Ranch Marketing Associates

Cottonwood Springs Ranch Video Tour>


Colorado - La Plata County - Durango

Luxury 540-acre Equine Estate…Exquisite custom main house…Extensive barns and facilities…Situated in one of the most picturesque and livable places in the West

A masterpiece of landscape and architecture and an exquisite equestrian property, the 540-acre Cottonwood Springs Ranch is nestled in a private east-west valley with easy access to the San Juan National Forest. Set above Texas Creek, the 5,700 sq. ft. northern New Mexico style estate was impeccably planned and constructed by some of the best regional craftsmen. The main home blends old and new elements with many modern updates, showcases exotic art collected from around the world and was carefully handcrafted with hand-trowelled walls, high ceilings with reclaimed wood beams, hardwood floors with in-floor radiant heat, custom ironwork details, masonry privacy walls and immaculate flagstone patios and a keypad gated entry. The property also boasts a 2,200 sq. ft. guesthouse, a foreman's house, an original 1890's homesteader's cabin, as well as high-tech horse breeding and training facilities complete with a custom-built 20,000 sq. ft. barn, ranch office building, show arena, 120' cutting round pen, cattle facilities, operating room with intensive care stall, over fifty stalls, eight pastures and paddocks and much more. Cottonwood Springs Ranch's restored improvements and newly constructed equestrian amenities flawlessly complement the natural surroundings of lush meadows and manicured mixed forest. This luxury equestrian estate borders BLM land and is characterized by ponderosa, aspen and spruce woodlands which serve as ideal habitat for herds of migrating elk, deer and a variety of wildlife on the property.

Location and Area:
Cottonwood Springs Ranch sits just twenty minutes northeast of Durango, south of the Lemon and Vallecito Reservoirs. The ranch is located off County Road 245 and borders BLM with the trailhead to the 2.5 million acre San Juan National Forest only one mile away. Durango has rural mountain character and charm and is one of the most picturesque and comfortable places to live in Colorado providing big city conveniences and a variety of year-round outdoor recreational opportunities. Mercy Regional Medical Center is southwest Colorado's largest hospital offering full emergency and acute-care amenities and represents over 35 medical specialties. Durango offers many grocery, gift, and home improvement stores, cafes, coffee shops and fine dining choices, K-12 schools, a four-year college, galleries and museums, equipment and auto repair shops, and much more. Durango-LaPlata Airport has daily commercial air service to Denver and Phoenix along with facilities for full service general aviation. The ranch is approximately 170 miles from Grand Junction, three hours from Santa Fe and a little over 300 miles from Colorado Springs and Denver.

Durango:
Thousands of acres of hiking, biking and riding trails and some of Colorado's most well-stocked lakes are all within a mile drive from Cottonwood Springs Ranch. Local and regional rivers offer world-class fly fishing and white water rafting. Durango hosts many other unique events such as the farmer's market, regional wine festivals, music in the mountains, film and arts festivals, bike events, rodeos and many other community get-togethers. In continuous operation for over 120 years, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad offers breathtaking day-trips on the historic steam-powered locomotive which winds through 46 miles of the San Juan National Forest to the old mining town of Silverton, a national landmark. For winter alpine recreation, the Durango Mountain Ski Resort, formerly Purgatory Resort, is located 25 miles west of Durango with 1,200 acres of terrain, 11 chair lifts with an average snowfall of 260 inches per year, providing excellent snow base for downhill and cross country-skiing. The climate in Durango is mild and comfortable during the summer months with temperatures averaging 60 degrees. The warmest month of the year is July which has an average high temperature of 85 degrees. The coldest month of the year is January which has an average low temperature of 15 degrees. Durango's annual average precipitation is 19 inches and rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year.

Property Description:
Perfectly situated in a private east-west valley that enjoys year-round sunshine and ideal weather patterns, Cottonwood Springs Ranch consists of 540 acres and rests at an elevation of 7,500 ft. The ranch is protected by a wildlife, scenic and agricultural conservation easement which is divided into four parcels, each parcel with a reserved home site. Traditionally used for livestock and hay production, the ranch is fenced into 13 pastures, all of which have been renovated and reseeded with brome, orchard and crested wheatgrass. There are approximately 250 acres of sub-irrigated pasture and all of the pastures have access to electricity and are equipped with heated Hoskins water units. The ranch is fenced primarily with steel pipe accented with cedar posts in order to maintain its classic old ranch aesthetic with double protection by a hot wire on the inside. Much of the fencing was installed within the last five years. All pastures are surrounded by ponderosa, aspen and blue spruce trees, with large cottonwood trees winding along the creek.


