The Baldpate Inn
Honeymooners Gordon and Ethel Mace homesteaded this mountainside in 1911 and opened the Baldpate Inn in 1917, naming it after the mystery novel Seven Keys to Baldpate. When wartime metal costs ended the practice of issuing guests their own keys, visitors began leaving keys behind, founding the famous Key Room that now holds more than 20,000, including keys from Westminster Abbey, the Pentagon, and Mozart's wine cellar. Legend holds that the Maces never left. Ethel, a prohibitionist, is said to appear in a wing-backed rocker by a storage-room fireplace, feet up, reading her Bible; she is blamed for spilling mixed drinks and sending glasses flying off tables. Gordon, the consummate host, is reported roaming the halls at night checking on guests. Both detested smoking, and guests who light cigarettes report them mysteriously snuffed out or their packs vanishing. The inn operates seasonally, open from late spring to mid-October.
📍 4900 S Highway 7, Estes Park, CO 80517, Estes Park, CO · Get directions