The Private 55-Acre Trout Lake

Hidden Valley Lake is 55 acres of purpose-built habitat at the centre of the ranch, fed by clear mountain water and reserved for the 35 owners and their guests. It is stocked and managed as a fishery — trout and largemouth bass — and designed as much for wildlife and waterfowl as for fishing. This property sits on it, with water frontage and lake views from the main house and the guest residence.

Private water is the rarest thing in Colorado real estate. Public lakes are crowded from June to September; leased access can be revoked; and a "water feature" in a listing photograph is often a seasonal pond that disappears in August. Fifty-five acres of managed, stocked, permanently private water — shared with thirty-four other families and nobody else — is a different category of thing entirely.

The lake belongs to Hidden Valley Ranch and is reserved for its owners and their guests. There is no public access and no day-use gate. This property sits on it, with frontage and lake views from both main residences.

The property has its own private dock, which stays in year-round, plus access to the ranch's shared boat docks — which have electricity.

Owners cruise the lake in electric pontoon boats to take in the scenery and the wildlife, or fish it from electric fishing boats — quiet enough that the birds stay put while you go past. There is a lake gazebo with restroom facilities on the common ground.

The water behind it sits on senior rights held by the association — priorities on the Four Mile Ditch running back to 1890, and a 985 acre-foot storage right in this lake. Worth understanding before you look at anything else here.