In the winter season, Timberline Tours offers private transportation to Colorado’s scenic and historic places near Vail including activity locations and restaurants such as the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse. Even though Timberline Tours doesn’t offer Vail rafting trips and jeep tours during the winter, our adventurous spirit is still going strong. And we love transporting guests from Vail Valley accommodations to unique locations like the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse for a dining experience that’s literally miles above what can be experienced in Vail or Beaver Creek.
Read on to find out more about the adventure of dining at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse. Feeling inspired? Let Timberline Tours take you there this winter in our private transportation from accommodations throughout the Vail Valley.
Backcountry Gourmet: Tennessee Pass Cookhouse
Take a break from the Vail and Beaver Creek resort scene to get a taste of the true Colorado at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse this winter. Located approximately 30 miles south of Vail on the summit of Tennessee Pass, the cookhouse experience involves fine dining at a one-of-a-kind backcountry yurt that exudes rustic charm.
Evening light at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse | photo: Tim Gormley
The adventure of getting to the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse is one of the most memorable aspects of dining there. The journey begins when Timberline Tours picks you up from your Vail Valley accommodation and transports you in a private vehicle along the scenic US Highway 24, also known as the 10th Mountain Division Memorial Highway. You’ll pass by historic Colorado towns, abandoned mines, and the historic training ground of Colorado’s famed 10th Mountain Division soldiers on the way to the Tennessee Pass Nordic Center.
Enjoy a scenic journey to the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse | photo: Tim Gormley
At the Tennessee Pass Nordic Center, guests will get ready for a mile-long hike, ski, or showshoe through beautifully wooded terrain to reach Tennessee Pass Cookhouse. The path to the cookhouse yurt is a wide, groomed snow surface in the winter, so those wearing sturdy boots can hike or showshoe in, but this trail is optimal for those who want to ski in and explore the area’s prime cross-country skiing terrain.
After about a mile of journeying through magical, snow-covered terrain, the glowing lights of Tennessee Pass Cookhouse yurt appear, and the smell of a sumptuous dinner soon follows. Yurts are round tent-like structures traditionally used by nomadic people in Central Asia, but the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse yurt has been transformed into a cozy, fine-dining destination.
Tennessee Pass Cookhouse: Gourmet dining in a cozy Colorado yurt
After sipping wine and dining from a menu that has a lot of local flavor—one favorite is the grilled elk tenderloin served with a port reduction of blueberry and sage—you’ll feel so perfectly satisfied that you’ll want to stay forever. But unless you plan to stay the night at the Tennessee Pass Sleep Yurts, a short walk away, you can rely on Timberline Tours to get you safely back to your Vail Valley accommodation.
Inside view of a Tennessee Pass Sleep Yurt | photo: Tim Gormley
Gear rentals are available for the journey to the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse at the Nordic center, but it is also possible to use personal cross-country skis and snowshoes if you have them. If guests are unable to make the mile-long walk to the cookhouse, snowmobile support can be arranged. Please let staff know in advance if someone in your group will need transport assistance from the Nordic center to the cookhouse.
Reservations are required for dining at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse. See www.tennesseepass.com for details and booking, or call (719) 486-8114.
Once you’ve made your reservation, call Lulu Garton at Timberline Tours to arrange private Tennessee Pass Cookhouse transport from accommodations in the Vail Valley: (970) 376-1135.
Professional, Private Vail Transportation with Timberline Tours
Operating under a charter transportation permit, Timberline Tours provides transport for Vail guests to Colorado’s scenic and historic places. Timberline’s transportation services include professional drivers, customized itineraries, and clean, comfortable vehicles ranging from people movers to vans for small- and medium-sized groups. People movers offer ample legroom and a central aisle that allows passengers smooth entry and exit. Vans include cushy bench seating, and while they provide less personal space than people movers, they, too, ensure a safe and comfortable ride. People movers and vans are both used for winter transport.
Timberline Tours can also accommodate larger groups with our variety of Vail transportation solutions that include people movers, vans, and busses. With generously sized seats, high ceilings, and a central aisle, a bus allows each person in a large group enough space to sit comfortably and move about with ease while entering and exiting the vehicle. People movers and busses are generally used instead of busses in the winter season, and Timberline Tours can offer multiple vehicles to match your transport preferences.
Timberline Tours will work with you to find the best transportation solution for your scenic and historic Vail adventure this winter. For transport booking and inquiries, call Lulu Garton (970) 376-1135.
CONTACT TIMBERLINE TOURS TODAY
Timberline Tours is the Vail-area’s premier whitewater rafting and backcountry jeep tours outfitter, also offering stand up paddle board (SUP) and duckie river trips on Colorado’s Eagle, Colorado, and Arkansas Rivers. All of our guided trips are open to Vail, Colorado, visitors, locals, families, and corporate groups.
To book your Vail, Colorado, adventure, call Timberline Tours at (970) 476-1414, or email us at info@timberlinetours.com.