The Ranch at Cordillera
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The community of Cordillera has focused on preserving the pristine valley of Squaw Creek. This low-density community has allowed for the preservation of the majority of its land, approximately 70 percent of its acreage, as open space and wildlife corridor, to protect the environment, enhance wildlife and ensure the comfort of residents and guests. To further enhance the beauty of the area, this open space is adjacent to 3
million acres of Forest Service land.
Cordillera comprises four well-defined neighborhoods: the Ranch, the Divide, the Summit and the Valley Club. Each community enjoys its own unique character through diverse topography and architectural design guidelines. The Ranch, the Summit and Cordillera Valley Club feature early American West elements like stone, logs and timber in the neighborhoods’ architecture. The Divide employs characteristics such as slate roofs and stone and stucco exteriors, conveying a distinctive European styling.
Three of the four Cordillera gated resort communities ” the Ranch, the Divide and the Summit ” are located in Squaw Creek, west of Edwards. Cordillera Valley Club is located to the north of I-70, west of Singletree.
The narrow entry onto Squaw Creek Road off Highway 6 widens and opens to timbered draws and mountain meadows. Much of the property consists of elk and deer winter range, as well as a calving area for these animals. Topography ranges from the sagebrush-covered valley floor to treed alpine plateaus. Stands of mature forests of pine and aspen fill the mountainside, and the view corridor can encompass the entire Vail Valley with vistas as far as the ski slopes of Game Creek Bowl on Vail Mountain. Squaw Creek runs north through the valley and is one of several tributary streams flowing into the Eagle River.
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Squaw Creek is bordered by Lake Creek to the east and Bellyache Ridge to the west. From many vantage points views of the Gore Range, New York Mountain, the Sawatch Range, Castle Peak and the Flat Tops provide the extended backdrop for this stunning community.
The Ranch at Cordillera stands to the west of Squaw Creek Road and was the second of Cordillera areas developed by the original developers of Cordillera, Felix Posen and Kensington Partners. Posen, having fallen in love with the area, focused on creating “a community, a club and a way of life” in an area whose beauty had captured his heart and imagination.
Cordillera has a combined total of just over 7,500 acres with more than 3,500 acres of land designated as open space.
The Ranch at Cordillera was formerly a working ranch and rests at an elevation of 8,250 feet. The land was previously the vast Fenno Ranch, owned by early settlers Emma and Levi Fenno. It was purchased in 1991 and the Ranch at Cordillera had its first sale in 1992.
The Ranch has PUD approval for 1,055 residences and homesites range in size from 0.8 acres on the golf course up to approximately 2.5 acres in areas away from the fairways. The general pricing range in the area runs from $900,000 to $5 million for single-family homes and $180,000 to $2 million for homesites.
The Ranch includes an extensive system of more than 20 miles of manicured hiking and cross-country trails and a fly-fishing pond, plus 1 mile of frontage on the Eagle River for even more fishing opportunities. The Winter Haus Nordic center offers cross-country skiing and snowshoeing throughout the neighborhood in the winter months.
The 1994 ground-breaking for the Timber Hearth Grille and the Mountain Course Clubhouse was hosted by Posen and President Gerald Ford. The award-winning Mountain Course, one of four golf courses in Cordillera, is an 18-hole golf course designed by Hale Irwin, and a signature feature of the Ranch. The Timber Hearth Grille offers a step back in time with the presentations of sleigh rides in the winter.
In 1996 the Trailhead opened, a family activity center and home of “Cordy’s Camp,” a children’s summer camp referred to as “country club for kids.” The family gathering place is a two-story log structure with swimming pool and children’s play center.
In 1996 Cordillera purchased the old Finkel parcel of approximately 217 acres upon which the remodeled equestrian center sits. Approximately 200 of those acres have been devoted to open space and the preservation of the wetlands.
Cordillera has preserved the heritage in Squaw Creek with numerous dedications of streets and buildings with the names of past settlers, including Fenno, Bearden, Bearcat and Carter, all reminders of those who came before. The Cordillera experience is itself a dedication to ensuring the Western spirit that this area lives on.
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