Entry No. 29 — the Fort Collins file — filed under: history
Seven Keys Lodge Key Collection
What started as a guest tradition in the 1920s — Clarence Darrow left the first key in 1923 — has grown into a catalogued collection of roughly 30,000 keys draped from the rafters and walls of this 1917 lodge at 9,000 feet. Formerly the Baldpate Inn (named after Earl Derr Biggers' mystery novel "Seven Keys to Baldpate"), the Key Room holds keys to Westminster Abbey, Mozart's wine cellar, Frankenstein's Castle, the Pentagon, and an ocean-liner deck. The White House declined to contribute — but the signed presidential refusal letter is on display. The lodge holds the world record for the largest public key collection and sits five miles south of Estes Park opposite Lily Lake.
The move: Park at the lodge, spend an hour hunting the Key Room for the strangest specimen you can find — the Hitler bunker key, the Great Chicago Fire alarm box — then stake out the patio rockers with pie from the restaurant and compare notes on who found the weirder item.
📍 Before you go The Key Room is free to enter; no reservation needed for the museum itself. The lodge is seasonal — open Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day weekend only, closed all winter. Call ahead to confirm hours before making the drive: (970) 586-5397. The on-site steakhouse and the Key Room bar (now occupying the historic room) may require dining reservations on busy summer weekends. You can donate your own key to the collection.
- 📍 Estes Park
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 4900 State Highway 7, Estes Park, CO 80517
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4
last checked: 2026-06-11