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Tennessee Pass Nordic Center, Cookhouse, & Sleep Yurts has become one of Colorado’s premier winter and summer destinations, offering the finest in cross-country skiing, exquisite backcountry dining, and the coziest of overnight accommodations with our new ski-in sleep yurts. At Tennessee Pass, couples and families will discover a rustic, yet elegant, world away from the crowds and the condos. Our mission is simple- Ski – Dine – Sleep – Repeat! OPEN WINTER: Nov. 24 – April 18 COOKHOUSE : Dinner everyday. Lunch only Sat & Sun RESERVATIONS REQUIRED FOR COOKHOUSE NORDIC CENTER: Open everyday 9-5 no reservations. OPEN SUMMER: June 22 – Septmeber30 Thurs – Sun for Dinner RESERVATIONS REQUIRED FOR COOKHOUSE Nordic Center closed in summer.
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Cookhouse – Tennessee Pass Nordic Center
Enjoy a one mile ski, snowshoe, or hike to the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse and savor an elegant evening of multi-course dining in an idyllic backcountry setting.
Nordic Center • Cookhouse • Sleep Yurts | Tennessee Pass
Ski – Dine – Sleep – Repeat! Tennessee Pass is a premier Colorado destination for cross- country skiing, backcountry dining, and cozy overnight …
Menus and Specials – Tennessee Pass Nordic Center
Cookhouse & Sleep Yurts: 719.486.8114. Tennessee Pass Cookhouse & Nordic Center E. Tennessee Rd. Leadville, CO 80461. FOLLOW US. Follow · Follow. Tennessee Pass …
Reviews
Jackie Smith
We were genuinely excited for this experience, snowshoeing to a backcountry yurt for lunch with kids felt like the quintessential Colorado adventure.
The good: The Nordic center is excellent with well-marked trails, and the yurt itself delivered exactly what we’d hoped for—cozy, clean, spacious, and charming.
The friction: The reservation process needs streamlining. We had to call to book, then text our meal selections separately. There’s no reason this couldn’t be handled through an online system. More concerning, their day-of email explicitly instructs guests NOT to purchase a trail pass at the Nordic center—but the Nordic center staff had to reassure us that email was incorrect. Small details, but they created unnecessary uncertainty before we’d even started our trek.
The service: This is where things fell flat. We arrived just a few minutes past our 12pm reservation (not uncommon when snowshoeing with kids), yet we watched every single table get served before us, with our food finally arriving at 12:50—despite having submitted our order seven days in advance. No acknowledgment of the wait, no small talk from staff. With a captive audience in such a unique setting, this felt like a missed opportunity to share the Cookhouse’s story. We also thought desserts and sides were available, but were never offered anything.
The food: Fine, but not memorable. The vegan bowl was enormous but roughly 80% arugula—”salad” would be a more accurate description. The kids’ mac and cheese was quite rich.
I’d still recommend the experience for the novelty and the beautiful setting, and I’d give dinner a try. The bones of something special are here, it just needs more attention to communication and hospitality to match the magic of the concept.
… moreThe good: The Nordic center is excellent with well-marked trails, and the yurt itself delivered exactly what we’d hoped for—cozy, clean, spacious, and charming.
The friction: The reservation process needs streamlining. We had to call to book, then text our meal selections separately. There’s no reason this couldn’t be handled through an online system. More concerning, their day-of email explicitly instructs guests NOT to purchase a trail pass at the Nordic center—but the Nordic center staff had to reassure us that email was incorrect. Small details, but they created unnecessary uncertainty before we’d even started our trek.
The service: This is where things fell flat. We arrived just a few minutes past our 12pm reservation (not uncommon when snowshoeing with kids), yet we watched every single table get served before us, with our food finally arriving at 12:50—despite having submitted our order seven days in advance. No acknowledgment of the wait, no small talk from staff. With a captive audience in such a unique setting, this felt like a missed opportunity to share the Cookhouse’s story. We also thought desserts and sides were available, but were never offered anything.
The food: Fine, but not memorable. The vegan bowl was enormous but roughly 80% arugula—”salad” would be a more accurate description. The kids’ mac and cheese was quite rich.
I’d still recommend the experience for the novelty and the beautiful setting, and I’d give dinner a try. The bones of something special are here, it just needs more attention to communication and hospitality to match the magic of the concept.
Eddo Weijer
I stayed here at least 6 times over the years – both summer and winter. I love it. It is a unique experience for young and old. Why the 3 stars: prices are almost $400 p/night to stay in a yurt – plus dinner is $200 p/person after two drinks and a 15% tip. The yurt was quite dirty with spiderwebs and no candles. We check out at 9AM – but our luggage wasn’t returned until 10:30 so we were waiting. The service was rather poor too. You are supposed to tip for service upfront – which i personally don’t like to do – as I tip for service after receiving it – not upfront… Maybe this is why they treaded us poorly. This is not how it used to be – it used to be friendly, not as expensive and the yurts were better maintained. It is still a wonderful experience but for $400 p/night and $200 p/person dinner – you can also get a lot of other wonderful experiences elsewhere and I am going to explore alternatives going forward. I am sure anyone will still enjoy this.
