| Colorado's pretty little secret... At around 8000 feet above sea level and tucked between two spectacular mountain ranges, the Gore and the Williams Peak Ranges, Heeney and the Green Mountain Reservoir area is one of Colorado's best kept secrets. Just about 40 minutes from Keystone, Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin, Loveland and Copper Mountain ski resorts, the area offers a unique change of scene and pace from all the big resorts down the road. The original town of Heeney was an offshoot of the dam construction that took place here as part of the Colorado Big Thompson Project in the 1930's as housing for workers who built the Green Mountain Dam through the 1940's. |
| Heeney, Colorado Small town, big beauty! |
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| Circa 1940 Heeney Our cabins are some of the original cabins in Heeney that locals called "The 7 Whites". At one time they were considered lake front! |
| Heeney and the Green Mountain Reservoir naturally became a resort with all of the lake activities. One old timer said the reason he bought in Heeney was because he saw a woman carrying a washtub full of fish up from the reservoir. The Green Mountain Resort became a popular place for sportsmen, families and outdoor enthusiasts alike. |
More than once in the history of Heeney it has looked like it was verge of discovery, now those who have found it, don’t want it to be discovered by any one else. The full time population is around 120, most of the increase has been in the last few years. Approximately 80% of the homes are summer cabins, owned by people from the Denver area. Several of the retired owners spend the winter in Arizona or Nevada and the summers in Heeney. Our climate is a little milder and dryer than the Dillon/Silverthorne area. People come from Breckenridge in May to get a taste of spring. The nearest town is Kremmling, 18 miles north, Silverthorne and I 70 are 23 miles south. In Heeney we have cabin rentals, a bait & tackle store and marina. If you are looking for cabin rentals you can't beat Heeney Hideaway Cabins, with views of the lake and surrounding mountains these cabins are sure to enchant. There is also Master Bait and Tackle Shop & Chance Liquors, they have bait, tackle, some groceries, liquor, gas and propane. At the south end of the reservoir is Melody Lodge with cabin rentals and a tackle shop. They also run the Marina and offer boats rentals. All of these businesses thrive in the summer, things really slow down in the winter. Activities around the reservoir include snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, ice skating, mountain biking, extensive hiking trails, nearby National Forests, kayaking, hang gliding, lake fishing, wind surfing, swimming, boating, water skiing, jet skiing & wake boarding, 4-wheeling, horseback riding, ice-fishing, wildlife viewing, sightseeing. Just 3 miles away is Cataract Lake, at the base of the Gore Range Wilderness Area, a peaceful mountain lake with Cataract waterfall at the far end of the lake. You can follow a very nice trail back to the waterfall and than have a picnic at the beach area. This lakeside town's most famous event was the Heeney Tick Festival, which honored a pioneer woman's comeback from a nasty bug bite with a parade, food, drink, games, music and, of course, the crowning of the Tick Queen and King. The Tick Festival hasn't been happening for the last few years but we hope to one day see the return of the Tick! For now residents of Heeney entertain themselves with cheerfully competitive games of cribbage at Heeney Social pot lucks and enjoying all that this quaint little hideaway has to offer. Thanks to Keats Ann Scott for the Heeney history! |
| Heeney, CO June 2008. |