Grand Lake is Colorado’s largest and deepest natural lake, and the little mountain town on its shore is one of the state’s most charming: wooden boardwalks, log storefronts and sailboats, with Rocky Mountain National Park wrapped around three sides.

The Ute people called it Spirit Lake and considered it sacred. Glaciers carved the basin less than 12,000 years ago, and the lake now covers more than 500 acres and reaches almost 400 feet deep, fed by headwaters of the Colorado River. Hunters and guides built summer lodges here in the mid-1800s, and the town was permanently settled in 1867. Grand Lake briefly became the county seat in 1881, an era remembered for an infamous Fourth of July shootout. Even in its remote early days the village had style. The Grand Lake Yacht Club, founded in 1902, is one of the highest yacht clubs in the world, and the 1892 Kauffman House is now a history museum.

Stroll Grand Avenue’s boardwalk for galleries, candy shops and cafes, then head to Lake Avenue, where two marinas next to Gene Stover Lakefront Park rent boats for fishing and cruising. In summer, Grand Lake is the western gateway to Trail Ridge Road and the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park, where moose often feed in the Kawuneeche Valley. In winter the town turns to ice skating, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing at the Grand Lake Nordic Center. For more alpine water, see Lake Dillon or Lake San Cristobal.

Grand Lake keeps busy year-round, from the Tree Lighting and New Year’s Eve fireworks to winter events such as the Pond Hockey Classic and Winter Carnival, and Buffalo Days in summer. Trail Ridge Road closes to through traffic in winter, so drive in via US 40 and Granby. See the latest schedule at gograndlake.com.