Confluence Ranch

The ultimate in fly fishing with proximity to world class skiing, this ranch affords rare private fishing on the Colorado River and Willow Creek. In addition to water frontage on the property, the current owner has an agreement to fish the adjoining ranch with its 1.5 miles of private trophy trout fishing along the Colorado River and its two stocked lakes. Gold medal fly-fishing is available minutes away on stretches of the Colorado River and Blue River, the Wild Trout water of the Fraser River. There are other large reservoirs nearby including Willow Creek Reservoir and Williams Fork Reservoir as well as numerous other mountain streams and lakes.

The Colorado Conservation Partnership has identified the Upper Colorado River Corridor, which includes the Confluence Ranch, as a priority landscape of statewide conservation concern. The area was selected following extensive analysis including several regional workshops across Colorado with 46 local land conservation organizations, 50 open space programs and hundreds of individuals interested in land conservation.
Confluence Ranch is an ideal candidate for a conservation easement and Mirr Ranch Group would be happy to provide information regarding the federal and Colorado state tax benefits associated with conservation easements.

Locale

Situated just outside of Granby, Colorado, the property is minutes from Lake Granby, Grand Lake, Shadow Mountain Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park as well as Winter Park Resort, Sol Vista Ski Area, and numerous award winning golf courses. The ranch adjoins BLM land and is near hundreds of thousands of acres of Arapaho and Routt National Forest lands, the Arapaho National Recreation Area and Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. This is one of the only private fly-fishing ranches on the market today close to Denver and world class resort amenities.

The property is approximately 3 miles east of the town of Granby, Colorado. Granby is a traditional Colorado mountain town that is steeped in ranching history while lying in the midst of some of Colorado’s finest recreational amenities. It features restaurants, a medical center, schools, galleries, antique stores, coffee shops, hardware and grocery stores, bakeries, motels, a museum, a library, rodeo grounds and a post office. The Headwaters Golf Course along the Fraser River and the Grand Elks Golf Course adjoin town to the south. There is a small airport for light aircraft in Granby and a larger airport in Kremmling, 30 miles to the west, with a 5,540 foot long runway and jet fuel. Amtrak’s California Zephyr (from Chicago to San Francisco) makes two daily stops at Granby, Colorado. The towns of Fraser and Winter Park are approximately 25 minutes to the south and Grand Lake, a quaint gateway town located at the west entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, is only 16 miles to the north. This alluring mountain village is a vintage throwback to Colorado’s past with wooden boardwalks and split lodge pole pine constructed homes and cabins. The lake itself is the deepest and largest natural lake in Colorado, and the area attracts an impressive diversity of wildlife. It also features the Grand Lake Yacht Club. Founded in 1902, it is the highest yacht club in the United States. Sailing regattas are held each year and antique wooden Chris-Craft boats fill the boat docks at the Yacht Club.

Land Overview

Confluence Ranch consists of 158 acres and lies along the Upper Colorado River Valley. The property is lined with cottonwoods, spruce, pines and willows along the river and creek, two irrigated and sub-irrigated pastures, and the upper sage hillsides provide majestic views of Continental Divide to the east and the Vasquez Mountains to the southwest. The parcel has level building areas along the Colorado River and the sage hillsides with their gentle slopes provide uninterrupted views of the surrounding mountains.

The ranch is currently leased to an adjoining rancher for pasture to graze cattle. Water rights are abundant and can be used to grow grass for forage and pasture and could be converted for hay production. Perhaps the best use of the water is to create ponds, lakes and wetlands for additional habitat for fish and Colorado wildlife.

Fishing

The Colorado River offers a mixture of deep pools and riffles and plenty of habitat for dry flies and nymph fishing.  Over the past several years the current owners have allowed Colorado State University graduate and PhD candidates to conduct entomological research on the Colorado River as it meanders through the ranch.

The current owner has an agreement to fish the adjoining ranch with its 1.5 miles of private trophy trout fishing along the Colorado River and its two stocked lakes.

Adjoining private land owners on either side of the ranch have preserved and enhanced stretches of the Colorado River further adding to the excellent fish habitat. A 2.5 mile section of the River just downstream was recently enhanced as well.

Additional fly fishing is available minutes away on Gold Medal rated portions of the Colorado River and the Blue River, the Wild Trout water of Fraser River, and numerous other mountain streams and alpine lakes.

The nearby Arapaho National Recreation Area is home to five lakes with rainbows, browns, brook trout, kokanee salmon and Mackinaw lake trout.

The river, streams, creeks, and ponds provide excellent water for recreation and livestock and are sanctuaries for all types of wildlife.  The Upper Colorado River Corridor has been identified as a priority landscape in Colorado worthy of preservation and protection.

Property is below Willow Creek Reservoir and future expansion of the reservoir and construction of Jasper Reservoir upstream could make this an incredible tail water fishery.