Colorado mountain resort Gold Lake selling for $12.5 million

Fall color covers Colorado’s historic town Ward, Colorado on Monday, October 4, 2021. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

A historic 90-acre Boulder County mountain resort with ties to Chief Niwot is up for sale.

Frequently visited by the Arapaho tribe as a summer retreat, Gold Lake has also served as a mining camp, girl’s camp, resort and mentoring center for young men since the 1800s, according to Boulder County records.

The property just east of Ward is now for sale, with Colorado real estate firm Slifer Smith & Frampton attaching a $12.5 million price tag and extensive redevelopment plans.

While the resort at 3371 Gold Lake Road was listed for sale in 2015 for $11.5 million, it was last sold in 2005 for $4.5 million, according to Boulder County property records.

County officials approved redevelopment plans for Gold Lake in 2020, including cabin restoration, demolishing 22 structures and building 16 new buildings, according to the Daily Camera – but the project never got off the ground. The redevelopment plans are now included in promotional materials for the property’s sale.

Gold Lake is “perfectly positioned as the ideal investment in transformative luxury, experiential and wellness travel and the nostalgia of summer camp days,” sellers wrote on the property’s website.

The property has the potential for 19 cabins with up to 54 beds and seven amenity buildings. The 90-acre parcel and eight existing buildings are also designated as historic landmarks.

New developers could build a yoga and movement studio with hot pools and a cold plunge; hot tubs and a “Scandinavian-style water journey” overlooking the 35-acre lake; and a fishing and boating dock, according to the property’s website.

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