On the Fly
Colorado’s Alpine River Club delivers private fishing holes.
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With its six miles of Rocky Mountain rivers, streams and lakes, the Alpine River Club sounds like the ideal setting to develop sprawling waterfront estates. However, instead of offering its members different homes to stay in, the destination club offers members exclusive access to 11 different bodies of water for fly-fishing.The brainchild of lifelong fly-fishing addict Donny Beaver, the
club sprang up as an alternative to the traditional rod and gun clubs that he
felt were too insular. "Typically, you would find one stretch of water and a
continually aging group of members reluctant to invest in improvements. Not to
mention that there are no services, and they aren’t family-friendly," explains
Beaver. "I wanted to create a more progressive club that married the best parts
of a traditional fishing club with the luxuries of a golf club. Instead of golf
holes, we have different stretches of water. Instead of caddies and golf pros,
we have fishing guides and concierges who can help make fishing, dining and
lodging arrangements."; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Membership to the Alpine River Club grants
access to private fishing spots in Colorado. (Click image to enlarge)
Beaver opened his first fly-fishing club, Spring Ridge, in
Pennsylvania in 2001. With 115 members and capacity nearly met, he decided to
open a sister club last March in Colorado. For a $79,500 deposit and $7,000 for
yearly dues, Founding members receive unlimited access to the ever-expanding
portfolio of Colorado streams—all of which are on private property with no
public access—as well as reciprocal privileges at Spring Ridge, which is
comprised of 11 different creeks and streams that, like the Alpine River Club,
are rife with trout.
Currently, there are 20 Colorado members and room for 270 more.
To prevent overfishing in a favored spot—called a beat—members reserve a few
days in advance, and the beats are rested for 24 hours for each day they are
fished.
Of the 140 total members, only four are women (but Founding
members can bring their families), and only one is a non-fisherman (he plans on
learning). But even for fly-fishing aficionados, the fish are only part of the
draw. "If I catch a fish, that’s a bonus," says one devoted member. "The most
valuable part of this experience is the escape." He describes the sound of
rushing water, the rolling hills and lack of cell phone service in some spots.
"The greatest luxury in the 21st century is going to be seclusion and privacy,"
he adds—something Alpine offers in spades.
But that does not mean you will never be able to live near your
favorite trout stream. Someday Beaver plans to make accommodations a part of the
package, but it will be what he calls XLID: Extremely Low-Impact Development.
"We want to be very careful when we do it, to make it highly sustainable and
have it unfold as part of a fishing culture instead of a real estate culture,"
he says, noting that they would design the layout themselves, rather than hire a
site planner. "We’re letting the land talk to us for a while. We’d rather let
the earth tell us what to do."
Alpine River Club
970.766.4665, www.alpineriverclub.com
