The 18th hole on the River Course at Keystone Resort &
Conference Center is pure Wild West: Ice-capped peaks of the Rockies loom in the
distance, their bases kissing the frigid waters of Lake Dillon. Barren,
north-facing hillsides sit to the left, opposite pine-dotted, sage-covered
slopes to the right. Directly below stretches a sweeping par 5 that invites a
grip-it-and-rip-it downhill tee shot and offers a great chance for birdie,
assuming you avoid a dozen bunkers along the way.
In short, it’s a special place, one visiting golfers won’t
soon forget. The 6,886-yard River joins the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed
Ranch to give Keystone a one-two punch of first-rate golf. Throw in Keystone’s
myriad other activities—horseback riding, mountain biking, ecology walks,
whitewater rafting and sailing, for starters—and you have a true summertime
playground in a region where ski season has long been king.
Less penal than the Ranch course, the River is marked by wide
fairways, in some places up to 55 yards across. Because of its location at the
base of the mountains near Keystone Village, it’s exposed to less severe
temperatures and more sunlight, allowing it to remain open up to a month longer
than other area courses.
Just down the road, the 7,090-yard Ranch winds through a
valley, where it’s subject to the slightest puffs of breeze. The aptly named
layout is situated on a former cattle ranch and lettuce farm; an abandoned barn
and rusty spokes of hay rakes linger as reminders of the area’s rugged past.
Bears occasionally wander from the mountainside onto the course at
night—appropriate, since it can play like a carnivore if the wind whips and
you’ve got an uphill shot over a bunker or a long carry to clear one of six
water hazards.
Located about 90 miles west of Denver, Keystone offers plenty
of accommodations—more than 1,600 rooms in all—including the AAA Four
Diamond-rated Keystone Lodge. Dining is an experience too, particularly at the
Alpenglow Stube, North America’s highest gourmet restaurant. Accessed by
gondola, the Stube sits atop North Peak at 11,444 feet, where breathtaking
vistas of the Continental Divide abound.
