Ask Jake Hubbell
Paonia, Colorado is known as one of the nicest places to live in Colorado, with its beautiful mountain views, mild climate, and bountiful sunshine. It's a great place to raise a garden, grow fruit trees, and enjoy a relaxed mountain lifestyle. This spacious country home sits on 11 acres just southwest of Paonia with incredible views of Land's End and the West Elk Mountain range. Built in 2001, the home has 3,655 square feet of heated living space. The upstairs is on ground level with only a couple of stairs at the entry of the home and the main living area is on that level. The kitchen, which features granite countertops, is spacious and looks out over the living room with a river rock fireplace and wood floors. The master suite, with a walk-in shower, soaking tub, and walk-in closet, is on the east end of the house, and there are two more bedrooms and another full bath on the same floor. Downstairs is a walkout basement with a kitchenette, game room, large storage area, a third bath, and two more bedrooms for a total of 5 bedrooms and 3 baths. The home is well built, with 2x6 walls, solid concrete retaining walls, and a metal roof. Internet reception is excellent with a high-speed fiber connection.
For the animal enthusiast looking for a place to keep small animals, this acreage is ideal. The chicken coop is well built and ready for a new flock of hens. A paddock was previously used for a pair of miniature donkeys. There is room for goats, chickens, pigs, a steer or two-the property is set up for small animal husbandry. With 1 share of Stewart Mesa Irrigation water, the Stewart Mesa Ditch provides enough irrigation water to fill the small pond, which provides a reservoir to pump water and keep a couple of acres green. There are also 2 shares of Minnesota Creek that help irrigate and fill another pond in the backyard of the main home. Domestic water is provided by 2 shares, or 1 Stewart Mesa Domestic Water Company tap.
Every tinkerer wants a shop building, and this is a big 40x70 insulated shop, finished on the inside, with one end of it divided off into a 882 sq ft living space with a small kitchenette and a bath. The shop is set up for welding and woodshop projects and has a brick heater unit with a wood stove in it to keep the workspace warm. Across the barnyard is a well-built hay storage shed with more interior storage.
Paonia is a pretty little town of about 1,000 people basically in between Aspen and Crested Butte. However, its lower elevation and mild climate makes it conducive for growing organic fruits and vegetables. Local growers cultivate peaches, pears, apples, plums, cherries, wine grapes, honey, lamb, goat cheese, elephant garlic, melons, beef, hay, and all kinds of unusual produce. This property is a nice place to plant some fruit trees and grow a bountiful garden.
What's your recreation pleasure, because it's all around Paonia. The mountains and thousands of acres of National Forest and BLM lands are very close by. Hiking, horseback riding, 4-wheeling, big game hunting, rafting, fly-fishing, snowmobiling, skiing-it's all very close. By and large, mountain trails are uncrowded and there are many unique opportunities to explore the nearby backcountry.