… moreVictoria Kiesling
The whole experience was terrific! The timing for serving each course was perfect. The food was mouth-watering good. I loved that a guitarist was playing in the yurt.
To get to the yurt and back, make sure you go cross-country skiing instead of snowshoeing. It’s so much more fun.
… moreTo get to the yurt and back, make sure you go cross-country skiing instead of snowshoeing. It’s so much more fun.
Faina Burman
My husband and I used a $300 wedding gift for a dinner here, expecting a serene, high-end backcountry experience. While the 1-mile hike to the yurt was actually very pretty and enjoyable, the dinner itself was one of the most uncomfortable and poorly managed meals we’ve ever had.
We were seated directly next to the door in 10-degree weather. Because the yurt was over-capacity with nearly 40 people, the door opened every few seconds, sending a freezing blast of air into the room. The space was so cramped that my husband’s chair was repeatedly kicked by other guests. I specifically asked if we could be moved, but I was told there was no other space, so we were stuck. Seats by the door simply should not exist at this price point. When I asked if it was always this loud, a staff member told me: “That’s what happens when you have dinner in the backcountry with 35 other people.” We go to the backcountry to escape crowds, not to pay a premium to be trapped in a deafeningly loud room where we couldn’t hear ourselves think.
The entire operation was severely understaffed. After arriving, we stood around awkwardly with no direction and then, once seated, were ignored for 20 minutes before our drink order was even taken. While the staff eventually offered us a round of drinks on the house, it didn’t fix the fact that we were subjected to a miserable seating arrangement and uncomfortable noise levels. Because they were spread so thin, the staff had no time to provide the level of attention you’d expect for a “luxury” experience. The courses took an incredibly long time to come out, stretching the ordeal into a two-hour experience of being cold and cramped.
The appetizers and salad were quite good, but the entrees were a letdown. My husband’s bison was “fine” but not mind-blowing, and my fish was completely unseasoned and served with a confusing blueberry sauce.
The most frustrating part was the bill. There are additional taxes (Land Use and Lodging Tax?!) totaling 20% that are not listed anywhere on their website. We were not staying in the sleep yurts—we were just there for dinner—so a lodging tax made absolutely no sense. This turned a $135/plate dinner into a $165/plate dinner. Paying that much for mediocre food in a chaotic environment is unacceptable.
We eventually asked for our dessert to go just to escape the noise. Management reached out the next day and refunded the tax portion of our bill. While I appreciate the gesture, refunding a tax charge (which shouldn’t have been charged in the first place) doesn’t make up for a ruined wedding gift. This felt like a crowded, understaffed cafeteria in the woods. Save your money.
… moreWe were seated directly next to the door in 10-degree weather. Because the yurt was over-capacity with nearly 40 people, the door opened every few seconds, sending a freezing blast of air into the room. The space was so cramped that my husband’s chair was repeatedly kicked by other guests. I specifically asked if we could be moved, but I was told there was no other space, so we were stuck. Seats by the door simply should not exist at this price point. When I asked if it was always this loud, a staff member told me: “That’s what happens when you have dinner in the backcountry with 35 other people.” We go to the backcountry to escape crowds, not to pay a premium to be trapped in a deafeningly loud room where we couldn’t hear ourselves think.
The entire operation was severely understaffed. After arriving, we stood around awkwardly with no direction and then, once seated, were ignored for 20 minutes before our drink order was even taken. While the staff eventually offered us a round of drinks on the house, it didn’t fix the fact that we were subjected to a miserable seating arrangement and uncomfortable noise levels. Because they were spread so thin, the staff had no time to provide the level of attention you’d expect for a “luxury” experience. The courses took an incredibly long time to come out, stretching the ordeal into a two-hour experience of being cold and cramped.
The appetizers and salad were quite good, but the entrees were a letdown. My husband’s bison was “fine” but not mind-blowing, and my fish was completely unseasoned and served with a confusing blueberry sauce.
The most frustrating part was the bill. There are additional taxes (Land Use and Lodging Tax?!) totaling 20% that are not listed anywhere on their website. We were not staying in the sleep yurts—we were just there for dinner—so a lodging tax made absolutely no sense. This turned a $135/plate dinner into a $165/plate dinner. Paying that much for mediocre food in a chaotic environment is unacceptable.
We eventually asked for our dessert to go just to escape the noise. Management reached out the next day and refunded the tax portion of our bill. While I appreciate the gesture, refunding a tax charge (which shouldn’t have been charged in the first place) doesn’t make up for a ruined wedding gift. This felt like a crowded, understaffed cafeteria in the woods. Save your money.
