This year, Rakis will be held at
Rustic Creek Ranch
south of Bailey, Colorado.
RAKIS 2026:
THE RAVENOUS RAVE
The 160 acre ranch was homesteaded by my grandfather over 100 years ago. He was an engineer.
The plan was to use this property as summer grazing for his cattle. The cattle were wintered at the other ranch about 10 miles away, which was homesteaded by my great grandfather.
Because my grandfather could survey, he made sure the property lines zigzaged up the valley so the small creek was in the middle to provide water for the animals. He chose well. It is a beautiful, quiet place with elk, deer and wild turkeys. There are tons of wild flowers in the summer.
Columbines, the Colorado state flower, wild roses, paintbrushes and lots of wild chokecherries. With nice views of nearby mountains, open pastures, evergreen forests and aspen groves, it looks like it did 100 years ago. Plus, there are a couple of ponds for your dogs to cool off in. Since the first cattle, the ranch has also been home to goats, chickens, horses, and now more goats, alpacas and llamas. And of course the Great Pyrenees ranch dogs.
I had a house built a few years ago and live on the property full time. The ranch is surrounded by Pike National Forest with the Colorado Trail connecting the property in a number of places. Some of the highest ranked mountain bike trails are nearby. There are lots of places on and off the property to hike, mountain bike and ride your horse. On a clear night you can see thousands of stars and hear coyotes howl. For a drone video of the ranch check out: YouTube's Midsummer 2020 Flyover.
Elevation 8,000 feet, Average Summer Temperatures: Days 60-80 f, Nights 45-60 f, Sunshine Average 73-80%, Colorado Trail Segment 3, USGS Maps: Windy Peak; Green Mountain quadrangles. This is the official info. Basically, the weather is usually similar to the Denver area - just 10 degrees cooler.
About 8 miles away is the small town of Bailey. It has just about everything you might need: small grocery store, coffee shops, gas, laundry, a dollar store, hardware store, camping and sports equipment, brew pub, winery, a few restaurants, potable water station and more.
FROM OUR HOST DEBBIE:
A FEW THINGS ABOUT THE SITE
Rustic Creek Ranch is a PRIMITIVE SITE
“What does this mean for me, as an attendee of the event?”
Well, lets start with things the site does not have first to get it out of the way…
There is no electricity
There is no running water
There are no flush toilets
There are no cabins
There is little to no cell signal
(but there WILL be a wifi hotspot)
If you need something particular for your time at the event, you will need to bring it in with you.
“But this is a big event, why would you choose this spot?”
Well, a few reasons, actually.
First off, Rustic Creek Ranch may be primitive, but offers scenery and atmosphere (8500 ft of it…) to give everyone a true Rocky Mountain camping experience. Many people have noted that they come to Rakis and expect to see the mountains… to camp in the mountains. This is a great site to give them what they want.
Rustic Creek Ranch is not a City, State, or National Park, but private property. It is completely gated off to anyone NOT camping on or attending an event on the site. No random passers-by, no public driving through the site in the middle of the night.
Unlike Rakis 2025 at Wellington Lake, there are a lot of changes that make our lives easier, and our event better. We will have more usable space to spread out for games, quests, and campsites. We will have Porta-potties that will be maintained and pumped out twice per day by the on-site staff, so no wildly smelly vault toilets. We can use firewood from the area that is sold at nearby vendors (if there isn’t a fire ban), and we do not incur a $100 dollar fine for simply having a hatchet or saw in our camp. There are no wandering Rangers passing out $100 parking tickets at 3am. The site backs up to miles of National Park trails, and Redskin Mountain towers over the north side of the site. It’s beautiful.
There are llamas and goats on site that free roam the property.
That being said, dogs are welcome but must remain on a leash or tethered at all times.
“It’s a Colorado event, can I partake of…?”
LETS TALK ABOUT THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM…
Rustic Creek Ranch is what we’re calling a…
“WET+ SITE”
What does this mean?
You may, if so inclined, partake of any item that is legal to adults 21 and over within the borders of the State of Colorado.
Please partake and enjoy yourselves at the site responsibly.
In the State of Colorado, in your home, a parent or legal guardian may allow their child to have alcohol under the age of 21.
THE SITE IS NOT YOUR HOME
No one under the age of 21 may partake of alcohol or age restricted substances on site for any reason.
Officers of both the Iron Mountains and the Board of Directors will be on site the entire event.
Please don’t make us do extra work at the event…..
banning people is no fun and harshes
the vibe for everyone, dude...
