Commonly referred to as Old Snowmass to differentiate it from Snowmass Village (to the chagrin of some longtime residents), this rural community at the Roaring Fork Valley’s near-midpoint encompasses wide-open meadows dotted with ranches, equestrian estates, and a few small subdivisions.

Half of the roughly 20,000-acre area falls in the Snowmass Creek drainage; the other half surrounds the Capitol Creek drainage, where the 14,131-foot peak of the same name towers over the land. Road biking on smooth ribbons of asphalt to spots like the St. Benedict’s Monastery is popular, and hiking trails into the national forest and Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness start on the southern end of the Capitol Creek valley.

The downside? Running out for a gallon of milk requires at minimum a 20-minute drive.

While expansive equestrian estates and luxury mansions draw part-time residents desiring a tucked-away retreat, many Snowmass inhabitants are longtime locals who settled here for solitude, tranquility, and beauty. Local families tend to concentrate in the Little Elk Creek and hillside Gateway subdivisions.

John McBride moved here in the late 1980s from Aspen. He farms 300 acres with a couple thousand more adjoining that’s protected grazing land. His daughter and one of his sons live on ranches adjacent to him and his wife, Laurie. “I love being in the country,” McBride says. “Most of the people out here are in that state of mind.”

Stats

Number of active listings at press time: 55

Active average home price:
$4.9 million

Number of homes sold in 2017: 12

Average price of homes sold in 2017:
$1.45 million

Average number of days on the market: 354