Idledale, Colorado: The Perfect Mountain Town
Idledale, Colorado, is located in the middle of the Rocky Mountains and provides a welcome escape from busy city life. Idledale is a perfect mountain town that everyone should consider as their new home! Idledale has many great restaurants, shops, and activities for residents to enjoy. Idledale also has a fantastic view of Longs Peak, which climbers named one of the "14ers" because it stands 14,259 feet tall. Information can be found here.
The community consists mainly of summer homes and vacation cabins because Idledale lacks any central heat or air conditioning; one must rely on wood stoves and open windows to stay warm. Idledale has a trailhead leading into the Indian Peaks Wilderness with access to James Peak, Neva Peak, Mount Aetna, and other peaks over 13,000 feet high. See here for information about A Weekend in Genesee, Colorado.
Idledale was incorporated on January 15th, 1907, by Charles E Perry, who worked in real estate for many years (Perry's wife Jennie died of cancer at age 44). He named it Idledale after his daughter Edith Idell Perry Larimer, who had recently moved from Denver out west, where she had lived since her marriage in 1883. Idell came back east to care for her aging father during his final illness (he died May 25th, 1905), about which time Idledale was getting started. Idell inherited some of her father's land and continued to live in Idledale for the rest of her life. The town has several important historic buildings, including the Perry Cabin Site on Fourmile Creek, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.