9 minute read
Double Heart Ranch
from LAND Fall 2024
ON THE COVER
DOUBLE HEART RANCH
11,300± Acres in Gunnison County, Colorado
Presented By Pfister Land Company, LLC
The Double Heart Ranch offers an unparalleled blend of natural beauty, recreational activities and operational excellence on 11,300± deeded acres in south-central Colorado’s Gunnison Valley.
Unlike many Centennial State mountain retreats, the Double Heart Ranch is a fully functional livestock operation supporting an estimated 1,000 animal units and a hay base that produces 2,500 tons annually.
The ranch improvements are truly remarkable. They include a lodge designed to sleep more than 20 guests, three guest houses sited to offer privacy, and five manager’s houses spread across the ranch.
The Double Heart Ranch boasts thriving wildlife populations and outstanding fishing in over five miles of Tomichi Creek. The ranch’s landscape defines diversity with expansive meadows and riparian corridors in the lower elevations, sagebrush rangeland for grazing and timbered and aspen-covered mountain pastures.
The varied topography creates a multifaceted environment that is ideal for agricultural production and recreation. The property adjoins a national forest and connects to thousands of acres of state and BLM land for endless recreational opportunities.
The ranch is near the vibrant mountain towns of Gunnison and Crested Butte, which offer convenient commercial air service, local dining, shopping and community services, as well as access to a renowned ski area.
Location
Located 26 miles east of Gunnison in the Tomichi Valley, the Double Heart Ranch surrounds the notable landmark, Tomichi Dome, and runs along the banks of Tomichi Creek. The property is surrounded by over 1.6 million of acres of the Gunnison National Forest, BLM and state land.
The ranch can be accessed year-round from Highway 50 and County Road 887, which is a maintained gravel county road. Private and commercial air service is available in Gunnison (GUC), with routine flights to Denver, and depending on the season, flights to Houston and Dallas. The runway is 9,400’ by 150’. Denver International Airport (DIA) is the regional hub for domestic and international flights and is only four hours (215 miles) from the ranch.
Gunnison County’s population is approximately 17,000 people. The mountain community of Gunnison, oriented around ranching, tourism and recreation, is home to a variety of restaurants, grocery stores, local shopping, community services and a hospital. The town of Crested Butte is only 45 minutes from the property and offers additional cultural, dining and recreational options.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort, known for its downhill skiing, has 121 runs. The family friendly Monarch Ski Area, featuring 54 runs, is only 10 miles east of the ranch on Monarch Pass crossing the Continental Divide.
The Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park, the Fossil Ridge Wilderness Area, and the Curecanti National Recreation Area, which is home to Blue Mesa Reservoir, Morrow Point Reservoir and Crystal Reservoir, are just a short drive from the ranch
Double Heart Ranch represents a unique opportunity to own a remarkable piece of Colorado’s mountain heritage.
Operations
Cattle
Historically, the ranch has supported between 800 – 1,000 cows, 120 replacement heifers and 50 bulls. In the past, calving season began in early April and calves shipped around November. The operator utilized the various leases associated with the ranch and residually grazed the hay meadows in the fall.
Hay Production
The ranch’s approximately 2,500 acres of hay meadows, located south of Highway 50 along Tomichi Creek and north of Highway 50 along Hot Springs Creek, have produced a ton per acre historically.
Water Rights and Equipment
The Double Heart has abundant irrigation water rights and substantial water rights in its two reservoirs totaling approximately 145 CFS and 988.6 acre-feet of storage water shares. These water rights ensure plentiful irrigation water for the expansive hay operation. Engineers and attorneys have researched the water rights extensively; their reports are available upon request.
The ranch has an extensive inventory of equipment that could be sold with the property.
Hunting
The ranch’s resident elk herd ranges from 500–800 head and the land supports an abundant population of trophy mule deer. To date, hunting on the ranch has been limited to family and friends, but the property is set up to accommodate an outstanding commercial hunting and outfitting operation.
Historically, the Double Heart has qualified for 16 landowner preference mule deer licenses that could be utilized as an additional revenue source for the property.
Improvements
The expansive 10,000± square-foot main lodge, constructed in 1992 and later completely remodeled, was designed to accommodate more than 20 guests. The commercial kitchen and expansive dining room connecting with the main living room allow for catering to large groups.
The lodge encourages gathering in a variety of spaces including a spacious living room, a billiard room, a secondary living room off the primary suite, and a smaller dining room attached to the kitchen. In addition, there is a large den and mudroom off the garage with storage and seating, and an attached three-car garage along with a separate heated shop outfitted with game processing facilities and a commercial refrigerator and freezer.
