Divided Sky Estates
A full rainbow arcs over the Arkansas Valley and the Sawatch Range, seen from a wooden deck above the pinon forest at Divided Sky Estates.

Divided Sky Estates

Salida, Colorado

Multi‑Acre Homesites on the Sunny Edge of Salida

Twelve lots of two to three acres in the pinon pines, every one backing to public BLM land, with the Sawatch Range filling the western sky.

View the Lots Get in Touch

The view from the deck on Lot 8, looking west across the valley. A real afternoon, a real rainbow.

The land

Where the Backyard Never Ends

Some places you buy for the house you will build. This one you buy for everything that starts at the property line.

Every lot at Divided Sky Estates backs directly to public BLM land. Step off your back porch and keep walking: the famous Rainbow Trail begins just beyond the neighborhood and connects you to a nearly endless network of hiking, mountain biking, trail running, and horseback riding through the Sangre de Cristo foothills.

Turn around and the view goes the other way. The western horizon is the Sawatch Range and the Arkansas Valley, anchored by Mount Shavano and Tabeguache Peak, two of Colorado's fourteeners. John lives full time on Lot 8, and from his deck you sit nearly eye level with S Mountain. It is one of the best seats in Salida for the Fourth of July fireworks, the lighted S, the holiday heart, and the Christmas tree that glow over town through the year.

The land itself is high, sunny, and quiet. Mature pinon pines give every homesite privacy, shade, and birdsong, and the whole property sits inside Colorado's banana belt, known for its mild four-season climate and abundant sunshine. It grows more than pinons, too: John's thriving garden proves how well vegetables, flowers, and fruit take to this soil and this sun.

And when you want town, town is close. Downtown Salida is about seven minutes away by bike, quicker by car, so dinner, the river, galleries, and groceries never feel far. Peaceful mountain living on one side of the lot, one of Colorado's best small towns on the other.

  • BLM out back. Every lot borders public land.
  • Rainbow Trail. A legendary trail network, right from the neighborhood.
  • Fourteener views. Mount Shavano and Tabeguache Peak to the west.
  • Seven minutes to town. By bike, on mostly gentle grades.
  • Banana belt sun. Mild, bright, four real seasons.
  • Pinon forest. Privacy, wildlife, and evergreen quiet.

The lots

Twelve Lots

Every homesite is between two and three and a quarter acres, laid out along Archery Lane and Nimbins Way. Each lot is privately owned right up to its boundaries, with no public open space, only drainage easements for building purposes. Archery Lane continues on to a future phase.

Illustrated plat map of Divided Sky Estates showing homesites along Archery Lane and Nimbins Way.
The community plan. Archery Lane continues to a future phase.
  • Lot 12.99 acresAvailable
  • Lot 23.01 acresAvailable
  • Lot 32.71 acresAvailable
  • Lot 42.06 acresAvailable
  • Lot 52.39 acresAvailable
  • Lot 62.06 acresAvailable
  • Lot 72.06 acresAvailable
  • Lot 92.06 acresAvailable
  • Lot 103.29 acresPending
  • Lot 113.10 acresAvailable
  • Lot 122.66 acresPending
  • Lot 132.29 acresPending

Our story

Two Lifties and a Long Dream

John Porter and Meaghan Richmond met during the winter of 2007 to 2008, working as lift operators at Breckenridge Ski Resort. They started out as bunkmates in employee housing and quickly became close friends.

The years since have been spent outside, together: skiing, climbing, hiking, fishing, rafting, mountain biking, and camping across Colorado. Somewhere along the way that friendship grew into a shared dream of finding a special piece of land where others could build meaningful lives surrounded by nature.

In 2016 they found it outside Salida. In 2022 they formed Archery Lane LLC, which owns and is developing the property. Divided Sky Estates is the realization of that dream, and they are excited to open the gate to the neighbors who will build here with them next.

John and Meaghan smiling on a footbridge over a rocky mountain creek, fly rod in hand
John and Meaghan, somewhere on the water. Best friends first, business partners second.

On record

The Final Plat

The approved final plat for Divided Sky Estates is on record with Chaffee County, Colorado. It is the authoritative document for the community: it shows buried power lines, drainage easements, property boundaries, and the topography of every lot.

Download the Plat PDF Open in Browser

One page, about 2.4 MB. If you would rather have it emailed, call Meaghan or John and they will send it over.

Preview of the recorded final plat survey drawing for Divided Sky Estates Recorded with Chaffee County

From above

Explore the Property

Zoom around the land, trace the BLM boundary, and see for yourself how close the neighborhood sits to downtown Salida and the Arkansas River.

Professional Drone Tour

Coming soon A full aerial tour of the property, the pinon forest, and the Sawatch views is in the works. Until then, the satellite map above is the next best thing to standing on the land.

The town

Why Salida

Salida sits in a wide, sunny bend of the Arkansas River in the heart of the Rockies. Locals call this stretch of the valley the banana belt for its mild, sun-heavy climate, and the views run straight up into the Collegiate Peaks of the Sawatch Range. People do not move here for one thing. They move here because every season hands them another one.

View from the deck on Lot 8 across the neighborhood to the Collegiate Peaks under a blue sky
The neighborhood on a bluebird day: Salida's fourteeners, peaks over 14,000 feet, and the Collegiate Peaks, seen from the deck on Lot 8.

Historic Downtown

Downtown Salida is one of Colorado's largest National Historic Districts, block after block of brick storefronts filled with galleries, restaurants, live music, and shops. It has earned its reputation as an arts town, and the creative community here is the real thing.

The Arkansas River

The river runs right through town, with a whitewater park downtown for kayaking, surfing, and tubing. The Arkansas is one of the most rafted rivers in America, with everything from family floats to Browns Canyon whitewater minutes away.

Gold Medal Fishing

More than a hundred miles of the Arkansas hold Gold Medal water status, Colorado's mark for its finest trout fisheries. Wade in after work; the brown trout do not care what day it is.

World-Class Mountain Biking

The Salida area is a mountain biking destination in its own right: the Monarch Crest, the Rainbow Trail, and the Arkansas Hills trails right above downtown. From Divided Sky, some of it starts at your back fence.

Skiing at Monarch

Monarch Mountain is a short drive up the pass for deep, uncrowded, all-natural snow. In town, S Mountain rises straight from the river with trails you can hike or ride from downtown.

Fourteeners and the Sawatch

The Sawatch Range holds the highest concentration of fourteeners in Colorado, including Mount Shavano and Tabeguache Peak, which stand in full view from the property. Trailheads for a lifetime of summits are minutes from town.

Hot Springs

Soak options run deep here: the Salida Hot Springs Aquatic Center in town, Mount Princeton Hot Springs near Buena Vista, and Cottonwood Hot Springs up Cottonwood Pass road.

Four-Season Living

The banana belt climate means more sun and milder winters than most of the high country. Ski in the morning, ride or fish in the afternoon, and count on the night sky staying properly dark. Denver is roughly two and a half to three hours away when you need the city, and Buena Vista is 25 minutes up the valley.

For Information Contact

Come Walk the Land

Questions about a lot, the plat, or the timeline? Call or text either of us. Better yet, come stand on the land and see the valley for yourself.

Meaghan Richmond 970‑317‑5757 Call or text John Porter 802‑356‑7952 Call or text