The original Platte River Cabins at
White Pines in Pine hail back to the year 1878 when they were built as a work
camp for the construction of the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad.
The town was then known as Pine Grove and the narrow gauge track had been
completed from Denver, through Pine and on to the town of Bailey by 1879.
Shortly after the completion of the railroad the Pine
Hotel and adjacent cabins were built to accommodate early train travelers. By
the turn of the century White Pines Mountain Resort became one of the most
popular fishing and vacation locations along the entire length of narrow gauge
railroad that ultimately linked Denver to Leadville.
The train soon earned the affectionate appellation
"the fish train" because of the high quality trout fishing the South
Platte river continues to provide to this day.
After an intense period of competition with the other
railroads that serviced the Leadville silver mining bonanza, the route through
Pine was finally abandoned in 1937 and the track pulled up in 1938. The Platte
River Cabins and White Pines remain, continuing its more than 120 year old
legacy of hospitality to travelers the world over.