Improvements:
Main Residence - Designed by Michael Bell and built by Tom Gorton, this 5,700 sq. ft. northern New Mexico style residence was completed in 2003. The interior was crafted by select tradesmen from Colorado and New Mexico and contains superlative detailing throughout. Some touches include exterior finishes and interior hand-trowelled walls by Compadre Construction of Santa Fe, custom artistic iron work details by Rod Pickett, high ceilings with reclaimed wood beams, imported antique Spanish doors, hand-carved wood architectural columns by Spanish Pueblo Doors of Santa Fe, stone walls, impeccable flagstone walkways and patios by Dave Manley, top-grade Pella windows with custom Conrad window treatments, and Lotus slate and hardwood floors with in-floor radiant heating. The main residence features a key-pad and phone activated entry/security system, a custom built 7 ft. iron and masonry high-game fence around the backyard, a 1,000-gallon propane tank, a ducted humidification system, zoned radiant heating system, water treatment system and is complete with exterior landscape walkway and stairway lighting and heating leading to the covered front porch.
Interior - The entry hall showcases hand-carved latillas and antique beams in the ceiling with architectural niches and a fieldstone fireplace. There are 17th century antique columns in the hall and the library as well as at the door leading into the utility room and on the cabinet of the wine cellar. The entry hall leads to the French designed gourmet kitchen by William Ohs. The kitchen features custom cabinetry, a 700-bottle wine room made from vintage Napa Valley redwood, a white wine closet, granite and marble counter tops from Captain Marble of Santa Fe along with custom hardware and lighting fixtures. Top of the line appliances include two Subzero refrigerators with separate refrigerator drawers, a Viking range and Bosch dishwasher. The circular dining room with recessed lighting and large picture windows lies adjacent to the kitchen and provides plenty of warm sunlight into the home and leads to French doors which open to a Pergola arbor and stone masonry enclosed outdoor patio off of the dining room. Across the hall from the dining room, the library/media room contains custom shelving, coffered ceilings and dental molding by master furniture maker, Eric Enriques, as well as a custom surround-sound home theater system with state-of-the-art electronics and a stereo system wired throughout the house. Located in the center of the home, the great room is characterized by antique wood trusses and tongue-and-groove ceiling and balcony. A hand-crafted fireplace in the center of the great room is finished in Texas limestone and the room features insulated picture windows providing spectacular views in all directions.
In addition, the main residence consists of two large master bedroom suites - one with an attached office - each with built-in chest of drawers, walk-in-closets, custom media-cabinets, wood-beamed ceilings and French doors leading to outdoor patios. The master suite bathroom has a walk-in steam shower and stand-alone soaking tub. The office includes custom cabinets and desk and antique library doors. The residence also has an oversized utility/mud room equipped with a pet shower that is connected by a covered walkway to a detached two-car garage with an attached gardening shed, built-in cabinets, heated driveway and a 20 kw automatic back-up generator. Above the garage, with its own private entrance, is an additional large finished room which is currently used as the fully equipped state-of-the-art gym/exercise room, but could easily be converted for use as another bedroom. A Cisco IP digital wireless digital phone system is wired throughout the main residence as well as the guest home, ranch manager's home, main barn, and breeding barn.
Exterior - The exterior of the main residence has hand-trowelled detailing, giving it an old-world look achieved by a five-step elastomeric finish which is lifetime maintenance free. In addition, the residence has a 22-gauge Fabrelle steel roof. Carefully manicured flagstone walkways and patios surround the home and accent the property's driveway. The residence has an east-facing outdoor patio with a Roma-style wood burning pizza oven, and outdoor fireplace and a built-in grill and antique French fountain on the south side; all which provide a comfortable ambiance for outdoor relaxation and easy outdoor entertaining. Colorful perennial gardens and carefully selected shrubs and trees were strategically planted around the home and have automatic sprinklers and drip irrigation systems in place accentuating the residence's exterior beauty. In addition, there is an apple, pear and plum orchard with an antique gate from Santa Fe close to the outdoor patio/entertainment are
Guest Home - Across the creek from the main residence is a three bedroom, two bath 2,200 sq. ft. guest home which was renovated in 2002. It has a western "Bunk House" style look and features tongue-and-groove paneling, hardwood floors, fireplace, kitchen, great room, sunroom, outdoor fireplace and flagstone patio. The guest home has a forced-air heating system, key-pad entry system, water filtration system and a 500-gallon propane tank.
Ranch Manager's Home and Homesteader's Cabin - Additionally, there is a three bedroom ranch manager's home which was renovated in 2004 and an original 1890's homesteader's cabin with a fireplace which was restored and is used as a summer house.

