Ranch Marketing Associates

Grand River Ranch Video Tour>

Tailwaters Ranch is tucked away in northwest Colorado's high country wonderland between the world-renowned resorts of Vail, Winter Park and Steamboat Springs. Located near the rural sportsman's town of Kremmling, the 388-acre private ranch sits at the south end of the Wolford Mountain Reservoir, overlooking the Gore Range and an alpine stream that meanders toward the mighty Colorado River. It is adjacent to over a mile of some of the best trout fishing in the Rocky Mountains and, along with the shared Grand River Ranch fishing cabins and controlled waterway, Tailwaters Ranch is the avid fly fisherman's dream.

Location: Tailwaters Ranch is located two miles west of Kremmling off US Highway 40, under a two-hour drive west of Denver. The historic ranching community of Kremmling has a population of 2,000 residents and offers most services, including a private jet-accessible airport just minutes from the ranch. Conveniently located, Steamboat Springs is 52 miles northwest of the ranch, Vail is 67 miles south and Winter Park is 46 miles east. The ranch is surrounded by BLM land, near the White River National Forest.

Surrounding Area: The area around Grand River Ranch has traditionally been a rural ranching community rich with an authentic western ranch culture not affected by the ski resort influence. Of equal stature, the area is well known for its gold medal waters for fishing, rafting and water sports along with trophy big game herds. All of the ranches around Tailwaters Ranch are controlled and in strong hands providing a vast permanent open landscape that is rare in mountain areas with high scenic and recreational values. Several of the larger ranches in the area are already protected from development by conservation easements and are under stable long term ownership.

Acreage: Tailwaters Ranch is one and one-half miles north to south and one-half mile wide. Located just east of US Highway 40, the 388 acres (just over one half section of land) are comprised of rolling grasslands and sage with canyon-like inlets that graduate down to the creek. Spectacular 360-degree views unfold in every direction; north to the Park Range, east to Wolford Mountain, south to the Gore Range and Eagles Nest Wilderness, and west to the 19,000 acres that are the Grand River Ranches.

Wildlife and Fishery Resources: The shared Grand River Ranch Fishing Camp and the Grand River Ranch Reservoir contain rainbow trout, brook trout, creek chubs and fathead minnows. Aquatic habitat, both for fish and for waterfowl, has been substantially enhanced. Exceptional fly-fishing is also available on several gold-medal streams and rivers that are within an easy drive including the Colorado River, Eagle River, Frying Pan River, Roaring Fork River, North Platte River, White River and numerous North Park streams. Additional lake fishing, water-skiing and sailing is available next door at Wolford Reservoir and the nearby Green Mountain Reservoir.

The ranch is inhabited by elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, coyotes, black bears, red foxes, bobcats, pine martens, and beavers, and numerous small mammals such as snowshoe hares, marmots, long-tailed weasels, ermine, muskrats and chipmunks. Ducks, geese, blue grouse, great blue heron, hawks, owls and eagles frequent the property and moose occasionally migrate through the property and through Grand River Ranch.

Recreational Considerations: Tailwaters Ranch is surrounded by world-class ski areas including Steamboat, Winter Park, Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Arapahoe Basin, Vail and Beaver Creek. These well-known winter resorts also offer endless summer recreation opportunities including golf, tennis, water sports, hiking, biking, and culinary, art and music festivals. The nearby Colorado River offers fishing, kayaking, and rafting. Hiking, climbing and mountaineering can be found in every direction from the property. Road cycling is a popular summer activity with an ever-expanding network of dedicated cycling paths and mountain biking, off-road motorcycling and ATV trails exist on the ranch and in the nearby mountains and hills.

The open areas and the topographic privacy of the property give it excellent recreational value. The scenic vistas and the adjacent stream are spectacular and the terrain is such that all of the ranch can be actively utilized. There are millions of acres of public land nearby if one chooses to venture beyond the ranch borders. Tailwaters and adjacent ranches are professionally managed and patrolled to maintain security and mitigate trespassing. The ranch is buffered by private land to the west which has been permanently protected.

Grand River Ranch: Tailwaters Ranch is a part of the Grand River Ranch that features nineteen individual ranches on 19,000 acres, each with its own character carefully planned with reasonable covenants and guidelines aimed at safeguarding its history and resources. Conservation easement potential remains intact, and Tailwaters Ranch borders the Tailwaters Fishing Camp, shared by the other Grand River Ranch owners but most available to the adjacent property. Tailwaters Ranch offers an extraordinary opportunity to own a ranch next to the shared fishing camp, which has a day cabin with seating area and stocked kitchen plus an overnight cabin that could be used while building a retreat home. Other amenities on Grand River Ranch include a private lake with day cabin providing lake fishing with non-motorized boating, a Sporting Clays Shooting Range, Equestrian Center with outdoor arena and a Lodge providing overnight accommodations and fine dining.

Climate: Elevations average 7,500 feet at the Tailwaters Ranch which has the attractive characteristics of the Colorado mountain climate - warm sunny days with low humidity and cool nights. Average summer temperatures are in the upper 70's with lows in the 40's. Due to the elevation, there is very little insect nuisance. Winter is typical of the conditions at the base of some of Colorado popular ski resorts with pleasant day temperatures ranging from the teens at night to 30's during the day and snow cover of approximately 100 inches per year from December through April.

Improvements: There are no structures or buildings on Tailwaters Ranch but there are several excellent building sites throughout the property. The ranch provides for three home sites allowing the construction of three residences and related accessory buildings. The ranch has an access road from Highway 40 and is perimeter fenced. There are two cabins immediately adjacent to the ranch (one a day use fishing cabin and the second an overnight cabin), which are available as part of the Grand River Ranch shared facilities.

Operational Considerations: The ranch has been operated as a fishing preserve, a horseback recreation area, a winter recreation area for cross-country skiing and snowmobiling in conjunction with cattle grazing. All land is owned in fee, there are no public land grazing permits associated with the ranch. Currently the Grand River Ranch leases out the majority of the ranch for summer cattle grazing and can continue on Tailwaters Ranch if desired which will preserve the agricultural status of the property and the consequent low property taxes. Should a new owner wish to place a conservation easement on the property, there will no longer be the need for grazing to maintain agricultural status.

Water Rights: Both further surface and well water rights may be developed. Typically, private wells are established to provide water for domestic use and limited livestock consumption.

Special Conditions: The property is zoned as agricultural/forestry by Grand County. The Grand River Ranch property owners association has restrictions over the ranch which limits development to three 70-acre home sites along with related barns and other outbuildings (2 homes plus outbuildings on each site). The opportunity to forgo one or two of the home sites through a conservation easement could yield a significant non-cash charitable donation and associated tax savings.