Stagecoach Mountain, Colorado.

The Past, Present, and Future of Stagecoach Mountain Resort: A Luxury Revival in the Rockies

Stagecoach stole my heart in 2007, when I fell in love with a townhouse at the base area of the old ski hill. A year later, housing prices collapsed and my investment dropped to a fraction of what I paid. But it wasn’t just about real estate, it was about mountains, sunsets, the dream that the long-silent Stagecoach ski area might one day come back to life.

That dream has shifted in contour repeatedly over the years. In 2025, with new proposals under the name Stagecoach Mountain Ranch, the vision is more ambitious, and more controversial, than ever.

 

What Was Stagecoach Ski Area

Stagecoach is located about 20 miles south of Steamboat Springs, in Routt County, Colorado.  In the early 1970s Woodmoor Corporation began building it as a ski resort. It opened with 3 double chairlifts, a vertical drop of ~1,700 feet, and great potential thanks to north-facing terrain. But financial troubles struck: Woodmoor filed bankruptcy in 1973 (bankruptcy in 1974), the ski area closed after its second winter season, and the lifts fell silent.

Since then, the Wittemyer family (and others) have owned the property, and though lifts haven’t operated, there have been intermittent uses such as cat skiing and informal trail access.

 

 

 

 

The Dream that Wouldn’t Die 

Over the years many rumors, plans, and visions have floated around:

• Base village, ski-in/ski-out homes, trails, maybe hotels.

• Promises of reopening lifts; promises of infrastructure improvements.

• Marketing campaigns, renderings, sketch plans, but little in the way of realized operations until recently.

These elements kept resident hopes alive, even as time passed and nothing concrete materialized. Until recently. (Again)

 

 

The 2024-2025 Revival: Stagecoach Mountain Ranch (SMR)

By 2024-2025, a more formal, ambitious plan has been developed under the name Stagecoach Mountain Ranch (SMR), led by Discovery Land Company in collaboration with the Wittemyer family. 

Here are the key components and updated facts as of mid-2025:

 

Project Overview

• Developer: Discovery Land Company, known for private luxury communities.
• Site Size: Approximately 6,100-6,600 acres in total, with about 1,300 acres more intensively developed. 
• Residential Units: The plan calls for about 613 units (condos, duplexes, cabins, single-family homes) down from earlier proposed numbers (~700–800).
• Open Space Preservation: Roughly 88% of the land will remain as open space (passive, ski terrain, etc.), with only ~12% developed.

 

Amenities & Development Features

• Private Ski Area: New ski trails and lifts are proposed. Six new lifts including one gondola are part of the plan. The lifts that once existed would be removed and replaced.
• Base Village: The proposals include a community marketplace (retail, perhaps gas station, small market, café), daycare, civic open space (~14 acre park), trails.
• Workforce / Affordable Housing: Of the ~613 units, there are 137 units set aside for workforce / affordable housing; 95 of those deed-restricted. 
• Infrastructure Improvements: Plans include contributions for road improvements (RCR 14), water and sewer system upgrades (Morrison Creek Water & Sanitation District), emergency services, cell tower infrastructure, etc. 

 

What Was Dropped or Altered After Community Feedback

• A proposed golf course along the Stagecoach Reservoir was in earlier iterations but has been removed from the submitted plan (as of late 2024). 
• The number of total homes was reduced, density was modified, and more attention paid to preserving open space and environmental concerns. 

 

Timeline & Approval Process

• The application was submitted to Routt County in December 2024. 
• The approval process is expected to be lengthy: public hearings, planning commission review, county commissioners, possibly over a period of years. Divita (Discovery Land Co.) estimates that parts could take until 2026 for preliminary approvals and longer for full build-out. 
• Full build-out (all amenities, lifts, homes, base village etc.) is likely to take 15-30 years according to developers.
•  

How the New Plan Compares to the Old Dream

The townhouses, lifts still standing (silent), hopes of reopening, ski-in/ski-out homes—are reflected in much of the proposed plan. But there are differences:

 

• The ski area portion will be private, only available to property owners or members—not open to general public skiing. That diverges from earlier rumors of a public ski resort.
• The scale is larger now, with higher investment and a private, exclusive model.
• The base village is being pitched as more than just a ski base, it’s a full community node (marketplace, infrastructure, workforce housing) to support the development and benefit both new and existing residents.

 

Controversies, Concerns, and Resident Perspectives

As with any large luxury development, there are mixed feelings and opposition. Key concerns include:

• Public vs. Private Access: Many residents are uneasy with a ski area that will be exclusive. If you live in Stagecoach, will you ever ski there, or will you just look at it?
• Environmental Impact: Concern over water quality in Stagecoach Reservoir, ecosystem disruption, and untreated effects of development. For example, worries over algae issues, runoff, habitat loss. 
• Cost and Taxes: Whether existing property owners will be priced out through higher property taxes, or whether their property value will go through the roof (and tax assessments accordingly).
• Community Character: Some fear the “rural, quiet” lifestyle they enjoy will be lost in the shadow of luxury homes, resorts, and wealthy newcomers. 

 

 

What has not happened (Yet)

 

• 20 years later, since I purchased a condo. There are still no lifts currently operating. 
• The Stagecoach Mountain Ranch subdivision application is under review by Routt County. 
• The golf course is currently not included in the submitted plan. Though not fully ruled out for future, any golf course component is delayed or on hold. 
• Many of the base village amenities are proposed, but few are built yet. Infrastructure improvements are pledged, but actual construction remains future.

 

Next steps 

Things to watch:

Planning Commission & County Hearings  will the approvals be granted, and with what conditions?

Environmental studies  particularly water quality, runoff, wildlife impact.

Real estate pricing what will the luxury homes cost? How many will be second homes? What will be open to locals or non-member buyers?

Infrastructure performance  roads, water & sewer, emergency services: are the promised improvements feasible and funded?

Public benefit components  the workforce housing, marketplace, services: will they be delivered?

Community feedback has shaped the proposal, golf course removed, reduced residential units, increased emphasis on open space, workforce housing, infrastructure improvements. Yampa Valley Bugle

 

For someone like me who fell in love with Stagecoach’s promise long ago, Stagecoach Mountain Ranch feels like the most real incarnation yet of what we’ve been waiting for. But dreams are fragile: this is a complex project, built on hopes and many moving parts—economics, politics, environment, and community voices all in play.

Stagecoach Mountain Resort / Ranch in 2025 is no longer just a rumor in newspapers, it’s a formal, high-stakes proposal. Whether it will deliver, or deliver the way people want, remains to be seen.

 

Above are images of the original stagecoach ski map from 1974 and an original advertisement that made me fall in love. Images from Colorado Ski History. Check out more here.