Your favorite Colorado ski town?

[Caro42]

Originally Posted by snowave

This is a tough one. As someone who has lived in a several resort towns across the west, my desires have changed over the years, as to be expected as we age.

My first experience with a resort town was when I was a ski/board bum in 1997/98 in Summit Co. I worked at Copper, but spent a lot of time in Frisco, Breck and also Leadville. I still have a soft spot for that area, due to the conglomerate of ski areas all within close proximity. The lake (Dillon) and plentiful shopping/bars, restaurants... and just in general, a lot going on. It's also only 90 min to Denver (on a good day), which is a plus and minus. However, like may resort areas, that area has grown so much, it's lost much of its "charm" of the time when I was there.

I have also lived in Pagosa Springs more recently. Not really a ski town if you ask me, but it has some quirks that make it fun and a little off the beaten path. We left after 3 yrs due to fear of prolonged drought, my lack of interest in Wolf Creek.. (yeah, they get a lot of snow but the ski area is small, boring and kinda flat). We also missed the Northern Rockies and abundance of water, so that's where we are back to (Idaho). I have visited most of the other ski towns across the state of CO with the exception of Aspen.

My interests over the years have changed from wanting to be in the middle of everything, to having a more low key town, with less tourists, but still a good mountain. Very tough to find anymore!

I really can't narrow it down to one, as I like different areas for different reasons. But here is my short list. (I'm not even sure its in order).

Steamboat
Telluride
Crested Butte
Summit Co.

In the meantime, we now live near McCall, ID where we have found the just about the perfect balance after many years of traveling/living across the west. Great ski areas, still not too crowded (although that is changing, unfortunately), plenty of water, sense of community and decent weather.

Since you mention having lived in Pagosa Springs, I'd like to know your opinion of it as a place to retire. I am a photographer, chiefly interested in landscape photography, and a big hiker. Early seventies, in good health. I don't ski so don't care about ski facilities. I am only interested in finding the most beautiful site I can, which offers green in summer and fabulous fall color, plus hiking trails nearby and beautiful vistas. City amenities do have to exist: affordable housing, a bank, decent shopping, good grocery stores such as Whole Foods, a medical facility of some kind, a dentist or two, decent TV and Internet availability, etc.

I am not now and nor have I ever been a hippie, aging or otherwise, so the reports one sees about Pagosa Springs are discouraging. (Pot heads, meth heads, drunks, high crime, slums, trash, no dependable labor force for any sort of construction or remodeling work, etc.) But the images one sees of Pagosa are fabulous and appeal to me as a photographer. I have lived in Taos, NM, and get the impression that Pagosa Springs may be similar, although Taos is twice the size. I'd like to hear your opinion of the place. Thanks.

[interloper1138]

Originally Posted by Caro42

Since you mention having lived in Pagosa Springs, I'd like to know your opinion of it as a place to retire. I am a photographer, chiefly interested in landscape photography, and a big hiker. Early seventies, in good health. I don't ski so don't care about ski facilities. I am only interested in finding the most beautiful site I can, which offers green in summer and fabulous fall color, plus hiking trails nearby and beautiful vistas. City amenities do have to exist: affordable housing, a bank, decent shopping, good grocery stores such as Whole Foods, a medical facility of some kind, a dentist or two, decent TV and Internet availability, etc.

I am not now and nor have I ever been a hippie, aging or otherwise, so the reports one sees about Pagosa Springs are discouraging. (Pot heads, meth heads, drunks, high crime, slums, trash, no dependable labor force for any sort of construction or remodeling work, etc.) But the images one sees of Pagosa are fabulous and appeal to me as a photographer. I have lived in Taos, NM, and get the impression that Pagosa Springs may be similar, although Taos is twice the size. I'd like to hear your opinion of the place. Thanks.

Taos is much more of a real town than Pagosa, which may surprise you to hear. The majority of Pagosa's 'residents' are only there part time, so it will feel MUCH smaller than Taos, especially in the shoulder seasons as you realize the majority of the traffic that makes it feel livelier than it is isn't year-round. Pagosa also has far less in terms of medical care than Taos. You'd be going to Durango or Santa Fe (even Albuquerque!) for whatever you can't get access to in Pagosa.

Pagosa is more affordable than Taos, however. I'm not sure locals would call it 'affordable' - but by Colorado resort town standards, it still is.

I think in terms of outdoor access / beauty, it's a perfect fit. Despite the vast expanses of beetle kill in the area, there are many aspen in the South San Juans that keep it green in the summer and yellow in the fall.

As someone that lives in Southern Colorado, I'm a huge fan of both towns and visit them quite often, but I'm not sure Pagosa would be what you're looking for as a place to live - especially as an older person that may need more frequent access to medical facilities as they age. Definitely visit before committing. Maybe take a week or two to spend time there getting to know the feel?

[otowi]

There's something else I'd mention about Pagosa that noted on a short visit there that sounds like a small thing but might be big for a senior citizen in deciding to live there. Pagosa is a dark sky town - that is great for many reasons, but it does mean that the lighting at night in town is purposefully poor and that can make driving around in the dark harder for people with already poor night vision.

[snowave]

Pagosa closes down at dark, so I wouldn't worry about driving around at night as there's nothing open late, except a few bars.

There is actually a pretty significant retirement age group of people in town. Yes, some are seasonal, but quite a few are year round, too. I know this because I used to play pickleball there (mostly seniors), and we had a lot of people all winter long playing. Yes, there is also a less desirable crowd, too... but I really didn't think it was that much worse than most resort type/mountain towns I've lived in.

As with any small town, getting reliable labor help can be difficult. Pagosa was on the lower end of the scale from my experiences, but I also lived 25 min south of town, so it was extra hard to get help to want to come to my place.

TV is fine, as long as you have satellite. Internet can be hit and miss depending on where you live, however with Starlink now becoming available in the area, that won't be an issue for more rural homes.

For the most part, Pagosa has decent shopping for your everyday needs. Walmart, City Market and a Natural Grocers (that opened just when I was leaving). For other specialty/big box stores, yes you'll need to go to Farmington, Durango or ABQ.

The newer hospital in town is actually pretty good (minus their billing dept). There are even some specialists, like an ENT and Gastro. So for most things, you are covered pretty well. Yes, for more significant problems, again you may have to go to Durango, Farmington or ABQ.. but that will be the case anywhere outside of a city. Several dentists/chiropractors in town I was happy with. There are several bank options.

Interloper made some good points on several things. It is nothing like Taos IMO, which is a good thing. (I wasn't impressed with Taos at all the few times I've been there). Yes, fall colors/aspen are fantastic, yes there is lots of tree mortality, mainly above about 9,000 ft. In a good monsoon season (like this one, until recently), the area does green up nicely. However, it's high desert... so lots of sagebrush and brown, too when you go a while without rain. Snow can pile up in the winter, so keep that in mind. The area is beautiful, so you won't have trouble getting some great photography, although there is not a ton of water in that area.

Last, affordability... like Interloper said, its pretty reasonable compared to most Colorado towns. Yes, it's been inching up some like everywhere, but not nearly as fast at most places. As I mentioned before, drought is my main reason for leaving. If you get a place near town on the City water, you're likely fine... but anything else, do your homework to make sure you have a good water system/well/cistern.


I think Pagosa is a good fit for you, overall. Especially if you're healthy.