you can park at a couple of different trail heads and hike into the Never Summer Wilderness and onto the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.

This area is very close to a system of groomed snowmobile trails. The nearby snowmobile trails offer miles and miles of snowmobiling opportunities, or if you prefer, there are many other roads in the area that are not groomed, but open to snowmobiling. If you prefer to ski, there is a cross-country ski loop nearby. It is un groomed, but fairly easy to follow, because it follows roads and trails. Although there are many snowmobiles around, you can find places to cross-country ski all around the cabin, where snowmobiles seldom venture.

This is also a popular place to hunt elk and deer in the fall.

The access road crosses private land, so when you are traveling around the cabin, please respect the private landowners rights and do not enter private land, except along the road access.

Bring your own bedding cooking utensils (beyond the very basic plates, knives, forks, spoons, cups) Pack out your own garbage Leave it neater than you found it

Narrative

In the 1910’s a large timber sale was proposed in the Gould area and housing was needed for someone to oversee the operation. A two-room cabin was built in 1914 for that purpose.

In 1937 another timber sale was being logged around Gould. The timber supervisor, Carl A. Sward, was getting married and could no longer live in the common bunkhouse with his men. In order to bring his wife to North Park, he received approval to add a kitchen and bathroom to the old ranger cabin. A pump house and well were added around the same time so the Swards could have running water year-round.

In 1945 the station was no longer used, and two proposals were written to keep it in use. The first was to add another room to the north side. The second was to move Michigan Guard Station to either the Lone Pine forest access, or to the new pass at Willow Creek. Neither one was approved. The cabin stayed in Gould.

The building was used sporadically as seasonal housing until 1998. The bathroom was already in bad shape, the shower unusable. Water damage was showing on the ceiling and walls. The floor needed refinished. Doorframes were rotting and had to be replaced. Outside, a few logs were damaged, and the cellar door was full of holes where animals had chewed through.