History and culture - Mountains
Beckwith Ranch: the red-roofed Victorian on Highway 69
A white-clapboard Victorian ranch house with bright red roofs sits just northwest of Westcliffe, a National Register landmark that volunteers open for tours each summer.
Published June 10, 2026 - Last verified June 15, 2026
Drive Highway 69 north out of Westcliffe and the white Victorian house with bright red roofs is hard to miss, framed by the Sangre de Cristo range behind it. That is the Beckwith Ranch, and the building has become one of the most photographed sights in the Wet Mountain Valley.
The story starts in the 1870s, when brothers Edwin and Elton Beckwith, sons of a Maine shipbuilder, settled here and built up what grew into one of Colorado’s largest cattle operations. Over the following decades they added a courtyard of white clapboard buildings around the main house, the headquarters of a ranch that once ran thousands of head.
In 1996 the owners donated the headquarters and its grounds to the nonprofit Friends of the Beckwith Ranch, and in 1998 the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with ten of its buildings recognized. Volunteers have spent years restoring the buildings toward their early-1900s look.
From June through October, those volunteers lead tours and keep a small gift shop on site; winter tours can be arranged by reservation. Each building also carries a QR code you can scan for a short audio history, so you can wander the grounds on your own time.
For current days, hours, and tour details, check the Friends of the Beckwith Ranch site at beckwithranch.com.