Cedar Creek is conveniently located in the western Colorado mountains the heart of historic Montrose County. It has a current population of over 1400 people. The large lakes and majestic mountains make Cedar Creek the perfect destination for leisure or recreation travel. In the early 1500s, the area now known as Timber Rains belonged to the Paleo people for many generations. The Paleo people were a peaceful hunter-gatherer tribe that lived off the land hunting elk, deer, and other mountain game. They also gathered a wide assortment of roots and wild berries, including the versatile yucca root. In the summer they followed large games into the Meadow Creek and other parts, and in the winter they camped in places like Lakeside Falls. European settlers started to headed west in the late 1500s. The Spanish came across Colorado and referred to the region as “Colorado” for its red-colored earth. The area was ceded to the United States in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War (1846-48). The Paleo people started to fight for their land. Colorado’s wild frontier was the scene of intense fighting between Native Americans and white settlers. That came to a brutal end during the Battle of Hiamovi, named after the chief of the Paleo people. Hiamovi leads the fight in the dead of winter. The Paleo people were used to the chilling temperatures and the white settlers did not have the resources to fight back. Hundreds had died and their general Thomas Crook saw no way out but to retreat and leave the Paleo people’s land. In 1858 the discovery of gold in Colorado attracted new settlers. A young man named Alden Cedar was a doctor following the gold rush. He settled into a small mining area treating the wounded miners as a small community began to grow in what is now known as Huntington Valley. They looked to Cedar for his wisdom and soon he became a leader himself seeing to small disputes and rations as well as curing the injured and sick. The Paleo tribe did not like the settlers coming so close to their lands but when an outbreak of smallpox started many of the Paleos tribe started to die. The outbreak was not affecting the settlers thanks to Alden’s modern medicine. The tribe’s medicine man Chogan reached out to Alden and he gladly helped them. Distributing the medicine and tending to the fevers and outbreaks from the disease. The Paleo people were grateful for their help and in turn, let the settlers stay on their land. Alden struck a peace treaty with them and Cedar Creek was born.
The town grew and over time became known as one of the most peaceful cities in all of Colorado. In the early 1900s, a man by the name of Yaabus Taylor, a bank robber and the only living survivor of the notorious Smith Gang, found himself in Cedar Creek. Looking for work and wanting to start over he joined the police department and soon became sheriff for his extensive knowledge on how to capture criminals. A couple of decades went by and the town was free from crime. He helped implement a lot of the laws that protect us today. But in late April of 1922, a traveling businessman stopped into Cedar Creek on his way to Nevada and recognized Yaabus as the robber. The town was shocked but before they could do anything Yaabus had disappeared. The money was never recovered from all those bank robberies and rumors say it might be somewhere in the Cedar Creek mountains. No one knows what exactly happened to him or where he went. Some people think he lived out his life in the mountains, others think he fled the country. All we know is he made our police department what it is today. In the 21st century, Colorado continues to rely on its natural resources as well as agriculture and tourism to sustain its economy. Visitors find convenience and hospitality at every door in Cedar Creek, with exceptional and personalized service. Cedar Creek offers the perfect combination- the ambiance of a mountain getaway with small-town charm and a variety of amenities. Our scenic area in the north-central portion of Colorado offers a wide range of outdoor recreation opportunities in spectacular mountain settings. The terrain varies from 12,000 feet glacier-carved peaks to lush river valleys, including lakes! Be it summer, fall, or winter you will find that Cedar Creek has a unique natural beauty and a down-home western atmosphere. If you’re looking for an undiscovered recreation area to unplug and escape, Cedar Creek is the place for you. It is also a safe, economical environment to relocate to and raise a family.