There’s only one way to get to Spencer’s Cabin: You have to float there, either by raft or kayak. Located river left at Mile 43 just upstream from the town of Burns (and 27 river miles from Dotsero), the former private fishing shack is unique in that it happens to be one of the only reservable overnight camping spots on the Upper Colorado. Built in 2008 (by you guessed it, a guy named Spencer), in 2014 Eagle County purchased the primitive cabin and riverfront easement from the former landowner using its voter-approved Open Space Fund, and the following summer began leasing the retreat to paddlers who can reserve online ($25 per night, through November 15). While there’s no heat, electricity, toilet, or even an outhouse (users are required to, ahem, pack it out), there is bunk space for six (sleeping bags and pads recommended). And there is running water: the river burbling just outside. 

There’s also only one way to get to Gondola Village at Holy Cross: by foot, via a three-hour uphill hike to Holy Cross City, a ghost town on the flanks of Eagle County’s sole fourteener. After purchasing a claim with views of the Climax mine in 2015, innkeeper Ben Corwin hired a helicopter to fly in timber to rebuild a 19th-century miner’s cabin, then with $100,000 from Airbnb’s OMG! Fund, heli-ed in three vintage gondolas (repurposed as the retreat’s library, lounge, and dining room). In 2019, Discovery Channel flew in a second cabin piece by piece (for an episode of its Reclaimed reality TV show), equipped with a double bed, crash pad couch, propane cooktop, and a miniature wood stove. And Corwin’s Gondola Village was world famous. “It’s a challenge to get up here,” he says. But once there, you might not want to leave. From $75 per night.