Seven Keys Lodge

A rustic mountain lodge at 9,000 feet elevation, originally built in 1917 by Ethel and Gordon Mace. Named after Earl Derr Biggers' mystery novel Seven Keys to Baldpate (formerly known as the Baldpate Inn). Houses a collection of over 20,000 keys donated by guests over the decades.

The Baldpate Inn, now known as Seven Keys Lodge, was built in 1917 by newlyweds Gordon and Ethel Mace on a homestead they had established in 1911 high above Estes Park. The classic log cabin lodge was named at the suggestion of a guest, mystery novelist Earl Derr Biggers, after the fictional inn in his 1913 novel Seven Keys to Baldpate, in which each regular guest received their own key to the building. The Maces adopted this tradition, giving keys to returning guests, until World War I drove up the cost of metal and they could no longer afford the practice. Their loyal guests responded by bringing keys to leave at the inn instead, and this spontaneous gesture launched what became the Baldpate's most famous attraction: the Key Room. Over the decades, the collection grew to more than 20,000 keys, including contributions from notable figures. The first key donated was from famed attorney Clarence Darrow in 1923. The collection also includes keys from the Pentagon, Westminster Abbey, Mozart's wine cellar, and numerous celebrities and world leaders.

The spirits most frequently encountered at the inn are believed to be Gordon and Ethel Mace themselves, who poured their lives into the lodge for decades and apparently never left. Staff, owners, and guests have reported the smell of pipe tobacco in empty rooms -- attributed to Gordon, who was known as a pipe smoker. Doors open and close on their own throughout the lodge, and guests have reported hearing footsteps in the hallways when no one else is on the floor. In the Key Room, some visitors have described the sensation of being watched intently, as if someone were standing just behind them examining the keys alongside them. The rocking chairs on the porch have been observed rocking by themselves on still evenings with no wind.

The inn's remote mountain location, accessible by a winding road that climbs to over 9,000 feet, adds to its atmospheric quality. The property was purchased by new owners in 2020 and renamed Seven Keys Lodge, but the Key Room and its 20,000-key collection remain the centerpiece of the experience. Whether the Maces approve of the name change is unknown, but their presence reportedly continues to be felt throughout the lodge they built more than a century ago.