8/10 Good
Scott W.
10 Jul, 2025
Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Beautiful mountain getaway on the lake.
Scott W.
Stayed 5 nights in Jul 2025
Entire home
Iconic 4 BR 5 Ba Log Chateau on Vallecito River & Lake, 12,000 to 14,000 Mtns.
Photo gallery for Iconic 4 BR 5 Ba Log Chateau on Vallecito River & Lake, 12,000 to 14,000 Mtns.
Reviews
9.0 out of 10
Wonderful
4 bedrooms5 bathroomsSleeps 9
Popular amenities
Explore the area
Bayfield, CO
- Vallecito Lake2 min walk
- Piedra River Hot Springs
- Purgatory Resort
- Durango, CO (DRO-La Plata County)71 min drive
Rooms & beds
4 bedrooms (sleeps 9)
Bedroom 1 Master Bedroom
1 King Bed
Bedroom 2 Downstairs Master
1 King Bed and 1 Queen Bed
Bedroom 3 Loft with Private Bath
1 Single Bed
Bedroom 4 Downstairs Guest Private Bath
1 Double Bunk Bed and 1 Single Bed
5 bathrooms
Bathroom 1 Master Bath Tub & double Shower
+1
Soap · Towels provided · Bathtub or shower · Bathtub · Toilet · Shower only · Jetted bathtub · Hair dryer
Bathroom 2 Downstairs Master
Soap · Towels provided · Bathtub or shower · Toilet · Shower only · Hair dryer
Bathroom 3 Loft
Soap · Towels provided · Bathtub or shower · Toilet · Shower only · Hair dryer
Bathroom 4 Downstairs Guest Bath
Soap · Towels provided · Bathtub or shower · Toilet · Shower only · Hair dryer
Bathroom 5 Library & Guest Bathroom
Soap · Towels provided · Bathtub or shower · Toilet · Shower only · Hair dryer
Spaces
Deck or patio
Porch or lanai
Kitchen
Balcony
Separate dining area
Outdoor play area
Garden
Dining area
About this property
Iconic 4 BR 5 Ba Log Chateau on Vallecito River & Lake, 12,000 to 14,000 Mtns.
Consider this Country Chateau House your home away from home while you visit the Vallecito Lake Valley. This amazing Home boasts 4 bedrooms, including 2 king beds, 1 queen bed, 2 twin beds & 1 Full bed. With 5 bathrooms featuring luxurious amenities like a jetted bathtub & Couples Shower, guests will feel pampered during their stay. Our place is equipped for both long or short stays to make your holiday one to remember. Enjoy 6 Fireplaces, Fully equipped Library, 2 Full Kichens, 2 Living Rooms & Family Rooms, one Upper Floor and one Lower Floor. Featuring a beautiful Hand Carved 4.5 x 9 Pool Table, Waterfront Dining, Wrap Around Decks, Stunning Log Staircase, Rock Fireplaces, Marvel at the Celebrities & Captains of Industry who have been Wined & Dined at our 5,250 sq ft Mini Mansion Chateau, Luxury at the Edge of the Wilderness. The home is located at the mouth of Vallecito Lake. You can swim, water, ski, boat, fish, hike, ride Horses, take ATVs up the mountain trails, nearly here across the street. You can rent ATVs in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter. The house is located in a heavily forest Valley that is full of pine trees, and the mountains are covered with Aspens. near fully forested properties surrounding our house.You can also bring your own ATVs or Snowmobiles and you can also utilize our extensive private land available to our guests. Dine in 2 Restaurants at the lake. Enjoy Whitewater Rafting , Hot Springs, downhill skiing, just north of Durango or just east of Pagosa Springs. 1 Hour Dr. to Purgatory three Mountain ski resort and 1.5 hours to the Wolf Creek ski resort. I can tell you a certain having been fortunate to travel the world. There are a few places anywhere that are more beautiful than this immediate area. The valley itself is surrounded by 12 to 14,000 foot peaks and you can access all of the high mountain plateaus either on a horseback or by hiking. There there area number of lakes and creeks in the high country and one spectacular one is called Emerald Lake. We hope to see you at our wonderful walk château home and can assure you you will not be disappointed.
Property manager
James Custer
Languages
English, Spanish
Add dates for prices
Amenities
Kitchen
Washing machine
Dryer
Free WiFi
Gym
Outdoor space
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- Kitchen
- Washer
- Dryer
- Pet-friendly
10.0 out of 10, (4 reviews)
House Rules
Check in after 5:00 PM
Minimum age to rent: 30
Check out before 10:00 AM
Children
Children allowed: ages 0–17
Events
Events allowed: family gatherings, birthday parties, weddings
Pets
No pets allowed
Smoking
Smoking is not permitted
Check-out instructions
The host requires you to complete the following before checking out:
Strip any used beds and gather used towels
Remove personal items, remove leftover food and drinks and take out the rubbish
Turn off the lights, lock the doors and return the keys
Put garbage in bags in the garage
Leave the keys by the glass dining room table downstairs
Please close all sliders and windows along with the doors when you leave
Call me and let me know that you have checked out
Failure to complete these may result in a negative review from the host.
