Well, for a start…there is no Wikipedia entry for Ferncliff (yet). The closest you’ll get is the entry for Allenspark. (In fact, the property lines make it look like Ferncliff has been devoured by Allenspark.)
To match this lack of internet presence, Ferncliff looks somewhat–but not completely–abandoned, physically.
Here is the interesting thing for you investment opportunists out there: perhaps half the town is for sale…cabins, gas station, country store, storefront building, etc.
A Google search to check on the sale price, what is included, etc. revealed nothing. Maybe because the land and buildings are “For Sale – By Owner”? The closest I came to finding any useful info was a 2013 blog entry by Aaron Smithmier [2018 NOTE: blog entry no longer found on web]. In his blog, he suggests you contact the owner at [Correction: as per the comment by OperaGirl below, the correct number is 719-495-8620] for details–and he mentions a selling price at somewhere around $1.5 million. [Update: As of January, 2016, the asking price was $1,350,000.]
Well, if I were, say, 30 years younger, and I had a few million burning a hole in my Pinkerton safe, I’d jump on it like an alligator wrestler. You’d spend $1.5 mil initially to buy the place, then probably another couple of mil to get it fixed up. Pretty cheap investment, says my friend, Billy Gates.
What would I do? I would…fix up all the cabins with all the modern comforts (but rustically decorated, each with a special theme), get the gas pumps up and running (and add an electric vehicle plug or three), turn the store into both a local grocery store for the Allenspark-Ferncliff area and an entertaining tourist destination with a bizarre and unique inventory of very, very strange “stuff” (and useful stuff, too), fix up and lease out (at very cheap prices) the storefront offices/stores to local artists and entrepreneurs, turn one of the storefront spaces into a cafe/restaurant/bakery with awesome giant brownies (with and without nuts), build a small ropes course/zip line and climbing wall area (covered from the elements), and turn the pond into an ice skating rink in the winter (yes, I’d also buy lots of insurance!).
With the Indian Peaks Wilderness and Rocky Mountain National Park just up the street, you could run all kinds of adventures from here: mountain and road biking (altitude training!), climbing, mountaineering, Nordic skiing and snowshoeing, photography clinics, horseback rides (in cahoots with the stables in Allenspark), and some just plain “vegging” at the cabins for city folk looking for a piece o’ quiet at 8,202 mean feet above mean sea level.
Yep, this little corner of the world could be a little pizza-pie slice o’ heaven. It just needs someone with energy, ideas, and money. (Or better yet, a whole family with wads of cash and ADHD!)
Here are some selected images made just yesterday during the latest spring snowstorm:
The For Sale sign, buried by the snow…
For Sale By Owner. Ferncliff, Colorado, 2015
The gas pumps–closed now, but current with the State of Colorado, I am told (see Ken’s comment below)…
Pumps and Stores. Ferncliff, Colorado, 2015
The cabin area…
Snowstorm at Ferncliff Cabins. Ferncliff, Colorado, 2015
You could put stores and restaurant on the ground floor and a few hotel rooms on the upper floor…
The Stores. Ferncliff, Colorado, 2015
This is where you would put your inventory of both useful and bizarre “stuff” so as to attract customers from near and afar…
The Place To Get Stuff. Ferncliff, Colorado, 2015
Finally, a wonderful icebox awaiting delivery of the frigid bagged cubes…
Ice. Ferncliff, Colorado, 2015
What do you think? Any takers?
[Please comment if you know more about what is going on in Ferncliff–it’s a fascinating place.]
You might also like
39 Comments
Hi Daniel,
I was just at the Food and Fuel to pick up some supplies. When I got back to the cabin we’re in for a few nights, I googled Ferncliff and your post popped up.
What a cool area-so quiet and peaceful as you and others have mentioned. Thanks for your beautiful photos!
Long ago, I worked produce with your brother Greg at Ideal Market. I’ve been following your contributions on MP, and appreciate your perspectives as well as your excellent photography.
Hello, David. Thanks for your kind comment… and that’s cool that you worked with my brother. I may have even met you at some point because I remember being introduced to several folks at ideal when I visited Greg there once. So, is the place still for sale? It sounds like the gas station is now open???
