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Looking southeast across the San Luis Valley towards the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. They are the southern most subrange in the Rocky Mountains and end just south in New Mexico!

This 5 acres of real estate for sale is located high in the Rocky Mountains in southern Colorado about 3 hours southwest of Denver. It sits east of the Rio Grande River in the San Luis Valley surrounded by beautiful mountains! It is a very cool part of the valley right above the New Mexico State line with lots of farms and crops - a very pretty setting. It has gorgeous mountain views and although it is remote it is accessible! It is located about 15 minutes away from San Luis, the county seat, and the busy town of Alamosa is a 45 minute drive to the northwest. The New Mexico State line is about three miles to the south and the infamous Taos sits less than an hour away. We had a chance to view this area in May of 2009 and all of the photos were taken only 1/2 of a mile east of the property along the same road that this property sits on. You can actually see this property in the photos as well. It was a very pretty time of the year and this parcel was covered in pretty yellow sagebrush with natural plants!

It is a very cool piece of land that sits at the corner of two roads and the road that leads along the south of the property, Road D, is the same road seen in the photos below. I believe the county maintains this road. I have not viewed the road that leads along the east side of the property but the aerial photos show it. This property is only 1.5 miles west of Highway 159 which is the main paved road through this part of the valley and it makes it really easy to drive to the property. There is a neighbor towards the southeast of the property as seen in the Close Up Aerial Map and photos. There are several crops and farms sprinkled about the area as seen in the aerial photos.

There are beautiful mountain ranges that lead down the west and east sides of this valley and lots of pretty mesas sprinkle the horizon as well. There are beautiful views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Culebra Mountain Range towards the southeast that were snowcapped! Culebra Peak at 14,047 is the only "fourteener" in Colorado which is on private land. There is a pretty view of Blanca Peak towards the north across the beautiful wide open valley. At 14,345 feet she is the 4th highest peak in Colorado! It is a pretty view of the treed San Pedro Mesa to the east of the property. There are trees hills to the southwest and mesas and hills to the west and northwest. And Ute Mountain sits to the south in New Mexico!

This area is fairly flat with a gentle roll to it - you can see a low spot in the road just to the west and the property sits beyond that. You can also see this low spot in the aerial photos. The area has scattered tall sage brush and native plants and there was a pretty sunset that night! We shot the pictures a bit late in the day which made it a bit dark in some of the photos looking towards the west. The moon offered a pretty view!

The zoning on the property is agricultural and allows for a home/mobile home as well as 3 months of RV use per year. We often get asked for acreage that is not part of a subdivision and this is not part of a subdivision! I thought this was a pretty chunk of land in a beautiful rural setting! Enjoy! Char the Explorer : )

Looking north - that's Blanca Peak way across with snowcapped peaks!

Looking west down the road - the property sits 1/2 of a mile further down this road in the right hand side of the photo. It was late in the afternoon when we visited and the sunlight against the camera made it a bit dark to see so I lightened the photos up in the second photo below so you can get a better idea of what that road looks like.

Looking east - you can see the neighbor that sits to the southeast.

Looking south at Ute Mountain which sits in New Mexico!

Looking southeast to south at the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Ute Mountain!

Costilla County & Area Information:

This property is located in Costilla County nestled high in the Rocky Mountains in the San Luis Valley. The valley sits at an elevation of 7544 feet. It is one of the largest high desert valleys in the world and is approximately 125 miles long and over 65 miles wide. The high plains and flat valleys stretch for 722 square miles and is surrounded by the Sangre de Cristo Mountain range to the east and the San Juan Mountain range to the west. Here you will also find Blanca Peak. At 14,345 feet it is the 4th highest peak in Colorado! It can clearly be seen for miles on a typical sunny day. The clear blue sky against the backdrop of Mt. Blanca is absolutely beautiful! The Rio Grande River, the 4th largest river system in the USA, originates here in the San Juan Mountains and flows through the San Luis Valley.

Located near the county seat of San Luis, it is about a 50 minute drive to the bustling town of Alamosa, 210 miles southwest of Denver, 175 miles east of Durango and 60 miles north of Taos. Alamosa to the north is the largest nearby town offering shopping, restaurants, Wal-Mart, Adams State College, and hotels. The valley is mostly agricultural with many beautiful farms sprinkled about.