Ranch Operations Center:
Cottonwood Springs Ranch's equestrian facilities and ranch operations are managed out of two primary buildings located at the entry of the property: The Ranch Operations Center building and the Main Barn. The exterior of the Ranch Operations Center was designed to complement the exterior of the main residence with hand-trowelled stucco walls, stone and wood beam accents and custom entry doors. Built in 2009 with approximately 5,000 sq. ft., the Ranch Operations Center has carved teak wood beams with latillas constructed from reclaimed ranch fencing, travertine and slate flooring, trophy cases and museum quality lighting. There are two offices within this center; one with a full-sized salt-water aquarium, employee shower and bath/dressing room, laundry room, employee break room complete with refrigerator, dishwasher, and storage room. In addition, the Ranch Operations Center includes a Ranch Manager's quarters with commercial grade gourmet kitchen with Viking stove, bedroom, living room, and bath room - all accented with granite counter tops, slate floors, custom built-in shelving and a well-thought out viewing room directly into the Main Barn. The Ranch Operations Center has a full stereo system with surround sound, two heating systems, its own septic system and shares a well with the Main Barn it is adjacent to.
Main Barn - Built less than two years ago, the Main Barn is 20,000 sq. ft. and is adjacent to the Ranch Operations Center so that it can be easily operated by the Ranch Manager and employees and is wired for cameras and surround system throughout. It consists of 21 lighted stalls with covered steel fenced runs - each with stall mats and swing-out feeders, 7 heated foaling stalls, hay storage, heated tack room, plumbed break room and storage room, records storage room with built-in shelves. The Main Barn's raceway has concrete flooring and custom lighting with high-intensity Halogen vapor lighting accented with additional antique lights reclaimed from a park in Paris, France. There is room to expand the main barn to include 8 additional stalls. The Main Barn has its own septic system and shares a well with the Ranch Operations Center.
Colt Barn - The Colt Barn is a 1,792 sq. ft. custom barn built in 2007 and includes three Classic Equine equipment stalls with three covered open runs and features concrete flooring with an outdoor wash station, heated Nelson waterers, turn-around area for horse trailers or semi trucks, and a heated equine care area with sink and storage and feed and tack rooms.
Filly Barn - The Filly Barn, built in 2008, consists of eight stalls with covered, 30' turn-outs for winter protection, has overhead lighting with timers, six-rail steel fenced pastures for weanlings and heated Nelson and Hoskins waterers.
Foaling Barn and Lab - The Foaling Barn and Lab is a Morton barn structure with upgraded wood paneling, five heated stalls and three covered open runs. It has a fully equipped lab with stainless steel counters, built-in incubator, infrared internet camera system with video monitor in office, custom designed mare and foal stocks and heated washing unit, tack room, hay storage and is lighted with automatic timers.
Historic Barn - The Historic Barn was an original "old barn" on the property that consists of four additional stalls plus room for storage.
Mare Motel - The Mare Motel includes six stalls with an oversized feed and storage room, steel outdoor runs, heated Nelson waterers, overhead lighting with timers and has additional room to add a round pen.
Additional Equestrian Facilities - There is a 160' x 80' outdoor arena with four-rail steel fencing, sand/dirt footing and electricity nearby and a 60' six-bay electric Equi-Line Equi-ciser.
Machinery/Equipment Building
The 75' x 45' steel building has 5 bays (3 with drive-through), 14' overhead electric roll-up doors, high intensity halogen lights, a separate 12' x 45' shop area with compressed air and a 35' x 45' hay storage building which will hold approximately 4,500 bales.

Ranch Land, Cattle Facilities, Garage, Hay Production, Pastures, Roads:
Cottonwood Springs Ranch is a masterpiece equestrian estate and horse breeding facility with approximately three miles of interior roads providing easy access to all of the pastures, barns, homes and machinery/equipment buildings. Power and water has been brought to all of the pastures and work areas and follows along the property’s interior roads. Strategically placed transformers throughout the ranch have transfer switches to enable hook-ups to generators. There is a fully-lighted cattle processing area complete with loading ramp, branding chutes, cattle sweep, alley and squeeze chute and holding pens. The property features a Classic Equine 120' cutting pen constructed with steel tube and tropical hardwood panels designed to withstanding kicking and heavy loads. A 1,000 sq. ft. five-bay garage has over-sized metal roll-up doors to allow for easy parking and storage of over-sized trucks, semi-trailers or livestock trailers. There are 13 loafing/shade barns and most have extra room for equipment and hay storage as well as extra runs with heated Nelson waterers. All of the pastures have heated Hoskins water units. The pastures are capable of producing 6,000-7,000 bales of hay per cutting. The hay has been analyzed from all pastures to ensure proper weed control and seeding for optimal equine nutrition and is capable of receiving a weed-free certification.


Co-listed with Linda Crowther, Prudential Triple S Realty