Double R Ranch is a reputable cattle ranch with extraordinary water rights located in north central Colorado in Jackson County, just south of the Wyoming border. Only 7 miles southwest from the authentic western ranching community of Walden, just a little over an hour from either Steamboat Springs or Winter Park, and only 3 hours from Denver.
This 5,815 +/- deeded acre ranch is nestled in a protected valley near the Routt National Forest and the base of Park Range with its dramatic 12,000-foot peaks. The ranch topography is generally flat with gently rolling irrigated meadows, open native grass, and sage pasture. The ranch and cattle operations are enhanced by the adjoining 9,760 acre BLM lease and 792 acres of State lease creating a large block of over 16,000 acres of private and public lands. The elevation ranges from 7,970’ to 8,185’ above sea level.
Improvements
Double R Ranch is a classic working cattle ranch with numerous improvements consisting of a mixture of modern residences, historic barns and very functional cattle handling facilities. The structures on the property strengthen the historic integrity of the ranch.
The Lazy T 4 includes a 1,900 square foot remodeled ranch house and a historic 3,800 square foot barn with hay loft built in the 1920s. Adjoining the home, there is a new 2,000 square foot modern shop, an older 720 square foot shop, and two chicken coops.
The headquarters of the ranch is comprised of the main home, guest cabin and lodge, manager’s home, numerous barns, shops, employee housing, and handling facilities. The 3,121 square foot owner’s home was built in 1939 and has been substantially upgraded recently with hardwood floors, wood clad windows, oak sawn doors and plaster walls, as well as a spacious and modern owner’s suite. Nearby is the lodge pavilion and log home for guests and entertaining; a 3,160 sq. ft. manager house constructed in 2011 with attached garage; and 3 additional manufactured homes for employees. The main yard revolves around a 4,485 sq. ft. historic red ban with gambrel roof constructed in 1918 with hay loft and numerous stalls. It is complemented by additional barns, shops and sheds, piped corrals, hydraulic chute, gathering pens, bulk and grain bins and a quontset hut. Utilities include Mountain Parks Electric, well water, septic, and propane.
Locale
The property is located in North Park, Colorado, a glacial valley between snowy mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountains in north central Colorado. The valley is home to a rich grassland climate that supports large ranches and a wide selection of big game and numerous rivers and creeks provide incredible fly-fishing opportunities.
The basin is approximately 35 miles wide and 45 miles long, encompassing approximately 1,600 square miles, more than one million acres, and the elevation ranges from 7,800 feet in the valley floor to nearly 13,000 feet on the surrounding peaks. It is the northernmost of four such “parks” in Colorado and is known locally as North Park. North Park opens north into Wyoming and is rimmed on the west by the Park Range, on the south by the Rabbit Ears Mountains, on the southeast by the Never-Summer Range, and on the east and northeast by the Medicine Bow Range. Numerous slow, meandering streams are interspersed on the basin floor and eventually come together to form the headwaters of the North Platte River, which flows through the ranch. Most of the flood plain along the streams is irrigated meadow, while the low rises adjacent to the flood plain and the higher rises on the refuge are characterized by sagebrush grasslands.
Climate
- Average annual precipitation: 10.8 inches
- Average annual snowfall: 57.5 inches
- Average January temperatures: High 28°, Low 4°
- Average July temperatures: High 78°, Low 40°