Julia Shuff
We came for dinner and it was phenomenal. First, you check in and snowshoe up (~1 Mile,) working for your dinner. The woods at night are gorgeous, it was snowing, and all in all just a very peaceful walk. Once you arrive, there was a fire in the fire pit to welcome you. You then go inside this yurt, which is warmed by a woodstove and very cozy. Almost all of the lighting is by candle, with one little lamp in the center. It was super cozy.
Then, the food. The food was so delicious. You order your main a week ahead, while the appetizers/desserts are what the chef has at the time. Everything was so tasty.
After finishing our amazing meal, the much more difficult part of bending over on full bellies to strap our snowshoes back on occurred. Luckily, it was downhill from the cookhouse! We had a very pleasant walk out, returned our gear, and called it a night.
Go in part for the food, but also for the experience. The entire package made this an amazing evening.
… moreThen, the food. The food was so delicious. You order your main a week ahead, while the appetizers/desserts are what the chef has at the time. Everything was so tasty.
After finishing our amazing meal, the much more difficult part of bending over on full bellies to strap our snowshoes back on occurred. Luckily, it was downhill from the cookhouse! We had a very pleasant walk out, returned our gear, and called it a night.
Go in part for the food, but also for the experience. The entire package made this an amazing evening.
Allison Barnes
Pure magic! My partner and I recently got married at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse on 9/7/24 and it was truly the most incredible weekend. I could write 10+ pages recapping the whole weekend and explaining every detail that added to the bliss but I will do my best to keep this post short and sweet. First, the team-Mariah and Erica were the leads on helping us organize the wedding. They both spent the whole weekend assisting us and our guests and made all of our hopes and dreams come true regarding the vision for our unique wedding. By the end of it- all of my friends were raving about how well the crew at the property treated everyone- professional, warm, fun, great energy and extremely resourceful. Not only were Erica and Mariah fantastic- but every single member of the team was amazing! You can tell this team is close and that they love what they do. It felt like a true community up there. Huge shoutout to the chef and his dedicated hard work- my partner and I are huge foodies and that is one of the main reasons we chose this venue. We were blown away by every bite we took- from apps, entrees to dessert. Thank you so much! I left our wedding weekend with a full heart and so much gratitude for everyone that contributed to our special weekend. All of my friends are still gushing over “the BEST wedding they’ve ever been to!!”. The views and location are stunning but I truly believe it is the people that make this place so special. THANK YOU ALL AGAIN. We look forward to visiting soon. – Allison and Reed Whetstone
… moreTracey Bernett
Most of the food was excellent, especially the tomato pesto burrata appetizer, but the meat for most of our table was blood red RAW. Not rare, but raw. We had to send two dishes back twice. Half our party was uncomfortably cold. We were seated along the sides of the yurt (the cold air kept blowing in) and the staff was so busy they couldn’t keep the stove going. We even offered to feed the stove ourselves. The staff was very nice but the undercooked meat and uncomfortable temperature really put a damper on what we had hoped would be a very memorable evening for our international guests. I booked our reservations months in advance and was really looking forward to a unique experience. The hike up and down was magical, one of the very best parts of the evening. They had a very full house that night – perhaps they were understaffed or perhaps they simply booked too many people that night.
… moreHeidi H
Best dining experience to date! Imagine an off grid yurt experience where you have to snow shoe or ski to get to an elevated, five course meal. We arrived right as the sun was setting, taking in the gorgeous, panoramic mountain views off the porch. We were warmly greeted by the staff. We ordered the bison and pheasant. The bison was the best steak I’ve ever had! The chef even came out to make sure we were enjoying our meal. The rosemary bean soup was to die for! The rosemary flavor was perfection. The venison shooters were also amazing. The whole meal last from 6-8:30ish. It also included dessert. We were so impressed with the entire experience that I will definitely be recommending this place to family and friends.
… moreMichael Abbott
This place was worth the trek!
Unassuming yurt with fantastic views.
No running water, no problem!
The staff was uber friendly and they pour stiff drinks! The food was great, tons of flavor and delightful plating. The cookies wrapped up the meal and were stupendous. Definitely worth a visit.
… moreUnassuming yurt with fantastic views.
No running water, no problem!
The staff was uber friendly and they pour stiff drinks! The food was great, tons of flavor and delightful plating. The cookies wrapped up the meal and were stupendous. Definitely worth a visit.
Charlie Maynard
I had the lamb curry burger and chai White Russian and thought they were both delicious. My photo doesn’t do it justice (partially because I started mixing up the salad before remembering to take a pic) but it had so much flavor. Boyfriend got the bison burger and it also had a lot of flavor. The views from the porch were incredible, too. Very enjoyable day. Would love to go back.
… more