Piney River Ranch General Manager Monique Busold spent the last 15 years of her life pouring her heart and soul into the private, 40-acre retreat, wedding and family event venue along the shores of high-altitude Piney Lake at the base of the towering Gore Range.
Busold also spent the last two and a half of those years trying everything in her power to renew her lease on the land owned by Denver Water. But those efforts came up empty, and this will be the last season for the current version of an iconic destination for Vail tourists and locals alike.
Thanking everyone in the Vail community and visitors from around the globe who’ve canoed, fished, stayed overnight in her cabins, camped, enjoyed her barbecue, or shopped in her store, Busold said this is her final summer season, and her operations will wrap up on Sept. 26.
Busold and Piney River Ranch LLC inked a 15-year lease with Denver Water in 2012 but could not come to terms on an extension. The current lease expires on March 1, 2027, but there are no winter operations on the property, which is approximately 13 miles north of Vail, across U.S. Forest Service land, at the end of Red Sandstone Road. Thatap why this is Busold’s final season.
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