Redstone, the “Ruby of the Rockies,” is a storybook village on the Crystal River where red cliffs glow above a Tudor-style castle, a row of historic coke ovens and a single main street of shops, galleries and a landmark inn.

Redstone was built at the turn of the 20th century by industrialist John Cleveland Osgood, founder of CF&I Steel and the “Fuel King of the West,” as a model coal-and-coke town. He gave it a 66-room, roughly 22,000-square-foot Tudor-style mansion now known as the Redstone Castle, the Redstone Inn for bachelor coke workers, cottages for families, and a clubhouse with a theater and library. The New York Times dubbed it the Ruby of the Rockies in 1902. The mines closed in 1909, and today the Redstone Historic District preserves much of Osgood’s planned village.

Stroll Redstone Boulevard past the general store, galleries and the clock-towered Redstone Inn, then walk out to the coke ovens on the edge of town, where long rows of beehive-shaped brick ovens once baked coal into coke. Hays Creek Falls tumbles beside Colorado 133 just south of town, the Crystal River is right there for fishing and wading, and in winter, Coal Creek is a favorite snowshoe route. Continue up the valley to Crystal Mill and Marble for a full Crystal River day.

Insider tip: The Redstone Castle at 58 Redstone Boulevard offers guided historic tours by reservation only—check availability at theredstonecastle.com before you drive. Look for raw white marble on lawns and steps around the village; it came from the Yule quarries up the valley.

Redstone’s community events, gallery happenings and winter snowshoe information are posted on redstonecolorado.com. Redstone Castle historic tours (about 1.5 hours, small groups) are booked online when available; the public tour listing currently shows no open sessions, so check before you go.