My husband and I are interested in purchasing 10-20 acres of land in either of these states for a mountain get away. He wants Mountain Views and mature tall trees, I want to be 30-45 minutes away from skiing, willing to drive 1-2 hours from an airport, and not too far from grocery stores/restaurants. This board have any suggestions? Oh, and we don't want to break the bank on the land. Plan to build a cabin.

Thank you! I will check it out.

It all depends on what price range you're looking in.

Ridgeway is great, the downside is tourists.

In the northern portion of the state around Steamboat Springs up to Hahn's Peak Village is plenty of land, views skiing etc. Snowfall can be very heavy up there in the winter.

Tbh for a little getaway I like the grand mesa, which is still overlooked by many. Powerhorn is a meh ski hole like Monarch, Eldora etc. rarely has lift lines, plenty of good views, and located near 10's to hundreds of thousands of acres of public land from the Uncompaghre plateau moving east to the West Elks. Hunting & hiking are also excellent out there, and very few tourists or front range types in the area.

If you're looking for something special though Ridgeway is solid advice.

Leadville, CO is 2.5 hours from Denver Airport, 45 Minutes from Vail and Breck.

We strongly considered Durango for a while, too - that's a good one. Thought about Pagosa too but it wasn't as much what we were looking for.

I'll say this - you really need to get the feel for different places to decide. Even just in Southwest Colorado where we're very familiar...every town has a very different feel.

MAS444 said:

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We recently bought land and built in Ridgway, Colorado. It's an hour from great skiing in Telluride but also 30 minutes from Ouray (lots of outdoor activities + restaurants and bars) and Montrose (airport and box stores, etc). It's a great area. Happy to answer any questions.

Edit:

Ridgway is a great little town with lots to do nearby. And its in the most beautiful part of the state in my biased opinion.

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My next door neighbor owns the MTN Lodge/Million Roadhouse in Ridgway. Beautiful there.

Know it well! Do they not live in Ridgway?

Not true.

35 acres is the mnimum for a domestic well which allows Irrigation + live stock + more than one Residence.

We just finished drilling a new well on 12 acres. It 100% can be done.

Google domestic vs indoor well colorado.

MAS444 said:

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Know it well! Do they not live in Ridgway?

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no sir. Lakewood in Dallas. Amazing family and close friends of ours.

You should consider the elevation you want to live at. There is a world of difference between Ridgway (6900 ft) and Leadville (10k+ ft).

I'm partial to the Steamboat vicinity. But there definitely is not enough housing or builders.

And nothing is cheap.

Any familiarity with having water delivered? I'd love to eventually have a small cabin available for getaways throughout the year. I have lived in CO before and know the issues with water.

I only know that it's something some do. I looked a a house a few years back that had no well, but had a 2000 gallon cistern and had water delivered.
I've also looked at a little 1/2acee property where water is an issue. It borders NF and would be great for hunting. My thoughts were that I'd just get a tank on a trailer maybe. But I've never done it.

Following, we have kicked around a Colorado property similar to the OP's request for years.

My neighbors bought some land out near 11 mile reservoir. (Hartsel)

If I remember it was pretty cheap, and this is close to breck, or CO springs to the east.

We've briefly considered it, and may get more serious once we pay our home improvement debt off.

We love the Creede and Lake City areas.