Pictured are Terry Mansfield and Stephanie Horner with Cockaigne Resorts. The two are involved in Cockaigne’s efforts for the facility to become a wedding and event venue. Submitted photo

CHERRY CREEK – The owners of a former ski resort have decided to go in a new direction and use their facility as a place for weddings and other gatherings.

Cockaigne is rebranding as a year-round wedding and event venue. “We’ve had successful weddings in the past. … We have some great reviews, so we thought why not,” explained Stephanie Horner, who is heading up the new vision.

Horner noted there’s a lot of things in place at Cockaigne which will make for perfect weddings. “We have a beautiful venue that we can offer the community. We have a stage that can have ceremonies if they choose. We’ve got the hillside, we’ve got the ponds, the creeks, so we’ve got various areas where people can have very pretty ceremonies,” she said.

Horner noted that the ownership hasn’t changed; just the focus.

While this winter has had a lot of snow, Horner noted that over the years weather has made skiing more difficult. “Everything changes, so we want to do something positive with the change,” she said.

Horner noted that while some will miss skiing in Cherry Creek, she believes this is their best option. “This may not be the direction everybody wants to see us going, but it’s not sitting empty,” she said.

While their main focus is going to be weddings, Horner said they are open to hosting other gatherings. She’s had some school reunions contact them about renting their facilities. Others have asked about graduation parties and anniversary parties. “We’re kind of open to all of that. We’d really like to focus on weddings on Saturdays, but we don’t want to turn away any opportunities to get life back in the buildings,” she said.

The restaurant will remain closed but the bar is available for use during wedding celebrations.

There are no immediate plans to host community-wide or ticketed events. “Right now we’re just going to focus on the venue, getting it up and running and off to a good start,” Horner said.

In an unrelated manner, the Cherry Creek Sno Goers announced that effective immediately Trail 16A (the Cockaigne Loop) is closed from junction 34 to junction 60. “This is a direct result of trespassing on the Cockaigne resort,” the club wrote.

Horner noted that at Cockaigne they love snowmobile clubs and were saddened they needed to take this action over concern of people getting hurt on their property. “We do think the clubs are great, they keep the trails beautiful, and we do support them and their raffles and such. Closing the trail was an absolute last resort that we didn’t take lightly. We care about our community and don’t want anyone getting hurt off the trails, without anyone knowing,” she said.

For more information about weddings or other gatherings, visit www.cockaigneresort.com, email guestservices@cockaigne.com or call 716-499-6717.