Telluride, the Colorado ski resort town where America's wealthy go incognito

Privacy: tick. Paparazzi: not so much.

The Colorado ski resort town of Telluride isn’t the place celebs go when they want to have their faces splashed all over the glossy mags. While it’s less flashy than Aspen, the former mining camp is far from low-rent, as T.D. Smith, managing broker at Christie’s International Real Estate affiliate Telluride Real Estate, explains.

“We probably have more CEOs per capita than any other resort, as Telluride allows its second homeowners privacy and avoids glitter,” Smith says.

“It is not a town to be seen in, therefore the Hollywood crowd is non-existent.”

Properties range from traditional lodges to contemporary mountain-style residences and ultra-modern piles. Falling into the latter category is Sunset Ridge, a seven-bedroom cliff-side home on a 14-hectare private peninsula setting with panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains.

Listed with an asking price of $US27.5 million (about $A35 million), the home measures 1100 square metres internally and has a bold yet simple linear design by Aspen architect Bill Poss. Cream limestone walls boost the luxe factor, while vast expanses of glass frame the view from nearly every room.

Other features include a glass-encased interior bridge over a landscaped stream leading to a private office, an exercise room with steam room and spa, indoor and outdoor entertainment areas, caretakers’ quarters and eight bathrooms.

Completed in 2014, Sunset Ridge is part of the Gray Head community. Ownership includes use of separate owners’ cabins as well as residents’ fishing, tennis and ice-skating facilities.

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Current market

The agent says the Telluride regional market has rebounded from the recession, with dramatic increases in sales volume – up 50 per cent so far this year – and prices. “Telluride has experienced a bullish market for decades,” Smith says.

Masterplans regulate private real estate development, stipulating finite, minimal density. And it’s not all skiing –a vibrant festival calendar draws visitors outside the winter months, too.

So can Australians buy in? Sure can. There are no restrictions for foreign buyers. Happy trails.

What you can buy for …

$23.65 million

An extravagant eight- bedroom residence with a bowling alley, shooting range, golf fairway, hot tub and labyrinth.

$13.01 million

A 35-hectare estate with a five-bedroom home constructed around the soaring frame of a pre-Civil War barn.

$6.86 million

A four-bedroom slope- side log house footsteps from one of Telluride’s ski lifts. Sleeps 16 comfortably.