Eagle : Colorado

Eagle is a small but rapdily growing town about 30 minutes west of Vail and 2 hours west of Denver under good conditions. The population is over 6,000 and there is room for many more.  The town has done all the right things to have an orderly planned development. There are 2 compact downtowns; one old and one new. Both have good shopping and some restaurants and parks.  The newer part, Eagle Ranch, is built around a now public golf course and extends up into the hills up above. The town is very much oriented towards an outdoors lifestyle: it has aspirations to be a mountain biking center like Moab as well as a water sports center.  Eagle is located in Colorado's Banana Belt, so called because it is warmer and drier than the higher elevations around it. Nearby towns to consider include Edwards and Avon.

Working people tend to live in the older part of town in modest bunglalows. In the (planned) newer part and Eagle Ranch there are 3 types of housing, all in a fairly consistent architectural style. There are town homes, some apartments, and larger single family homes. Many retirees tend to live in the single family homes in Eagle Ranch, which offer great views of the mountains. Many building lots are available from the mid $100's, and prices of homes tend to range from lows in the $200s to well over $1 million.  The Zillow Home Value Index was $497,200 in early 2017.  Although expensive, real estate prices are much lower than in nearby Vail or Beaver Creek. Frost Creek is a very exclusive area just outside town with an expansive golf course and more expensive building lots.

There are a lot of special things about Eagle. It offers a combination of 2 pretty interesting towns - one old and one planned.  Zoning appears to be solid.  In the newer part bike trails (paved and for mountain bikes) and a golf course wander through town. Views of the mountains are excellent throughout with plenty of parks. There is a mix of retirees and working people with families.  The town passed a small sales tax hike that will fund development of the River Corrridor Plan, a water sports park along the Eagle River. There is a Costco and and an excellent all-weather airport with regular flights to many major destinations. The golf is great in Eagle too, with two wonderful golf courses. The first is Eagle Ranch Golf Club (public), an Arnold Palmer signature course, which is generally thought to be the best public course in the Vail Valley. The other is Frost Creek Country Club, a spectacularly beautiful, private, mountainous course, designed by Tom Weiskopf. It is also worth noting that both of these courses are far removed from I­70, an advantage over some other Vail area courses.

There is no residentlal mail delivery and dry cleaning is expensive.  The median price of a home is well above the U.S. median, and appears to be appreciating quickly.  It is a long drive or a short flight to a big city (Denver).

Baby boomers who dream of retiring to the mountains will love it here.  The biking, skiing, hiking, and other activities are outstanding.

The economy is varied. In addition to retired baby boomers there are many people who are part of the Vail or Beavercreek Resorts economy.  Mining, tourism, and government also provide jobs.

Eagle is located in Colorado's Banana Belt at 6600'. Annual precipitation tends to be about 1  1/2" per month, with several inches of snow in January and February. Average January temp is about 18 and July about 60, which makes it warmer and drier than nearby Vail.  It is 127 miles from Denver.

There is a modern and well-stocked public library downtown. Porchlight Players offers live plays and the Capitol Theatre has a regular schedule for movies. There are several restaurants with good local dining such as Pastatively and the Dusty Boot,  plus brewpubs like Bonfire Brewing. In summer there are popular concerts in a local park.  Many retirees belong to the Vail 50 club, which offers social, outdoors, and other types of planned activities. There is a rich cultural scene in the Valley with the Bravo!Vail Music Festival, which features performances from some of America's top symphony orchestrats. There is also Vail International Dance, and the Vilar Center for the Performing Arts in Beaver Creek.