A Love Letter to Lake City, Colorado
I have been going out west on my husband’s motorcycle with him every Summer for the past 12 years, so those who know us are always asking about our favorite towns, restaurants, etc. There are too many beautiful places, and wonderful places to eat, to ever definitively name JUST one place. A little town named Lake City, Colorado, wormed its way into my heart a long time ago, though.
Once a mining town, Lake City it a quiet little place nestled in the San Juan Mountains, and a population of less than 500 people. It’s your quintessential 1-horse kind of town. Don’t expect swinging nightlife, a good internet connection, or a chain restaurant or hotel of any kind. On my first time spending the night in Lake City I asked the server at our restaurant where a good place in town was to get a manicure. She literally laughed in my face. Sigh.
I soon came to learn, though, this is a place to which you come for breathtaking views, fresh air, a chance to hear yourself think, and good food & hospitality. A place to recharge your batteries. A place where you greet the elk on your walk to dinner.
Lake City gained a little notoriety and a place on the map (as it were) in the late 1800s when a man named Alferd Packer was charged with murdering and cannibalizing some prospectors with whom he was serving as a tour guide. After being stranded with the prospectors without provisions, he returned alone & surprisingly healthy. He was arrested, escaped, later captured in Wyoming, and returned to Lake City to face trial; the jury found him guilty for the murder of one of the prospectors. He was ordered to be hanged but underwent many trials & appeals. In the end, he was paroled in the early 1900s.
Fortunately, there are less desperate dining options in Lake City these days.
When you wake up in the morning, it is well worth the mile or so walk down the road to eat breakfast at the Lake City Bakery. Everything and I mean everything, behind their counter is homemade and baked fresh daily. I’m partial to the cream cheese pastries myself, but there are both savory and sweet options from which to choose. Pies, pastries, fresh bread, and coffee whilst sitting outside are a little piece of Heaven.
When it comes to dinner in Lake City, there is only one place to dine as far as I’m concerned: Climb Elevated Eatery. Linda Lovegreen and Jerry Johnson opened this establishment a few years ago after years of dreaming of it; she cooks and runs the kitchen, and he keeps the front of the house friendly and welcoming. Their restaurant derives its name from Lake City itself, as it is a place where visitors come to hike, ATV, ride bikes, etc., to the surrounding higher elevations.
The beautiful thing about Climb Elevated Eatery is that it offers excellent food without pretentiousness, and the menu offers enough variety to scratch whatever itch you have that particular day – pasta, wild game, and fresh fist. You can dine inside or out, and it will usually be Jerry himself serving you and making sure you are comfortable.
I highly recommend the charcuterie board (mostly farm to table ingredients), the fettuccine alfredo (so creamy!), and some of Jerry’s homemade cocktails! I always leave there full and happy, so it deserves 5 out of 5 pours. 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷
Like so many cool and amazing places, I fear it is only a matter of time before Lake City becomes touched by the outside world and commercialized. As for now, though, I think of it is a little oasis in which I’m lucky enough to spend a few days every year completely shut off from the outside world. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
