Conifer
What a great little town Conifer is! Just West of Denver on Highway 285 in the foothills. This town serves as Denver’s South Gateway to the Rocky Mountains and is frequently the staging grounds for mountain adventure, fly fishing hotspots in South Park, Kayaking in the Arkansas River Valley, hiking the Collegiate Range a little farther down the road and basically everything related to the mountains! Originally known as Bradford Junction, a stop on the stagecoach road to mining communities South and West only a few buildings were erected, including a tavern, rest house, and general store. Bradford Junction deteriorated by the 1890s when the stagecoach road was replaced by the Denver and South Park railroad.
By the 1920s the area was simply known as Conifer. A destination known for it’s beautiful Mountain scenery and abundance of wildlife. For decades,the area was primarily a cattle ranching area, and there is still some ranching in southern parts of the community including many horse properties and even an Alpaca Ranch! We see deer and elk on a daily basis in Conifer and there are plenty of fox, coyotes an occasional bear and even mountain lions– although no one in my family has seen either in Conifer (yet).
Today Conifer is experiencing explosive growth. There are several areas of new development in the community, including a new Safeway center completed in late 2006 which is home to one of two Safeway flagship stores, complete with a sushi bar, Starbucks, and even a little boutique. The retail center itself is slowly filling in and as of the end of 2008 is about 90% occupied. The King Soopers center is a little further along with a variety of restaurants and taverns, it was completed in 2005.
Highway 285 has been improved making the entire 15 mile drive to Denver a four lane highway and traffic is rarely an issue. Although with elevations around 8,000 feet Conifer receives more snow than neighboring Denver and it’s temperatures are typically about ten degree cooler. Wintertime commuting for Conifer residents can be a little less predictable than for the flat landers.
Ranches here are occasionally being replaced by multi million dollar homes and developments. Amenities are more and more accessible for residents whereas in the distant past the availability of resources here were fairly limited.
The scenery, quiet living, and small town feel all within reach of Denver makes living in Conifer a great choice for a lot of people.
Browse my list of all Conifer Subdivisions below:
Angel Acres
Aspen Meadows
Aspen Park Unit 2
Aspen Park
Belle Meade Sub Amd 2
Belle Meade Sub
Belle Pointe Amd 1
Belle Pointe
Black Mountain Estates
Black Mountain Ranch Estates F
Black Mountain Ranch Estates
Black Mountain
Clover Heights
Conifer Meadows Unit 1
Conifer Meadows Unit 2
Conifer Meadows Unit 3
Conifer Meadows Unit 4
Conifer Meadows
Conifer Mountain Belle Meade
Conifer Mountain Unit 2
Conifer Mountain Unit 4
Conifer Mountain Unit 5
Conifer Mountain Unit 6
Conifer Mountain Unit 7
Conifer Mountain Unit 8
Conifer Mountain Unit 9
Conifer Mountain
Conifer Park Estates Unit 2
Conifer Park Estates
Conifer Ridge
Douglass Ranch
Evans View Acres
Evergreen Meadows West
Foxton, Conifer
Golden View Acres
Green Valley Ranch
H J Helker Sub
Kings Valley Custom Resort De
Kings Valley
Marclif Ranchos Unit 1
Mc Kinney Ranch
Oehlmann Park
Piano Meadows
Pleasant Park
Rampart Highlands
Rancho Mirage
Range View
Richmond Hill
Richmond Hill Meadows
Secluded Acres
Shadow Mountain
Shadow Mtn.
Shiloh
Shiloh Ridge
Silver Ranch Estates
Tremendous Acres
Wamblee Valley
