News Release

Special Saturday Evening Program My Time At The Never Summer Ranch

Date: August 21, 2019
Contact: Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer, [phone]
Contact: Park Information, [phone]

On Saturday, August 31, at 7 pm, staff at Rocky Mountain National Park invite you to view a special short film about what life was like on the Never Summer Ranch. This will be held at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center on the west side of the park.

Created by park volunteers, this documentary style film explores the memories and experiences of Hal Simmons, a former ranch hand and employee of Johnnie Holzwarth, Jr. Now part of Rocky Mountain National Park, the Holzwarth Historic Site preserves the legacy of the Holzwarth Family and their ranch.

John and Sophia Holzwarth, and their son Johnnie, homesteaded in the Kawuneeche Valley in 1917. In 1920, Old Fall River Road became the gateway through Rocky Mountain National Park from Estes Park, and tourism boomed. The Holzwarth family turned their homestead into the Holzwarth Trout Lodge dude ranch and later, the larger, more modern Never Summer Ranch. Johnnie Jr.’s perseverance and work ethic, as well as his dedicated employees, kept the ranch open until it was sold in 1974.
                                               
This program is free and open to the public.  For further information on Rocky Mountain National Park, please visit www.nps.gov/romo or contact the park’s Information Office at 970-586-1206.