The Intersection of Mountain Life & Equestrian Life
Utah’s Osprey Ranch in Eden
by Jenny Walton
Imagine your ranch majestically overlooking the lush Ogden Valley and the shimmering Pineview Reservoir in the heart of Eden, Utah. Now, consider strolling from your custom-built estate to your stables, where your horses wait to take you along miles of trails through the 11,000 acres of Wasatch Cache National Forest that border your backyard. While you enjoy four-season living with access to three mountain resorts with exceptional skiing, biking, and hiking, now you can add legacy ranch owner, equestrian estate enthusiast, or multi-generational horse lover to your lifestyle pursuits because Osprey Ranch is one of those rare places where mountain life and equestrian life merge into being the first chapter of your Utah story in this exclusive 600-acre mountain ranch community.
Located 48 miles from Salt Lake City, Ogden Valley comprises the towns of Eden, Liberty, and Huntsville. The area has a rich ranching history and is known for its close-knit community of recreationists who delve daily into the myriad of activities from sunup to sundown. With consistent annual resort snowfall and more than 230 days of sunshine, there’s plenty to do outside all year long.
Osprey Ranch centers its aesthetic on the allure of endless possibilities. Phase One, with 31 homesites varying in size from 3 to 18 acres, is significantly larger than its neighbor, Legacy Mountain Estates, offering 280 acres. The primary objective in the development of Osprey Ranch was to provide more distance between homesites and allow ranch owners to have horses. If you care to add other animals—goats, llamas, and alpacas are permitted—and if you’re inclined to sell fresh eggs at the local farmers market, chickens are also allowed. Though you won’t hear a moo, since cattle are not invited.
Located 48 miles from Salt Lake City, Ogden Valley comprises the towns of Eden, Liberty, and Huntsville. The area has a rich ranching history and is known for its close-knit community of recreationists who delve daily into the myriad of activities from sunup to sundown. With consistent annual resort snowfall (over 500” in the 2023 season) and more than 230 days of sunshine, there’s plenty to do outside all year long. The valley’s heritage is defined by its prime location for farming and ranching; it is particularly well-known for producing high-quality produce, with many fruit orchards, vegetable gardens, and dairy farms. Yet it is also widely revered for its endless recreational opportunities. Part of the appeal is to absorb the valley’s grandeur whenever possible because—whether from a boat on the lake, a saddle high in the alpine terrain, or on cross-country skis—the chance for a healthy serving of nature is a modern-day convenience.
Aside from the ultimate combination of recreation and tranquility, Osprey Ranch’s incredible location features breathtaking views of the mountains, streams, lakes, and valley floor. Excellent incentives include bringing in your architect to design a mountain ranch-style home with two years to build once started and one year to landscape upon your home’s completion. In addition, Osprey Ranch’s Design Review Board encourages individuality and diversity, so that ranch owners can create what suits their current and future lifestyles (new families, empty nesters, retirees). Notable amenities include culinary water from Nordic Valley Water, multiple high-speed fiber internet options, attractive community fencing, designated single-track multi-use trails, and the option for additional outbuildings. (Equestrians, think about that beautiful barn you’ve always wanted with oversized stalls, multiple cross-ties, plenty of room for storage, feed, laundry, and that bespoke tack room.)
Phase One homesites will be ready in late summer. In 2023, Phase Two, with 30 homesites, will complete Osprey Ranch’s promise of a low-density mountain community. Before purchasing Phase Two’s area, the previous owner had plans for 151 homesites. However, developers Shane Dunleavy and John Lewis’s shared vision led to the most significant decisions—to honor and conserve Ogden Valley by limiting the density throughout the hillsides, eschewing septic systems and building a modern sewer transmission system, and utilizing wastewater that can be used to recharge the aquifer. Lastly, because Dunleavy and Lewis are two trail-loving outdoorsmen, there will be non-motorized access from Osprey Ranch to Skyline Trail and the National Forest. (The Skyline North Trail reaches the stunning Ben Lomond Peak and overlooks Weber County at 9,712 feet.)
Their lifestyles mirror their approach to conscious development, which includes recognizing the public’s comments and concerns on and off the trail as they continue to address the fundamental challenges of water and waste with the overall community at the forefront.
Creating a lifestyle in the mountains with exposure to the changing seasons and opportunities to enjoy hundreds of miles of out-of-this-world mountain biking, hiking trails, horseback riding, and skiing at Nordic Valley, Snowbasin, and Powder Mountain is bound to improve our collective well-being. When the morning soundtrack is the osprey’s call and the rustling of deer in the trees, and in the evenings you hear horses nickering and your firepit crackling, the idea of home is more than just a place and property; it’s a priority.
Living in Eden is about experiencing the environment, soaking in the expansive views, witnessing the changes in seasons, immersing yourself in the mountains with your horse, and always returning home.
Just like the ospreys do.
Upon purchasing an Osprey Ranch homesite, owners receive a complimentary one-year Wolf Creek Resort Golf and Fitness Center membership, where all golfers, including veterans and junior players, are guaranteed tee times and space in fitness classes through an online reservation system.
For more information, please contact:
Destination Properties Utah
Brandi Lierd / 801.388.8423
brandi@wolfcreekresort.com
Dylan Lierd / 801.866.3984
dylan@destinationpropertiesutah.com
