Alpine Mountain Ranch and Club in Steamboat Springs, Colorado

We know that North Texans always think of Colorado as sort of an annexation, a bedroom community, where we can escape the heat in summer, and glide around in that white stuff called snow we never see much of during Texas winters. It’s not that far that many drive, there are so many direct flights, and there are just so many wonderful, charming communities.

But Steamboat Springs, located in the northwestern quadrant of the state, is a departure flavor from the flashy, ski Resort communities that dot the heavily-trafficked I-70 corridor: Aspen, Snowmass, Vail, Breckenridge. (Don’t get me wrong, I love them all.) Steamboat brings home more of a relaxed, Montana-feel: true cowboy culture, a warm, tight-knit community of people populated with those who visited either during or right after college and never left. Who can blame them? The mountains are majestic, the billion-dollar views are everywhere, and the weather is terrific. The summers are warm but dry, and the winters are freezing, snowy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, temperatures  can go as low as 8 degrees Fahrenheit but in the summer, the hottest is about 88 or 90 at the most. And that lack of rainfall makes it totally possible to get outside and enjoy — hiking, horseback riding, fly fishing, and of course skiing.

It was in Steamboat Springs that we were invited to check out a new shared-ownership ranch property that blew me away for beauty, amenities, and intelligent use of neighboring resources that keep the ranch property pristine and, well, ranchy.

Alpine Mountain Ranch & Club is a 1,216-acre community nestled in the famed Yampa Valley. Located about five minutes outside of Steamboat Springs, the property offers 5-acre luxury home sites abutting the Steamboat ski resort, a National Forest, and the area’s most prestigious golf club, the Tom Weiskopf-designed Catamount Ranch & Golf Club. There are 63 homesites, a 900-acre wildlife preserve, a swim-able fresh water lake, owners’ lodge, equestrian center, miles and miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. There is even a backcountry cabin in the center of the property aptly named The Hermitage. Raw land prices start at about $1.4 million for those five acre parcels, and two completed homes are available starting at $4.495 million. The views!

And while Steamboat has great altitude, it’s not killer altitude that requires a few days of adjustment for us flatlanders.

So you get the natural beauty, a luxury ranch experience without all the work, fly-fishing, horses, golf, and even a place literally at the base of the mountain to park your gear and family when you ski. They have covered all the bases, and I am shouting the whole story over on SecondShelters.com…