Creamery Ranch Open Space
Sustaining Council Underwriters
Brooke and Hap Stein
Click here for a full map of the property or scroll to the bottom for further details.
The 24-acre Creamery Ranch Open Space is one of four conservation easements totaling 332 acres located in Homestead and above Lake Creek. Home to deer, elk, mountain lion and coyotes, as well as trails open to the public, the Creamery Ranch Open Space property is a gem in the heart of Lake Creek.
Rainbow over Creamery Ranch homestead
The conservation of this new publicly accessible land is the culmination of a year-long project led by your local Land Trust to save land for the people of our community and provide front door access points from local neighborhoods into the great outdoors. This successful project saves these lands from further subdivision development and conserves 322 acres in the mid-valley region that are now available to the public for passive recreation opportunities. Hooray for local land conservation in Eagle County!
The centerpiece of this conservation effort is a 166 acre parcel that has come to be known as the “Homestead L” due to its shape. The “L” parcel was already master planned for up to 150-homes when Eagle County purchased it in September 2011. Eagle County and the Eagle Valley Land Trust then began work on a conservation easement to separate the development rights from the land and permanently preserve the property as a publicly accessible recreation area for our community.
This alone was a big achievement for local land conservation, but the Land Trust and citizen conservationists thought they could go further. Two private homeowners associations – Homestead and Creamery Ranch – own land adjacent to the “L” which was designated as open space. During the process to conserve the “L”, the Eagle Valley Land Trust and the County also secured commitments to put these private parcels of land into conservation easement along with the “L”, which created the momentous conservation victory.
Now, any person can walk from Highway 6 into these lands south of Edwards on trails located on publicly accessible conservation easements with 322 acres that are protected forever. Public use will be restricted to designated trails on the Homestead and Creamery Ranch properties, while on-trail, as well as other uses will be permitted on the “L”.
The Eagle Valley Land Trust worked with several community partners to permanently conserve and protect this property. Eagle County’s Open Space Program purchased the “L” with $3.25 million of dedicated open space funds. The project partners included the Land Trust, Eagle County, Edwards Metropolitan District, Creamery Ranch Homeowners Association, Homestead Homeowners Association and numerous individual investors from the surrounding neighborhoods. “Preservation of these 322 acres at such a phenomenal price is something we never thought would be possible. But the really unique aspect is this acquisition provides useable open space and trail connectivity all the way from the Eagle River Preserve to the US Forest Service ridgeline. Edwards has been excited to be a participant in this great accomplishment.” said Todd Williams, President of Edwards Metropolitan District.
Your local Land Trust continues to focus on land conservation efforts in the Lake Creek Valley to preserve the area in its natural state. This recently completed effort to permanently protect the Homestead “L” and the surrounding private property is part of the Land Trusts’ “We Like Lake Creek!” campaign. “The interconnectivity of these parcels really sets this project apart from other conservation efforts.” noted Jason Denhart, Director of Development and Communications for Eagle Valley Land Trust. “Our goal is to create a mosaic of conservation in the Lake Creek Valley, and these four new conservation easements represent the front door access for this overall effort. These 322 newly conserved acres will now join the 1,015 acres previously conserved as wilderness buffers and wildlife habitat in Lake Creek.”
Conservation Easement Information
Date signed: 2012
Acreage: 24
Acquired Through: Donation
Type of Access: Public
Owner: Creamery Ranch Homeowners Association
Map & Directions:
For a map, click here.
