Entry No. 3 — the Fort Collins file — filed under: history
Hahns Peak Village, Schoolhouse Museum & Bear Cage Jail
“Fifteen weathered buildings, one free museum, and the actual iron cage Wild Bunch outlaws broke out of.”
This 1865 gold camp was somehow the seat of all Routt County — a county that once stretched to the Utah border — until Steamboat snatched the title in 1912. Fifteen-odd weathered buildings survive along one dirt block, plus a free museum in the 1911 schoolhouse. Out back sits the actual Bear Cage Jail, a freestanding iron cage where Wild Bunch outlaws Harry Tracy and Dave Lant were locked in 1898 — until they jumped the sheriff at breakfast and ran.
The story
Before Steamboat Springs snatched the title in 1912, this quiet cluster of timber was the undisputed seat of power for a Routt County that stretched all the way to the Utah border. It started as an 1865 gold camp, but somehow managed to govern a massive swath of wilderness from fifteen-odd weathered buildings lining a single unpaved block.
The town lost its administrative crown over a century ago, but the surviving structures still stand along Main Street off County Road 129. Behind the 1911 schoolhouse—which now serves as a free local museum—sits the town's most notorious artifact: the Bear Cage Jail. It isn't a stone building or a timber dugout, but a freestanding iron cell built to hold the region's worst.
In 1898, lawmen locked Wild Bunch outlaws Harry Tracy and Dave Lant inside the iron cage. The jail held them just long enough for breakfast: when the sheriff showed up with their morning meal, the pair jumped him, slipped out of their heavy iron box, and vanished into the surrounding hills. You can still walk right up to the iron bars where they sat.
What it's like
You'll spot the village off County Road 129, about 40 minutes north of Steamboat Springs. There are no turnstiles or velvet ropes here—just a single dirt block you can walk in under half an hour. If you visit between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the 1911 schoolhouse opens up its doors as a free museum; come during the off-season and you'll have to settle for peering through windows, though the freestanding Bear Cage Jail out back remains fully viewable year-round. It's a quick, self-guided stop, making it an easy pairing with a picnic five minutes down the road at Steamboat Lake State Park.
The move: Stroll the one-block self-guided walking tour, snap your date behind the bars of the Bear Cage Jail, then picnic at Steamboat Lake five minutes down the road.
📍 Before you go The museum buildings only open for the summer season, roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day and weather permitting; off-season you can still walk the dirt lane and see the exteriors and the jail cage. The village sits about 40 minutes north of Steamboat Springs via County Road 129, and everything is within a single block of unpaved road. Steamboat Lake State Park is five minutes away and makes the natural pairing for the rest of the day.
- 📍 Clark
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: RCR 129 and Main Street, Hahns Peak Village, Clark, CO 80428
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Strawberry Park Hot Springs — After standing by the cold iron bars of an 1890s outlaw cage, head south into the mountains to soak off the dirt in natural stone thermal pools.
- Steamboat Spring & the Mineral Springs Walking Tour — Follow up your tour of the 1865 gold camp with a stroll around the mineral springs that helped Steamboat steal the county seat in 1912.
- Sulphur Cave at Howelsen Hill — Pair a walk through Routt County's forgotten 19th-century county seat with a visit to a travertine cave in Steamboat Springs that exhales toxic gas.
Good to know
When is the schoolhouse museum open?
The museum interior is open seasonally from roughly Memorial Day through Labor Day, weather permitting. However, you can walk the dirt block and inspect the building exteriors and the Bear Cage Jail year-round.
Is there an admission fee?
No, walking the historic dirt lane and visiting the schoolhouse museum is completely free.
Where is Hahns Peak Village located?
It sits about 40 minutes north of Steamboat Springs along County Road 129, at the corner of RCR 129 and Main Street in Clark.
Who were the outlaws held in the Bear Cage Jail?
Wild Bunch members Harry Tracy and Dave Lant were locked inside the freestanding iron cage in 1898 before ambushing the sheriff at breakfast and making their escape.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · uncovercolorado.com · steamboatpilot.com · steamboatchamber.com
last checked: 2026-06-11