Echo Canyon Ranch - Colorado, Huerfano County, La Veta

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The ranch is situated in the Cuchara Valley south of Highway 12 also known as the Highway of Legends Scenic Byway and nestled between the eastern slopes of the southern Sangre de Cristo Range (referred to as the Culebra Range), and the twin Spanish Peaks in south-central Colorado. Elevations on the ranch range from 7,700’ to 9,400’ above sea level.

The ranch is well improved and capable of accommodating a large group of family and friends. Structural improvements consist of a nice 7-bedroom log home, a multi-story western style lodge, a 1-bedroom home with an attached conference area, three quaint log cabins and a large horse barn. The majority of the buildings were constructed using local timber from an operating sawmill also located on the ranch. Detailed information about the improvements will be provided to qualified buyers.


Access from Interstate 25 is via U.S. Highway 160 to La Veta. Go south on State Highway 12 approximately eight miles to the ranch entrance on the east side of the highway. The ranch is located approximately 2.5 hours from Denver, 1.5 hours from Colorado Springs and Taos, and 3 hours from Santa Fe, New Mexico.


The town of La Veta was aptly named “the Vein” for the long dikes that radiate down from the Spanish Peaks. When the Peaks were formed, magma also surged upward into cracks in the ground and hardened. Over time, the softer sediments surrounding the hardened magma wore away, leaving giant walls called dikes. There are hundreds of these lava dikes ranging from a few inches wide to 30 feet thick and up to 100 feet high that radiate from the two peaks and stretch over 14 miles. The Devil’s Stairsteps is one of the most pronounced of these unique dike formations and makes up the eastern property line of the ranch.

According to the legend, eons ago, when the earth was new, the Devil was allowed out of his fiery home to survey the world. He chose the Cuchara Valley as his entrance. He would climb up the steps to sit on the Spanish Peaks. Surveying the world, he plotted how to make it his. But God learned of the Devil’s plotting, and noticing the beauty of the mountains and valley, God took it as his own. He forbade the Devil to ever enter the area again. But the Devil’s steps still stand.


The town of La Veta, with a population of approximately 900, features restaurants, a medical center, schools, galleries, antique stores, coffee shops, hardware and grocery stores, bakeries, motels, a museum, a library, and a post office.

The La Veta airport is situated one mile north of town at an elevation of 7,153 feet. The runway is 5,798 ft. by 60 ft., open to the public, and has jet fuel available.

• Average annual precipitation:
  36.0 inches


• Average January temperatures:
  High 45 Low 10


• Average July temperatures:
  High 85 Low 52


• Days of sunshine per year:
  300+