Not that long ago, Dutton Creek Ranch had a lot in common with a classic car in need of a tune-up. The 2,264-acre Southwest Colorado property was definitely a beaut, tucked away in the Upper San Juan Basin with national forest on three sides and herds of elk and mule deer crisscrossing its pastures. But in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis, the ranch had sat idle for more than a decade.

Targeted Improvements

That changed in 2021 when a Texas investor purchased the ranch and invested millions to get it back up to speed. Improvements included the creation of a viable road system, extensive landscape maintenance, residential upgrades, and a complete overhaul of the seven-mile irrigation system.

“They had an excavation crew there for two summers re-digging that ditch. It was a major undertaking,” says Daniel Carter of Denver-based Mirr Ranch Group, who brokered the transaction. “In total, we’re probably talking about at least $10 million — if not $12 million — in improvements. All the bones were there, but the ranch had been neglected for years.

“The new owner had a vision for the property. He wanted to breathe it back to life. So he came in, quickly invested, and turned it from a dilapidated place that needed some help into a real trophy ranch. It took an influx of capital in the right stuff in a short amount of time. Believe it or not, when we first brought it to market, the paint had just dried on some of his improvements.”

Full-Price Sale

The seller’s eight-figure investment paid off when the 2,264-acre sporting property sold at its listing price to another Texan.

“I had been working with the buyer for more than a year. We had looked at properties all over the West. Dutton Creek was the first one he toured in Southwest Colorado. Since the pandemic, premier ranch inventory has been scarce. There just haven’t been many properties come to market that are truly turnkey. Dutton Creek Ranch was the solution for this buyer’s goal of locating the right property with a mix of hunting and recreation for his young family that was ready to go,” Carter says.

Listed and sold at $29.85 million, Dutton Creek penciled out at roughly $13,000 an acre.

“Topping $10,000 an acre for a true ranch property in Colorado is a hard number to obtain,” says Carter. “To do that, you have to check all the boxes — from a recreational standpoint, as far as wildlife habitat goes, and definitely with turnkey improvements.”

Stevens Field

Despite its remote vibe, Dutton Creek is located just 10 minutes from downtown Pagosa Springs. In fact, the southern edge of the property is less than a mile from Stevens Field, a county-owned airport with an 8,000-foot asphalt runway serving Southwest Colorado. Despite this convenience, Dutton Creek Ranch still feels secluded.

“I’ve never seen a ranch of this size and style that feels so private, yet is so close to an airport and town,” Carter says. “The airport is really an extended amenity of the ranch. Yet while you’re on the ranch, you actually forget the airport is there.”

Wolf Creek Ski Area

Dutton Creek Ranch also sits less than 30 miles from the popular Wolf Creek Ski Area. With more than 400 inches of snowfall annually, the ski resort typically tops Colorado’s leaderboard for skiable powder.

“With the ease of getting in and out of the airport, Dutton Creek is truly a four-seasons property,” Carter says. “It’s been a standout property for my career so far. It just took someone looking at it under a different lens of reinvesting into the property in order to keep it as a ranch.”