Budges Wilderness Lodge — Hotel in Four Corners States

I was looking for a real wilderness experience with great trout fishing in Colorado. I wanted to horse pack into a remote area for a solo camping trip in beautiful scenery. Through a series of connections to friends and family in Aspen, I was introduced to a fishing guide to whom I described what I was looking for - wilderness, solitude, great scenery, great fishing. He struggled to remember the name of some place he'd heard about in the Flat Tops Wilderness, a national forest a few hours west of Denver. Finally, he said that he thought the place he'd heard about was called Budges Flat Top Wilderness Lodge that had horses and did pack trips. Sure enough, a quick internet search later I found the place. Simply put, it is in the middle of nowhere. A two hour drive down an undeveloped back country forest road - I barely made it in my rented Jeep Cherokee. If the car rental place only knew what I put their car through, they probably would have told me to get lost. The Lodge itself is a classic log-built lodge. Minimal amenities, lots of taxidermy, especially some Jurassic looking Elk. The night I stayed there, the hot water wasn't working in the single shower in the main lodge building. I was greeted by John and Barry who were doing repairs on the porch that had just made it through the long winter. Ryan, their apprentice from Missouri, was also giving them a hand. I quickly learned that these guys are some of the hardest working, most dedicated guys I'd ever get to know. We had a great time - Barry does the cooking, and lifelong (excellent!) camp chef. John was in charge of the crew, and is incredibly knowledgeable about elk hunting, construction, horse wrangling and packing, and a wild man on the fringes of the universe - he was also a great singer and guitar player and that night we had a great time listening to John and talking about the wilderness. The next morning, we loaded up Sara the Mule and some horses and crossed the middle section of the South Branch of the White River, and headed into the Flat Tops' cosmically beautiful landscape. After a few hours, we found my campsite by the river in an isolated valley surrounded by purple mountains and the pine forest. Once they dropped me off, I was totally enveloped by wilderness - just what I wanted. After my camp was set up, I walked down stream maybe 150 yards to a beautiful, dark pool that edged the bottom of an impressive vertical rock face. On one of my first casts with a black and yellow panther martin spinner, I caught a 17" rainbow trout, and within 10 minutes was back at camp with the fish on the grill. This trip will keep me going all year - I loved every minute of it and feeling of always wanting to see what was around the next bend in the trail - the beauty of the place, the physical adventure, the feeling of all cares falling away as time passed - it's something I'd like to keep in mind as I return to world of commerce...

I can’t speak for the experience of others, but ours was 100% top notch at the lodge last week during 2nd rifle season 2018. Out of our 4 hunters, we missed one and killed two bulls, (a decent 5x5 and a monster 6x7), one cow, and one nice mule deer buck. I also missed a cow. So that should have been 6 animals taken out of 4 hunters, if we had done our part. The Staff did exactly what expected with putting us on animals, and was absolutely fantastic to be around. Another group of 4 hunters in camp shot 3 bulls out of 4 people, one quite large. There were only 2 hunters that did not get a shot opportunity, but they saw animals and could have shot a cow if they had a tag (I would recommend a cow tag if you’re going). Our Shots ranged from 96yds to 370yds for us, one of the others killed his at 550yds so be prepared for that opportunity. Also, be aware the road is ROUGH going in. Took about 5 hours from the highway to Budges, which is only about 40 miles. Have good, strong high wall tires, and 4-wheel drive is a must. Chains may also be required. If you're bringing a trailer, be sure there is plenty of ground clearance and it's fairly heavy duty. We drug ours quite a bit. Ultimately we are very happy with the hunt. We are ready and will not hesitate to schedule our next hunt with Budge’s. The area and lodging are rustic and rough, but with all the creature comforts we wanted. The scenery is breathtaking. I should add, We did get a chance to speak w 4 hunters that came in from their drop camp that were extremely pleased with their hunt. 2 bulls killed, and 1 Large one missed. They were VERY pleased with their accommodations and I am considering a guided drop camp in Archery season for my next hunt. While we were there, The outfitter had just lost one guide to a family emergency and the cook walked out. They never missed a beat. We are great and saw plenty of animals. Thank you to Vernon, Nelson, Dan, Jacob, and all the other staff for memories and people we will never forget. We...

I went to Budges for second season elk and mule deer. Rick Hawkens , new management there, treated me like family. The food cooked by camp cook Mary, was delicious . My guide Terry was a great guy and I felt like I had been hunting with him for years. Although I did not kill an elk , Terry worked very hard to get us in elk and he did. All the guides and staff there were awesome !! The camp wrangler Willy, made sure all the horse and mules were ready to go every morning. The cabins were all warm with bathrooms and running water. Beds were fitted with clean sheets. This was my first elk hunt and visit to the Rocky Mountains and these guys made it an awesome experience !! I would recommend Budges wilderness lodge to anyone looking for great hunting in the beautiful flattops wilderness area. Thanks to everyone there !! Cant wait to go back again !!...