Pagosa Springs, CO

[MRG]

DW and I have been looking for a new home base. We've only been looking for 8+ years. We've been here for a while and are really liking it. Great fishing, hunting, skiing, hiking, 300 sunny days a year are all the things we both love(except the skiing, but we've never tried). Looking at some property today we're very pleased with this area of the state.

So in this great big group there has to be some knowledge of this area. Anyone know anything about the area? Been there and love or hate it? Any thoughts on research you would do?

 

[REWahoo]

Been there in the RV a few times. Very nice place to visit but never considered living there as we aren't moving anywhere other than to AL/NH/FRP.

 

[calico1597]

We have friends who retired there, they love it. Seems to me there is a lot of snow. They go to Phoenix a couple months at the beginning of the year in their rv. We leave AZ April 1 and would like to visit them on the way home but there are always many inches of snow on the ground, we're not interested in seeing snow. That's why we leave Illinois for the winter!

 

[Koolau]

Only thing I know of Pagosa Springs I heard from C. W. McCall in "Wolf Creek Pass." YMMV

 

[purplesky]

If you move there you have to try skiing or snowborarding at Wolf Creek Ski Area. Its about 20 minutes to the mountain and they get a lot of powder which is great for learning since falling is less painful.

It seems like Colorado would be a great place to spend time if you love the outdoors.

Summer or winter.

 

[38Chevy454]

If you like snow and cold winters, then you can have a great time.

 

[folivier]

Very nice place with lots to do. But make sure whatever you buy has good water. The water in that area has lots of minerals and water wells are not always good for drinking.
We've been there a few times in our motor coach and really enjoyed that entire southern Colorado area. Lots of areas to 4x4, hike, etc.
Oh yeah that area suffered some effects from that mine spill last year(?).

 

[REWahoo]

Oh yeah that area suffered some effects from that mine spill last year(?).

The Gold King mine spill was into the Animas River, located 50 miles west of Pagosa Springs. That river runs through Durango, then to the south into New Mexico, so no impact to Pagosa Springs.

Gold King Mine Spill Water & Sediment Sample Locations

 

[Dawg52]

I drove through there last Fall on the way back from a trip out west. I could probably live there for a portion of the year. Doubt I would like the winters, but I'm just a southern boy.

 

[pjm-7]

Nice place, been through there a few times. Definitely a lot to do in the region. As with moving to any small, rural area your access to medical care is limited.

 

[GravitySucks]

How are the soaking hot springs?

 

[COcheesehead]

Hot Springs, brew pubs, close to northern NM and the treasures of SW Colorado like Mesa Verde. I would live there.

 

[Ally]

Our parents owned a vacation home there and my brother lived there for a few years. It's a lovely place to be most of the year, but the winters can be rough. They moved away because there were times they couldn't get out in winter, plus they had to go 4 hours to get to a big airport.

I might mention that money was lost on the sale of both pieces of real estate, because the values had gone down. Also, when you need services like plumbers and electricians, we often had to wait weeks.

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[Bamaman]

Pagosa Springs, CO is in the middle of the state close to the state line. Looks like it's in the plains, just south of the mountains.

My only concern would be that there's no other cities around. We like to be a little closer proximity to other cities.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Pagosa Springs, CO is in the middle of the state close to the state line. Looks like it's in the plains, just south of the mountains.

My only concern would be that there's no other cities around. We like to be a little closer proximity to other cities.

Lol. Guess you haven't been there. It's at the edge of a high mountain pass. Certainly not the plains.


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[W2R]

Never been there. Sounds way, way too cold for me, though. Deep freeze, for sure, BRRRRRRRRR...... (Shiver, shiver)

Maybe rent there for 4-6 months in the most miserable, coldest depths of winter, before buying? You could use the time to check out neighborhoods and further familiarize yourselves with the area.

 

[COcheesehead]

Never been there. Sounds way, way too cold for me, though. Deep freeze, for sure, BRRRRRRRRR...... (Shiver, shiver)

Maybe rent there for 4-6 months in the most miserable, coldest depths of winter, before buying? You could use the time to check out neighborhoods and further familiarize yourselves with the area.

300 days of sunshine in Colorado. Even the coldest days are in the sun. Colorado winters sure beat the winters I had growing up in Wisconsin.

 

[W2R]

Winters in Places like Colorado

[...]Seems to me there is a lot of snow.[...]

If you like snow and cold winters, then you can have a great time.

I drove through there last Fall on the way back from a trip out west. I could probably live there for a portion of the year. Doubt I would like the winters, but I'm just a southern boy.

Never been there. Sounds way, way too cold for me, though. Deep freeze, for sure, BRRRRRRRRR...... (Shiver, shiver)

Maybe rent there for 4-6 months in the most miserable, coldest depths of winter, before buying? You could use the time to check out neighborhoods and further familiarize yourselves with the area.

300 days of sunshine in Colorado. Even the coldest days are in the sun. Colorado winters sure beat the winters I had growing up in Wisconsin.

I'll take your word on that!

 

[calico1597]

I should have added more to my comments above. We did go skiing there before our friends moved there. We all flew into Albuquerque, then drove a rental car 4 hours to get to the rented condo in Pagosa Springs. We skied Wolf Creek several times, then took the drive to Durango for a day trip skiing. We went to the town's hot springs one evening, that was fun. Middle of January, we are walking around in our swim suits and flip flops, trying out the various springs. I remember bathrooms being close for the dash to get dressed when finished. Think the individual springs had signs giving the temperature of the waters.

 

[Ally]

Never been there. Sounds way, way too cold for me, though. Deep freeze, for sure, BRRRRRRRRR...... (Shiver, shiver)

Maybe rent there for 4-6 months in the most miserable, coldest depths of winter, before buying? You could use the time to check out neighborhoods and further familiarize yourselves with the area.

I think it's a great idea to rent over a winter. I bet there are probably some available vacation homes. I'm not sure if the economy has recovered there, but 4 years ago, there were many vacation homes for sale or lease. Pagosa Springs went through a boom time and then a time when they had the most foreclosures in the country in vacation homes. We were trying to sell just after that period and our buyer could hardly find a mortgage company willing to lend in PS for a second home. Not to mention, it took weeks, sometimes months, to get electricians, appraisers, and plumbers to do work for the sale. We would have gladly leased the home till the market improved.


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[MRG]

I think it's a great idea to rent over a winter. I bet there are probably some available vacation homes. I'm not sure if the economy has recovered there, but 4 years ago, there were many vacation homes for sale or lease. Pagosa Springs went through a boom time and then a time when they had the most foreclosures in the country in vacation homes. We were trying to sell just after that period and our buyer could hardly find a mortgage company willing to lend in PS for a second home. Not to mention, it took weeks, sometimes months, to get electricians, appraisers, and plumbers to do work for the sale. We would have gladly leased the home till the market improved.


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Thank you.

Interesting about the real estate prices especially vacation homes. From what I've been learning, many of the vacation homes are folks from TX, I hear it's cooler here. So when the TX economy moves so moves the price of PS real estate. Between the minor financial events of the late 2000s and fluctuations in oil money in TX think I understand the volatility. I actually saw the records on a property on Grimes Creek where some poor person appeared to lose 50% on a 400k home between 2009-2013.

County website shows a pretty good recovery now but still not back the highs. Compared to Durango or the front range this place is very affordable. Small town living isn't for everyone, it does have a lot of appeal to us. We both grew up in PA in a small town(Williamsport) that had a week of tourism late summer and then back to normal.