Important information
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
Parties and events (including family gatherings, birthday parties and weddings) are allowed on site. Maximum attendees: 99
Host has indicated that there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property
Host has indicated that there is a smoke detector on the property
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher, a first aid kit and a deadlock
About the area
Bayfield
Bayfield is home to this holiday home. Cliffs at Tamarron and Dalton Ranch Golf Club are worth checking out if an activity is on the agenda, while those wishing to experience the area's natural beauty can explore Vallecito Lake and Los Pinos River. Travelling with kids? Consider James Ranch and Eagle Park.
Bayfield, CO
What's nearby
- Vallecito Lake - 2 min walk - 0.2 km
- Lake SImpatico Trailhead - 37 min drive - 28.4 km
- Lemon Reservoir - 42 min drive - 30.6 km
- Fort Lewis College - 58 min drive - 51.7 km
- Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad - 60 min drive - 53.6 km
Getting around
Restaurants
- The Lake House Bar & Grill - 5 min drive
- The Rusty Shovel Saloon - 4 min drive
- Altitude ATV & Side-by-Side Rentals - 5 min walk
- Pura Vida Cafe - 11 min drive
- Bayfield County Market - 4 min drive
Frequently asked questions
Reviews
9.0
Wonderful
Reviews are presented in chronological order, subject to a moderation process, and verified unless otherwise labelled.
Learn moreOpens in a new window8.0/10
Cleanliness
9.0/10
Check-in
9.0/10
Communication
10/10
Location
10/10
Listing accuracy
Reviews
10/10 Excellent
Verified traveller
17 Jul, 2025
Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy
Colorado Living!
Verified traveller
Stayed 6 nights in Jul 2025
About the host
Hosted by James Custer
I moved to Phoenix when I was 12 in 1950 it was a small town of about 40,000 people. I grew up there worked as a journeyman electrician and some of the largest jobs in the country miss sites, Grand Canyon Dam, Nevada test site and Vandenberg test site. In the early 60s I started buying small apartment buildings and a grew to overall acquisitions over 40 years of approximately 35,000 units. We bought sold rehab and built about 700 apartment houses in Arizona, Georgia and Missouri, 1985. We bought a small aerospace company called space data. All of a sudden we were in the rocket ship business, I was the CEO, 1988. We merged with a company called orbital science, and we built in flu the first Pegasus rocket which is a low cost launching system for small satellites, and I found myself on the board of directors of that company joining forces with some of the most important people and aerospace business. Specifically Tom Payne, who around the moonshot program as the Chairman for NASA. House also joined by John Hollingsworth, the CEO of Hercules corporation and Jack Schmidt. The last astronaut that walked on the moon and numbers of other distinguished aerospace individuals. During all of this in 1985 we bought a property in The via Lake Valley, where our house is located That was also called the Wits end guest Ranch and resort. It was a giant rehab project and we did in fact rehabilitated cabins that were built from the middle 1700s on up to about 1920. We opened this up in May 1988 and over a few years. It became a world renowned Dude and guest ranch when you’re in our house you’ll see three shelves full of books and magazines television programs that the Wits End was featured in and on. Some of you may have seen us on television programs like the Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud, Quicksilver, Jeopardy, Or possibly great country ends, which was a one hour TV show which we had 12 showings in the USA & another 12 showings in Europe over a period of two years. Hope to see you.
Why they chose this property
We discovered Vallecito Lake by accident. In 1979 we decided to buy a home in Colorado one of my associates had vacation in Duran. Durango came back with a lot of pictures so we decided to go up there and we looked for a property for three days and couldn’t find anything we liked. So I saw a brochure on aceta lake with a beautiful picture Taken out of the lake from the air. And the front desk lady said that it was about 2025 miles up the road and yes it had cabins. So we went up spent another three days and still did not find what we wanted. Our broker made a phone call to a friend of his and his friend said yes they were interested in selling their house. We went in and looked at it and my wife exclaimed. This is the house we need to buy what we did not even know what the price was so we got a big laugh out of that. In anyway we bought it. We spent the next seven summers up there vacationing and enjoying every bit of it. Then as I said earlier, we end up purchasing and rehabbing with sent guest ranch that was established at 1857. We decided that it was possibly the most beautiful area that we’ve ever been to in the continental United States. I am sure that when you arrive and look around at this beautiful valley, you will agree. Many of our guests at the Wits End exclaimed that they also had been all over the country in the world and I’ve never been to a more beautiful place. We hope to see you in the very near future.
What makes this property unique
Our little Trout House, our mini mansion on the lake or log château is far away one of the very nicest homes and has the very best location of any house in the entire valley. The monkeys feel the sickness. Our hand carved center stairway is truly a work of art. The whole house is very, very warm as to allowing your emotions to just relax and enjoy. We used to have a saying that went something like this “When you are at your Wits End come to our Wits End and relax” you’ll find this very true while you’re at our Trout House. For people that like to read, we have a fully equipped library of about 400 Books many of which are written by well-known authors.
Languages:
English, Spanish
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