These are a few of my favorite photos taken in the area. For more pictures from our journeys to this area be sure and click on the Costilla link below!

May 2009 Update: We spent a day exploring land in the San Luis Valley before heading down to New Mexico to check out River River and Angel Fire in Taos. I often hear people interested in buying land talking about skiing in Red River which is about an hours drive away from San Luis. It was a bit of a cloudy day but we were still able to see majestic Blanca Peak which had quite a bit of snow in her peaks! We spent some time looking at the smaller towns of Mt. Blanca, Fort Garland, Manassa, Mesita, and Jaroso. It was a pretty spring with trees just starting to get their leaves and flowers bloooming.

Our highlight of the day was the wild herd of horses we saw just south of highway 142 and west of the town of San Luis in the Rio Grande Ranches. They watched us nervously as we drove up, letting us take several photos of them before they took off across the open valley - their manes and tails flying in the wind - wow is that stunning to see in the wild!!! I had previously seen wild horse up on Wild Horse Mesa on another occasion so this was my second glimpse at the wild horses in this valley! And we found quite a few antelope out grazing that afternoon, a few just down the road from the horses! Have I mentioned I have the best job in the whole world!!!

Wild horses in the Rio Grande Ranches with Blanca Peak in the distance in May 2009!

The San Luis Valley continues to be a hot spot for Solar power. In March, 2009 the Saguache County Planning Commission announced that a company, Renewable Energy Systems (RES) presented a "preliminary sketch application" to them for the construction of two 100-megawatt solar power plants to be located NE of Center, Colorado. Center is about a 25 minute drive northwest of Alamosa. If this gets built it would ad 50 jobs to the area. It sounds like the commissioners have a lot of research to do and approved a motion to use the current guidelines until they can adopt an alternative procedure - whatever that all means!!!

I also read that Xcel Energy will build a 17-megawatt solar plant adjacent to the existing SunEdison facility in Alamosa County. It is expected to be completed sometime in late 2010. The plant will be the second largest high efficienty photovoltaic solar plant in North America. An estimated 200 jobs would be created during construction. Construction is contingent on factors including approval from the Colorado Public Utility Commission.

The small town of San Luis, the county seat for Costilla. Pictures include the cute shops along main street, the fire department, a church and school:

The rest of the photos below were taken on our other trips to the area.

In September 2005 we caught early morning riders boarding the Cumbres Toltec Scenic Railroad in Antonito. The ride takes you through the Conejos County high country, through two tunnels and along the Toltec Gorge offering scenic views of the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan Mountain ranges.

A few of the businesses at Fort Garland, a busy crossroad along the highway and some kids enjoying the fort! Once comanded by the legendary Kit Carson it served to protect the early settlers with over 100 men. We often find buses parked out front and the yard filled with school children as you can see in the two pictures taken in 2006.

A few businesses in Alamosa: Super Wal-Mart, the Holiday Inn Express built a few years ago, my favorite steak house there, True Grits, it is filled with John Wayne memorbelia and the Chamber of Commerce:

People enjoying Mountain Home Reservoir:

Click Here to view the State Of Colorado, Division Of Water Resources Guide To Well Permits, Water Rights and Water Administration.

For more pictures and information from our journeys to this area be sure and click here: Costilla County

Please conduct your due diligence research and be sure to ask all questions prior to hitting the "Buy Now" button below.

Once you click on the "Buy Now" button we put a Sale Pending notice on the listing and email out further instructions. Within 24 hours we must receive a response to that email that includes your contact information. Payment is due within 5 days unless prior arrangements are made. We often have several interested buyers in the same property and in fairness to all interested parties we keep the property available until someone is 100% prepared to complete the transactions.

The purchase price plus a $150.00 doc prep fee buys 100% ownership of this property! We will prepare all documents necessary to transfer ownership and even include a check to cover all recording fees and transfer taxes as well. We will also include maps to assist you in locating the property. It's all part of the $150 doc prep fee! Buyer will have 5 days to send payment by cashiers check, money order, Visa/Master/Discover Card or we also accept Paypal.

With our sincere thanks,

Mark, Charlotte, Derek, and Kristy : )

Price $3,800.00 For All 5 Acres Or Best Offer!

Please feel free to call Char at 360-550-8943 with any questions! We are on Pacific Time!

To view our other available Properties, please Click Here

Thank you for looking!