Windcliff Vacation Homes Blog

UPDATE for 2020 — We hope you find this blog useful and informative as you plan your vacation to Estes Park. Currently, Windcliff does not offer any vacation rental homes that allow pets during your stay. However, we have offered dog-friendly rental homes in the past and may do so again in the future. If you have any questions, please contact us online or call us at 970-586-2181. What you should know about bringing your dogs to Estes Park Before you load the entire crew (including the pooches) and head out, you should be aware of some key points when...

Our love for good food and local libations is no secret. What better time to celebrate than the upcoming Whiskey Warm Up event in Estes Park? What is the Whiskey Warm Up in Estes Park all about? This shindig is all about whiskey (whisky) with over 20 distilleries in attendance. These distilleries are proud to craft the finest Colorado spirits around, and range from all over our great state. You’ll be able to taste the finest from 291 Distillery (check out their variety of whiskies!) in Colorado Springs all the way to Breckenridge Distillery and over a dozen more. Estes...

When you think of the Colorado Wild West, what comes to mind? We’re guessing a few gunslinging villains, the Gold Rush, saloons with big wooden doors like in the movies, and of course — trains. Indeed, railroads played a huge part in Colorado’s development during the 1850’s and into the 20th Century. Without railroads, trains, and those who built them — our great state wouldn’t be the same as it is today. What is the Rails in the Rockies event? The Estes Valley Model Railroaders Club is devoted to honoring this rich and interesting history in Estes Park, and helps...

Luxury — it’s what we’re all after when we go on vacation. But what does it really mean? To us, it means anything but typical. Unmatched views By far, the greatest draw to Windcliff are the unmatched, nearly endless views of Rocky Mountain National Park and snow capped peaks as far as the eye can see! When building a home, Windcliff homeowners naturally tend to make the most of the views with generous use of windows (in some cases, literal walls of windows!) throughout each property, bringing the mountains into every living and dining area year-round. Not a single overlooked...

Here at Windcliff, folks ask us all the time while planning their Colorado mountain vacation: should I rent an affordable riverside cabin or a majestic mountainside home? Well, our feeling is: why not have the best of both worlds? Windcliff’s Estes Park duplex condos, detached condos, and triplex condos offer you majestic million dollar views at rates more comparable with riverside cabins.  Here are some things to consider when you’re deciding what to rent! How’s the view? In our experience, typical riverside cabins tend to be “fenced-in” by tall trees. This limits your views of the beautiful countryside, sometimes to...

The Homeowner’s Perspective While your second home is just that – a second home – and can can be legally and properly covered by a homeowners’ policy, there are additional benefits to insuring a second home that is being rented out for short-term vacation rentals under a commercial policy. Now, granted, a commercial policy can sometimes be as much as twice as expensive as a simple homeowners’ policy, but here in Colorado, depending on the Insurer/Underwriter, can also provide very valuable additional coverages including coverage(s) for lost revenue and increased, standard liability coverage. Some of our homes in Windcliff are...

The Town of Estes Park treats water from two separate sources. As part of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, our Marys Lake plant receives source water from the upper Colorado River after it has been stored in Grand Lake and transported 13.1 miles to the East Slope via the Alva B. Adams tunnel into Marys Lake. This plant can obtain water directly from the tunnel or the lake. Our second source, Glacier Creek, is a tributary to the Big Thompson River which begins at an elevation of 11,300 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park. It is treated at the Glacier Creek...

The article “What to Consider Before You Buy a Vacation Home” recently appeared in The Wall Street Journal. In it, writer Jeff Brown, writer in Livingston, MT highlighted both the pluses and minuses of owning a vacation/rental home. Here is his article, edited to be most relevant to owning a home in Windcliff with personal comments inserted by Rich Chiappe of Windcliff Homes.   Chiappe first rented a Windcliff vacation rental home with his family and another in 2007, became enamored with Windcliff, purchased a 3-bedroom condo exclusively for vacation rental (investment) in 2011, sold it in 2014, purchased a...

Call me an eternal optimist, but there could quite possibly be no better time to buy or build your mountain home dream than right now. Buying a Lot or Land in Windcliff The old adage that land doesn’t get any cheaper applies.  Granted, land in Windcliff isn’t “cheap.” In fact, it’s very expensive.  But where else can you invest in something that is only getting BETTER with time?  Remember, the land to the West and South of Windcliff is the Rocky Mountain National Park.  The land to the East is the Roosevelt National Forest.   The land to the North...

Since the first time I brought my wife to Estes Park, I’ve enjoyed experiencing my hometown through her fresh eyes. She didn’t grow up here like I did, so places locals take for granted are new and exciting for her. We mostly visit at Thanksgiving or Christmas now, so the summer hikes and seasonal attractions just aren’t available to us. But what we’ve discovered is that Estes is a romantic, inspiring getaway for us every single winter. Every site on this list has to meet a certain standard: Would I go there if it were in my hometown? Back in...