Just a 20-minute drive from Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport, Wilder on the Taylor is a riverfront and mountainside homestead and ranching community located in Gunnison County, Colorado. The 2,100-acre community is nestled among 2 million acres of undisturbed national forest and runs along two miles of the Taylor River.
After purchasing the land in 2007, Jackson-Shaw, a real estate development company known for the new AC Hotel coming to Sundance Square in fall 2020, made the preservation and protection of the land a primary priority. With help from the Gunnison County Wildlife Conservation Office and Gunnison County’s Parks and Recreation Department, the community is now safeguarded by permanent conservation easement protections.
Ron Welborn, a Fort Worth native and operating manager of Wilder on the Taylor, hopes that the homestead and ranching community will serve as a picturesque second home or retirement destination for those who share a like-minded interest in the admiration and preservation of nature.
Each homestead deed consists of 35 acres for the starting rate of approximately $2 million. Within the 35 acres, a buyer can only build upon or alter 1 acre of the land to ensure minimal damage to the forest and the wildlife it houses. Along with the 1-acre architectural restriction, there is no hunting allowed on the grounds.
The Taylor River and fishing streams that trickle through meadows are teaming with a plethora of fish, from rainbow trout to salmon. To keep the river’s ecosystem healthy and to prevent overfishing, all fishing is catch and release.
Still, the protections in place are beyond worth it when one considers the unique wildlife that roam the grounds, according to Welborn. Majestic birds fill the air with intricate melodies, the black-billed magpie being the most outspoken. Every year in the winter, endangered bighorn sheep can be seen on their trek across the land as they migrate. Black bears and elk are gentle giants in the distance. And sometimes, very rarely, you might just get a glimpse of the elusive moose that occasionally wander into the area.
In addition, Wilder on the Taylor has a fully operational 50-head cattle ranch on the grounds. Residents are welcome to participate as much as they would like to, or not at all, in the duties of cattle ranching. If you opt to work alongside the ranch hands, there are a variety of duties you and your family can partake in, including ranch penning.
Plentiful wildlife isn’t the only enticing feature that Wilder on the Taylor has to offer. There are many activities located within the property or within just a short 20-minute drive away to Crested Butte.
Hidden in a valley and totally encompassed by nature, Wilder is an immersive experience, seemingly separate from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. However, being conveniently settled between the city of Gunnison and the town of Crested Butte, Wilder is not completely cut off from the world. Wilder on the Taylor is “immersive without being isolating,” Welborn says.
Many Fort Worthians and Dallasites alike visit Crested Butte, a Victorian-esque village known for skiing and fine dining. “It’s kind of a running joke there because so many DFW folks travel to Crested Butte,” Welborn says.
For the more daring and adventurous, there is skiing, rock climbing and mountain biking. Or, for those looking for calmer and more leisurely activities, there are picturesque hiking trails, golfing, fishing, horseback riding and boating.
“An inspiration for Wilder on the Taylor was to create a generational place for people and families to gather,” Welborn says. “People are always looking for an excuse to get their kids, grandkids or their friends together, and this is the ideal place to get generations together.”
The Ute Indians, the only Native Americans indigenous to the state of Colorado, were hunter-gatherers that traveled with the migration patterns of the game they hunted. From spring to fall, the tribe would travel the mountainside.
The men hunted big game such as antelope, deer and elk; then women caught smaller game and gathered berries and other fruits. In the late fall and early winter, the tribe would migrate away from the mountains and into sheltered areas, such as valleys.
The Tabeguache Ute band traversed through a migration trail that ran along the upper Gunnison and Taylor rivers. Wilder on the Taylor has two miles of the Taylor River that wind through property, making it probable that the Ute Indians spent time on the land.