Hello, I am a reporter for the Mountain Ear, a newspaper based out of Nederland, which is about fort-five minutes south on the Peak to Peak. I am publishing a short story this week on the reopening of the side of the road that has the grocery, liquor store and laundromat. The new family that is taking over operations plans on revamping the facilities and making it functional and nice again. They had a shop in Estes Park, about twenty minutes west of Ferncliff, for many years, and sold it to reopen this location. The family that owns the town has been busy trying to bring this location, and a number of other locations up to code, and has been having to deal with Boulder Counties incredibly difficult inspection and coding process, but are almost to the point of opening, maybe in the next couple of months.
Kirk,thanks for the update from “someone who knows” and is actively reporting on it! I will Google your article and put a note with a link in this Ferncliff blog post. Yes, I am quite familiar with Boulder County and their many rules as we had a family horse ranch just outside of the City of Boulder, in the County. Hopefully, we can get back to the States this spring to take a look for ourselves and congratulate the owners–and take some more pictures and do a second blog post on what’s happening there.
I just spent 9 days in Ferncliff. Perfect spot to vacation during a pandemic, visiting amazing musician friends who live in one of those tiny houses. The guy who bought the town is creating a few AirBnB spaces, and renovating the other buildings into usable living spaces and studio spaces, etc. It’s good magic in the works. 😀
Wow, that’s great news that someone is working on reviving the place. Thanks for the update, Lynz!
My wife and I got married in Rocky Mt Natl Park in August, 1978. The entire wedding party stayed at Ferncliff. I’m glad to hear there’s a rejuvenation afoot because I have nothing but good memories of the place.
Thanks for sharing your memories, John!
I lived in Ferncliff the mid 1980’s and plan to drive thru there again this August, 2020 – I really hope to see the old buildings still standing. I would love to show my husband where I lived for a time in my youth. Those years hold some of my fondest memories. Such a different world.
Thanks for your comments, Jennifer! And let us all know what you find if you manage to visit Ferncliff this summer. DanJ
I passed by the place not to long ago it is incredibly depressing no wonder its no longer inhabited. As an investment i don’t see how it would be a good investment. If anything he needs to give it away for free lol so much work needs to be done and the closest home depot is so far. This is a project that will take generations.
I definitely agree it would be an enormous project.
Hi, my name is Aaron Smithmier and I’m the one that had the original post about Ferncliff. I used to work at Rocky Mountain Pathways Ranch which was right across the street. It’s a ranch for charter schools based out of California. During my time working there, the ranch rented out the “main office” and a neighboring building of Ferncliff for it’s Resident Advisors to live in. We were all on contracts so the stays were usually limited to around 9 months unless you opted to extend. I was among the last of the RA’s to live there because RMPR opted to buy a couple houses down the road that were in better condition and could better fit growing numbers.
During my time there, I can honestly say that Ferncliff is one of the most peaceful places on Earth. You’re 20 minutes from civilization in either direction on the highway. During the summer, we’d get probably 3-4 people a week knocking on our door asking if they could get gas as the defunct gas station, and countless more doing the ‘slow drive-by’.
There ARE a couple residents that have houses there but they are far from year-long tenants. We saw a couple people occasionally but mostly we had the town to ourselves. Behind the main office, hidden away is a strip motel of about 5-6 rooms. I imagine that it used to be a tourist trap that just had life pass it by. There are a couple AirBnB’s around there that I’d gladly recommend anyone stay at and check out the area.
Thanks for the details, Aaron! I always thought that place was a special corner of the world. It would be nice to see someone breathe some life back into it some day. I think Ferncliff has a lot of potential as sort of an eco-tourism and mountain vacation base if someone had the means and the energy to put forth. Thanks again for your comments. DanJ
I see the deteriorating state of the place and the FOR SALE BY OWNER signs still hanging there at this point. I feel sad that no one has bought it yet for soon the buildings will fall into such disrepair that no one will want it. I can imagine that at one time it was a lovely little place. Hope someone can save it soon before it becomes completely ruined. I live south of it on Big John Road and pass it going to Allenspark or Estes Park.
