Costilla Creek Fishing Ranch

Located on Costilla Creek, in the secluded pinyon and juniper foothills of Northern New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo Range, the 28-acre Costilla Creek Fishing Ranch is a spectacularly sited gem that is much larger than 30 acres suggests. Surrounded by the historic Rio Costilla Cooperative Livestock Association (RCCLA) ranch and parklands, the property is a defacto private in-holding in an 80,000-acre New Mexico wildland. With breathtaking views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east, the property is graced with a combination of productive riparian bottomland and pinyon-juniper uplands that typify northern New Mexico. The waters of Costilla Creek flow through the heart of a scenic meadow, offering excellent trout fishing and private access to nearly a mile of both sides of the river. With both significant conservation and development potential, the Costilla Creek Fishing Ranch is an excellent long-term investment opportunity.

Location

Costilla Creek Fishing Ranch is situated between the historic towns of Costilla and Amalia, in Taos County, New Mexico. The majestic Sangre de Cristo Range looms five miles as a crow flies to the east.

Locale

Costilla, New Mexico (Population: 255) is quite small but has a gas station, liquor, and convenience store. The closest towns with services including restaurants, grocery, hardware, motels, are either Questa, New Mexico, or San Luis, Colorado, both a twenty-minute drive from Costilla. For a movie theater, bowling alley, and most other major services, the legendary Taos, New Mexico, is a 40-minute drive from the property and is the closest major town with all services including hospital, big-box retail, and many hotels and restaurants.

Costilla affords outdoor enthusiasts an incredible array of activities with hundreds of miles of the RCCLA, Carson National Forest, and BLM lands in all directions. Numerous trailheads for hiking, horseback riding, cross country skiing, ATV, and snowmobile access are available right out the front door. Hunting and fishing are abundant both on and off the property. Valle de Val and Verdejo Park Reservoir are located at the Costilla Creek headwaters and are less than 30 minutes from the ranch. The Rio Grande River and world-famous Rio Grande Gorge are half an hour away and are renowned for the excellent fishing, thrilling white water rafting, and incredible scenery. Both Red River Ski and Summer Resort, as well as the world-famous Taos Ski Valley, are less than an hour’s drive from the lodge. And the Great Sand Dunes National Park is an hour drive north of Costilla.

Climate

• Rainfall (in.): 11.5
• Snowfall (in): 14.5
• Precipitation Days: 45
• Sunny Days: 320
• Avg July High: 85°
• Avg. Jan High: 42°

Fishing

The trout fishing in Costilla Creek on the property is exceptional. Home to healthy rainbows and native Rio Grande cutthroats, New Mexico Trout Unlimited Rep., Toner Mitchel said it “has some of the best holding water in the valley.”

In addition to the fishing on the property, several significant opportunities both above and below the ranch make it uniquely well located for the enthusiastic angler. Valle de Val and Verdejo Park Reservoir are located at the Costilla Creek headwaters and are less than 30 minutes from the ranch; the Rio Grande River and world-famous Rio Grande Gorge are a half an hour away and are known for excellent fishing.

Hunting

The ranch sits strategically in the middle of the RCCLA in a productive elk migration corridor that has been actively hunted for years. Located in the highly productive GMU 55A (Game Management Unit) the property is home to mule deer and elk, as well as black bear, mountain lion, and coyotes.