Colorado’s Tiny House Movement Continues to Grow: Latest News

Colorado is one of the top states for tiny house activity, from a booming industry to a quickly growing number of placement options. It is home to over ten tiny home communities, both RV/THOW parks and planned unit developments. Like the much-anticipated Escalante Village in Durango, scheduled to open at the end of the summer.

Legal acceptance is steadily expanding across the state. Earlier this year, Lyons approved movable tiny houses as accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Permits now available. Now several Colorado municipalities are in various stages of tiny house zoning review or approval, including Boulder and Denver. The city of Brighton recently joined the list, largely thanks to the awareness created by the Colorado Tiny House Festival.

The event returns to Brighton for the third year, June 21-23 at the Adams County Fairground. It will feature a wide array of small dwellings and adventure-mobiles, everything from tiny houses on wheels to yurts, a semi-trailer conversion, skoolies, van conversions, container homes, teardrops, and a modular ADU—over 40 structures.

Most importantly, the festival provides an opportunity to learn about the tiny and simple living movement, whether you are an enthusiast or curious bystander. And this year, local officials and policymakers will likely be doing just that. Listen and ask questions from a dozen speakers, professional builders, and tiny home dwellers. Also, you can get hands-on building experience in the event’s first-ever school bus conversion workshop.

“Enjoy camping, live music, food & drink, a kid’s area with a playground, and plenty of pet-friendly areas, all while you learn about downsizing, sustainable living, and so much more! Kids under 12 are FREE all weekend!”

The festival founders recently launched the Colorado Tiny House Associaton. Their mission is to advocate, educate, and legalize tiny homes, alternative living, and affordable housing across the state. If you’re interested in staying the loop or for access to resources, join the Association. Membership is free.

My partner, Christian and I are traveling tiny house dwellers. Together we’ve been on the road three and a half years for our documentary and community education project, Tiny House Expedition. We live, breathe, dream the tiny home community every day. This is our life and our true passion. We are very grateful to be able to experience this inspiring movement in such an intimate way and to be able to share our exploration with all of you.