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Any suggestions on where to look for a nice, remote mountain town in CO? We like small towns, outdoor activities, etc. We would like to live somewhat "in" the mountains and would like easy access to public land for hunting and other outdoor activities. We live in Austin now and while it's a nice place, everything outdoors is LOADED with people. We like to go outdoors and enjoy nature, not feel like we're walking thru a crowded mall everywhere we go.
Location is not overly important as long as it fits the above criteria. We do work from home, so quality internet is a must. We have 2 young ones so good schools are also a must.We will be renting for a while until we figure out where we want to settle.
Any suggestions? We don't even know where to begin to look. We're originally from MO and want to get back to the 4 seasons.
Look at Buena Vista, Salida, Gunnison for starters. These are not the super expensive mountain ski areas.
We have threads on all these places, look in the index or use the Search tool, which is excellent.
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[quote=Mike from back east;15545575]Look at Buena Vista, Salida, Gunnison for starters. These are not the super expensive mountain ski areas.quote]
Buena Vista and Salida are in the "banana belt" of the Arkansas River valley. Our winters are a lot more mild than other areas around us. Gunnison is a lot colder and higher in elevation. Buena Vista and Salida are located in Chaffee County, surrounded by AMAZING 14,000 ft mountains (in CO, known as the "14ers"). There is no lack of recreation around here.
Both towns are small, less than 5,000 people. Salida is the larger of the two. Gunnison is more than 5,000 and less than 10,000. Salida has a super WalMart, fast food restuarants like Burger King, McDonald's, Taco Bell & KFC, a Pizza Hut, Dominos and many very good small town restuarants. Salida is also home to the BEST small town ski resort in CO...Monarch Mountain. I have spent a lot of time up there and it is by far the best skiing I have experienced. Monarch doesn't have ANY snow machines....just mother nature. It is located on the Continental Divide at 11,312 ft and is never short on snowfall. All natural snow....all the time.
If you decide to look at this area, head a little caution warning. As far as surrounding areas to Chaffee County, stay away from Lake County-specifically Leadville, western Fremont County and Saguache County! You're best bet is Chaffee County or Gunnison County. Park County is also a BEAUTIFUL place to be-and safe- but EXTREMELY cold...all year round! And WINDY!!
My family and I hunt, and there is an abundant of wildlife and national forests. There are some DOW & state trust lands to explore as well. When you look into the area, there is a pass in between Monarch Pass (Hwy 50) and Poncha Pass (Hwu 285) called Marshall Pass. It is a dirt road that used to be the old railroad grade servicing the booming mines in the area. In the 3 years I've lived here, I have yet to explore all of it, but that is where we've hunted since arriving here.
The problem with Gunnison, Salida, and Buena Vista is that they're destination spots. During the spring and summer they're crawling with tourists and day-trippers from the Front Range looking to hike, fish, kayak, and raft. Plus Gunnison gets butt cold in the winter. Overnight lows well below zero are the norm in December and January.
The only town I can think of that's remote, off the beaten path, and in the mountains is Walden, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's tiny (under 1000 people), 50 miles from Steamboat, 65 miles from Laramie, WY, and 130 miles from Fort Collins.
We live in Austin now and while it's a nice place, everything outdoors is LOADED with people. We like to go outdoors and enjoy nature, not feel like we're walking thru a crowded mall everywhere we go.
Everywhere you go in Colorado is going to be crowded anymore, generally speaking. When I camped around Buena Vista 10 years ago even the campgrounds filled-up by 4pm Friday during the summer. This won't change a whole lot from Austin. Especially on the weekend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cmiller1014
Location is not overly important as long as it fits the above criteria. We do work from home, so quality internet is a must. We have 2 young ones so good schools are also a must.We will be renting for a while until we figure out where we want to settle.
Thanks!
Quality internet is going to be a tough find unless you relocate to a resort town along the I70 intermountain corridor and I wouldn't consider that really remote.
Finally, as I've posted before, any place in the Colorado mountains require a BIG bank account with lots of zeros following the number.
Since you posted you are from MO orginally, have you considered some place like Branson or the southern part of the state? Or, how about St. Joseph? It's a pretty little town with four seasons and I know you don't need a small fortune to live there like mountain Colorado. I don't know about high speed internet there though.
The problem with Gunnison, Salida, and Buena Vista is that they're destination spots. During the spring and summer they're crawling with tourists and day-trippers from the Front Range looking to hike, fish, kayak, and raft. Plus Gunnison gets butt cold in the winter. Overnight lows well below zero are the norm in December and January.
The only town I can think of that's remote, off the beaten path, and in the mountains is Walden, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's tiny (under 1000 people), 50 miles from Steamboat, 65 miles from Laramie, WY, and 130 miles from Fort Collins.
Gunnison I would say is one of the coldest places in Colorado.
Anyone that has lived in these types of valleys in Colorado can vouch for it. Especially when the sun starts to rise in the morning it heats up the upper layer of air first squashing the cold air down into the valleys and you can go from -5 or -10 to -25 in an hour. By 10 AM is has equalized and warmed up.
I'd say to anyone just keep in mind once you start getting over 7000 ft in elevation, you better like winter.
Walden doesn't have much happening unless all you desire is very, very basic amenities.
Gunnison I would say is one of the coldest places in Colorado.
Anyone that has lived in these types of valleys in Colorado can vouch for it. Especially when the sun starts to rise in the morning it heats up the upper layer of air first squashing the cold air down into the valleys and you can go from -5 or -10 to -25 in an hour. By 10 AM is has equalized and warmed up.
Yup. Craig's no different. Just slightly warmer, on average.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wanneroo
Walden doesn't have much happening unless all you desire is very, very basic amenities.
And that's why I couldn't recommend it. They may have broadband but there's 1 grocery store, a couple gas stations and not much else. If you want to shop retail your choices are Wal-Mart in Steamboat or driving to Fort Collins (only 100 miles, not 130 as I said earlier).
Any suggestions on where to look for a nice, remote mountain town in CO? We like small towns, outdoor activities, etc. We would like to live somewhat "in" the mountains and would like easy access to public land for hunting and other outdoor activities. We live in Austin now and while it's a nice place, everything outdoors is LOADED with people. We like to go outdoors and enjoy nature, not feel like we're walking thru a crowded mall everywhere we go.
Location is not overly important as long as it fits the above criteria. We do work from home, so quality internet is a must. We have 2 young ones so good schools are also a must.We will be renting for a while until we figure out where we want to settle.
Any suggestions? We don't even know where to begin to look. We're originally from MO and want to get back to the 4 seasons.
Thanks!
What about Montrose? or Ouray? Rideway? all are in the same region of Colorado and surrounded by ourdoor activities and mountains (espescially Ouray!)
Buena Vista area would also be nice.
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