71 Silverpick Dr

Day Dreamer, Are you dreaming of the Colorado ski lodge? Here is an opportunity to own a ski lodge in the heart of the San Juan National Forest, just a minute drive to ski lifts. This type of lifestyle opportunity does not arise often. Text "Silverpick" (970) 507-4919 to get details before it is gone. 
 Colorado mountain lifestyle opportunity in Durango just one mile from Purgatory Ski Area (www.purgatoryresort.com). The ski area was recently purchased and the ownership has positioned the resort for significant growth during the next few years. 
 The current owner purchased the lodge in order to live and work on the mountain year-round. He enjoys the changing of seasons, skiing, hiking, hunting, fishing, and the cultural activities in and around Durango. For him, the main attraction was its location and the genial nature of the business. Feeding the hungry and sheltering the traveler does not require highly specialized skills but bring the immediate gratification and sense of satisfaction you get from helping fellow human beings meet their basic needs. 
 The Silverpick Lodge operates year around but the amount of business varies with the seasons. An owner/ operator might choose to live at Purgatory full time or might choose to reside on the mountain mid-winter and mid-summer and travel or live elsewhere the balance of the year. 
 Or they could live elsewhere and hire a manager to operate the business or even lease out the business to someone else. 
 People come from all over the world to stay at the lodge and eat at the restaurant. With heavy concentrations of folks from Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Pretty interesting people. Pretty well healed and pretty well educated. Talented in unexpected ways. Because the lodge and restaurant are small and intimate you will have the opportunity to develop relationships with the greater part of your guests. 
 The present owner enjoys these relationships as well as those he's developed at Purgatory, with the staff, and with the vendors. The flow of events in a small community meander on in a benign progression that allows for plenty of observation and discussion. It's kind of like "Cheers" on steroids. You have as much privacy as you want…but everybody knows your name. 
 The town of Durango is a short drive down the hill and seems pretty large by comparison. Durango really does offer plenty of diversions and good food. But the main attraction for the current owner is the location.
 Location
 The Silverpick Lodge sits at 9000 feet above sea level and is located in La Plata County Colorado halfway between Durango and Silverton in the Southwest corner of the state. La Plata County is truly exceptional geographically and transitions from Desert to Alpine Climate Zones. The North County, where Silverpick is located, contains four major life zones: the Foothills, Montane, Sub-Alpine, and Alpine. 
 It is 200 miles from an interstate yet easy to get to and from by air. The airport is 40 minutes south. 
 The lodge is a mile south of Purgatory Ski Area on US HWY 550 and there is only one intervening business, the Nugget Bar. The lodge sits up on a bench on the west side of the highway across from a wetland. Otherwise, the east side of the road is residential or designated residential with the possibility of some "local commercial" development a quarter-mile north. The lodge is surrounded by forest land currently designated a "resort" by the county which allows for multiple uses. 
 Highway 550 begins its climb north from the valley floor 15 miles south and 2500 feet below. From that point upward the amount of private property is severely limited by geography and federal ownership to a narrow band along the highway. The Hermosa Cliffs rise to 10,800 feet along the west side of the road and the San Juan National Forest, the Weminuche Wilderness, and Twilight Peaks rise to 13,000 to the east. It is 20 miles of wilderness west to the next paved road and 50 miles of wilderness east. The lodge is located in an Aspen and Douglas Fir forest. The views of the peaks and cliffs from the lodge are outstanding. 
 A row of condominiums is nestled in the forest between the lodge and the cliffs. There is more forest to the north and to the south are the grazing meadows of the Hotter Homestead. There is a gas station, liquor store, ski shop, and convenience store about a mile south. And there are residential developments of varying sizes scattered throughout the mountain neighborhood.