The ranch features three distinctive guest houses, each offers comfort and privacy within a short distance of the main lodge. The first is a spacious 4,500 ± square-foot, three-bed/threebath two-story home with a grand living room featuring a rock fireplace, a stately kitchen and an upstairs loft, complemented by a two-car garage with an adjoining mudroom.
The second guest house is a 3,850± squarefoot, single-level stucco home with four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a central living area that offers expansive views of Waunita Park. The third guest house is a 4,300± square-foot, two-story cabin-style residence that includes four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a vaulted living room with an open-concept kitchen and dining area, an upstairs loft, and an attached game room with a secondary living space.
This array of well-designed residences provides the foundation that allows the Double Heart Ranch to be used as a family compound or reimagined as a private or corporate retreat.
The property also includes four operational headquarters—Hot Springs, Pleasant View, Needle Creek and a location with the main shop and livestock facilities north of Highway 50. Each one is strategically located to ensure the ranch’s extensive operations function efficiently and effectively.
The Hot Springs Improvements feature a manager's home, barn, equipment storage, and corrals along County Road 887, with potential for expansion under a conservation easement. The Pleasant View Improvements, south of Highway 50, include a well-maintained 2,000± squarefoot manager's home with extensive farmstead facilities such as corrals, barns, livestock sheds, and equipment storage.
The Needle Creek Improvements, located on the southwest portion of the property off County Road 22, offer two modest homes, multiple shops, barns and hay storage buildings, with high fences around a portion of the acreage protecting hay ground against wildlife. Additionally, the shop and livestock working improvements on the north side of Highway 50 provide year-round access to the main ranch shop and equipment storage buildings, along with additional corrals, working facilities, and livestock scales south of the highway.
Hunting and Fishing
On this ranch and throughout the area, the wildlife and big game hunting opportunities are plentiful and diverse. Significant populations of elk, mule deer, bear, moose, antelope, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, small game and bird species thrive.
Hunters on the Double Heart can experience the challenge of pursuing bull elk that average an impressive 330 to 385 inches consistently. Occasionally, trophy-sized elk push the tape even further.
The ranch is also home to mule deer of exceptional quality, with some boasting antler measurements exceeding 200 inches. The terrain, rich forage and strategic location ensure that these mule deer thrive, making the ranch a coveted destination for those whose passion is stirred by big muleys.
Historically, this property also has qualified for coveted landowner preference mule deer tags, making it a haven for both big game and small game hunting. With its strategic location, this ranch provides direct access to thousands of acres of public land, expanding the hunting and recreational possibilities. The ranch is in Game Management Unit 551 (GMU). This area offers general elk licenses that do not require non-residents to accumulate preference points before drawing.
Tomichi Creek courses through Double Heart’s meadows, providing anglers completely private access to healthy populations of brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout, from both banks. In addition, Hot Springs Creek flows through the property on the north of Highway 50.
The area’s fishing and live water recreation is almost limitless with the Gunnison River, Taylor River, East River and the gold-medal Arkansas River. With this combination of powerhouse water, opportunities to land quality trout abound. Nearby Blue Mesa Reservoir is also known for its kokanee salmon population.
Conservation
Approximately 1,200± acres, just a small portion, of the Double Heart’s 11,300± acres are impacted by conservation easements. The first easement, covering 320 acres on the south side of Highway 50, is held by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and permits hunting, fishing, farming, grazing and recreation. It also allows for the repair, replacement or addition of improvements, including a new single-family residence and agricultural buildings within a 5-acre building envelope.
The second easement, spanning 900 acres along County Road 887 and Hot Springs Creek, is held by The Nature Conservancy to protect Gunnison sage-grouse habitat. This easement allows for the replacement of existing improvements and the construction of new ones on a 40-acre parcel outside the protected area. Despite these easements, the majority of the ranch remains unencumbered for construction, development and further conservation measures.
Conclusion
The Double Heart Ranch does it all from producing livestock and hay to trophy big game and rod-bending trout to delivering stunning scenery and the best of mountain living. With abundant water rights and easy access to vibrant mountain communities and world-class skiing, the Double Heart Ranch represents a unique opportunity to own a remarkable piece of Colorado’s mountain heritage.
11,300± Acres
GUNNISON COUNTY, COLORADO
Property ID: 20601654
$60,000,000
Rob Pfister, Broker
307-684-5201