Thanks for visiting and adding your comment, Elaine. Yeah, I’d love to see that place bought and transformed by someone with vision as well. So many possibilities…!
I lived in Ferncliff the mid 1980’s and plan to drive thru there again this August, 2020 – I really hope to see the old buildings still standing. I would love to show my husband where I lived for a time in my youth. Those years hold some of my fondest memories. Such a different world.
I was just there today, and the “For Sale By Owner” sign is still up. Buying lottery tickets!!!
Went here from Iowa for a week every summer as kids! Our family would rent a cabin, dad would haul his motorcycle on a trailer behind our Dodge Rambler etc. No TV rule, instead: board games, fishing, exploring, family fun, hang out at the store blabbing, enjoy nature on those great front porches. I think one of the owners (in the 70s maybe early 80s) or their kid was named Karen and I had a crush on one of their kids, Kenny. Wow the memories! LOVE this place!
Thanks for adding to the conversation–and the history–of this place, Theresa! DanJ
Hello! I heard that the property sold. Can any tell me if that is true or not? Thanks!
Sorry for the double post!
Heard that this finally sold a couple weeks ago. Can anyone confirm?
I’m not sure, Jessica. I was through there a couple of weeks ago and did notice a lot of activity around there–like cleaning things up a bit. I’ll stop and ask next time I pass through. DanJ
Ya I noticed that too a couple weeks ago headed up to Wild Basin area. I might call…
I called today to find out once and for all. The property was under contract & it fell because buyers did not have enough down payment. As of today lunch time, it is an active listing at $1.35 mill.
Oh thank God I found this group of posts. I was beginning to think I was alone in thinking this very thing. My husband and I have been here several times and each time I get more under it’s spell. I think I would have been meant to have lived here back in it’s day. Is there any hope it will have a comeback? We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast last week- at the best place ever by the way- and enjoyed a conversation with an elderly gentleman named John who got me totally pumped.
It is indeed a gorgeous area. If I had a few million in my pocket and if I were a few decades younger, I’d love to buy and fix up that place for artists and outdoor sports enthusiasts–it would make a great base for mountain adventures, little art/music festivals, and so on. I assume you ate at Mountain Meadow Cafe? That place is the best! Thanks for visiting! DanJ
It fell through???
My cousin’s, siblings and I used to climb all over those mountains. Our grandpa owned one of the cabins up the road that’s now blocked by an unsightly gate. We happened to be all together early August 2016 and stopped in ferncliff. We chatted with the owner of the property who said it was to be sold the next day. We hoped to have a family reunion there this year. How disappointing!!
I’ve passed this many times in the last few years on my travels to and from Estes to see my wonderful in-lawed family there, and have a burning desire to buy it, renovate the current buildings and also build a castle lodge/event venue there… Ahhh, if only I had the millions to do that! Thanks for the info and pictures! It’s really neat to see someone else has an interest in this beautiful wisp of a town!
Yes, it is a really cool place in a superb location. It would take quite a lot of energy as well as money to get it going. Maybe someone will go for it at some point. Thanks for visiting! DanJ
The Correct asking price is 1,350,000.00. The town is layed out in lots blocks and streets by James A. Weber and is recorded with the state as a Town. Opera Girl has provided the correct phone number and you may also call 719-330-2912. Thanks for the great photos. The houses and cabins are for lease and Gas pumps although closed are current with the State of Colorado.
Thanks for the update, Ken! Ah, if only I were a bit younger with a big bank account to get started. That place has some wonderful possibilities!
Hey Kenny It’s Heidi how r u and your family
The correct phone number to call is 719-352-9030. Leave a message. They are family by marriage.
Wrong phone number, again, the correct one is 719-495-8620. Sorry for the confusion.
Thanks, OperaGirl!
Is it still for sale? I’m just curious.
As far as I know. Haven’t been up there for a couple of months, though. Next time I go by I will check and then update the blog post as required. Are you thinking of making an offer?