he area where Elk Meadows and Ridgway is currenty located was first inhabited by the Ute Indians, who lived here during the late spring, summer and into early fall. The Utes lived off of the land gathering roots, seeds, deer, elk, turkey, grouse, and an occasional bear for their meals and storing more for their winter camps.  They also raised horses,  They viewed the size of their horse herds as a form of wealth.  When their horse herds ate the grass down low and the seeds and game they gathered ran low, they moved their tipis from place to place.

After the Utes came the hard rock miners with their hard work, hard living, and hard drinking. They enjoyed the summers and fought the winters and the high altitudes. They took millions of dollars in gold, silver, and assorted minerals out of the mountains.                                               

The ranchers came next and they are still raising cattle, sheep and other barn yard animals.  They also raise crops, hay, corn, and vegetables and they still make a good living at it.

Following them came the Narrow Gauge Railroads, which managed to survive for about 60 years. With the Rio Grande Southern Railroad the town of Ridgway was born, in 1889, founded by Otto Mears. It became the Home Depot for the Rio Grande Southern, which started the history of Ridgway. The Rio Grande Southern ran west from Ridgway to Telluride through Rico, then on to Dolores. From there it went east to Mancos, and on to Durango where it joined the Denver and Rio Grande. From Ridgway it tied in with the Denver and Rio Grande Western north to Montrose, Gunnison and on toward Denver.

The first recorded people who lived in what is now Elk Meadows was the Groff Brothers. The Groff boys Tony and Victor came from Austria to seek their fortune in Colorado. They lived in a two story log house that was down by the pump house until about 1975. A part of the house stood over the spring so they could get water from inside the house. They also had an old barn that was torn down about the same time. The only thing of theirs still standing is a twenty foot boulder with a large log wired to it and a fork attached up high so you could swing hay on to a wagon to go to the barn.

Today a diverse group of us lives in Elk Meadows.  Our two oldest members are 90+ years young.  There are also families raising young children and new borns.  We live in modern homes, drive 4wd trucks and SUV’s and work and play year-round where the Utes used to spend their summers.  We play in these same Mountains and we love it!  We have downhill skiing and cross country skiing just down the road.  We have some lakes and rivers where we fish for trout and salmon, and water ski.  There is also hunting in the proper places, for deer, elk, and bears.

A lot of folks live here and work as consultants for large companies and work via the computer. We are currently experiencing a lot of building in Ouray County and we have a large group of construction workers.

Yes, there is paradise on earth.  It’s called Elk Meadows, just south of Ridgway, Colorado, on County Road 5.