The Santa Fe Trail brought first the adventurers, gunslingers and miners to the southern Colorado way station of Trinidad; these days I-25 is the major conveyance. Located halfway between Denver and Albuquerque, where the high plains meet the Sangre de Cristo mountains, today this historic crossroads is sometimes called the poor man’s Santa Fe, boasting one of the largest collections of Victorian-style homes and a historic downtown district chockfull of museums and laced by some 6.5 miles of brick streets.

Unfolding on 1,500 acres of high-desert mesa northeast of town, is Cougar Canyon Golf Resort Community, a new destination for those seeking a mild climate with year-round play and outdoor living. When Cougar Canyon reaches completion, the community will be home to over 1,700 residences, clustered in neighborhoods with state-of-the-art infrastructure down to wireless and optic fiber connectivity. A community recreation center will feature fitness facilities, swimming pools, tennis courts, volleyball courts and sprawling lawns for croquet and casual picnics. And construction has begun on a 117-suite boutique hotel; scheduled to open in the spring of 2009, it will feature a spa, restaurant and lounge, shop, concierge service and a business center.

Cougar Canyon Golf Links, a Jack Nicklaus Design, opened in September, 2007—and was named the state’s best new course by Colorado Avid Golfer magazine. Stretching to 7,789 yards in the high-mountain air, the course begins in links style before dipping down into a deep wash that creates amazing shot values like the 16^th hole, with its island green. Eye-catching, as well, are the 40 bunkers filled with black sand—a tip-of-the-hat to the coal mines that made Trinidad prosper. In keeping with Cougar Canyon’s lack of pretentious attitudes or high prices (homesites start in the low $100s; semi-custom homes in the $200s), daily fees are just $59—surely the best value per yard of Nicklaus golf around.

Take it all in from the veranda of Currahee Club’s new clubhouse, the social hub of this golf, lake and mountain community located just 90 minutes from Atlanta and 60 minutes from Greenville, S.C. Set on a ridgetop at the southern base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the 48,000 sq. ft. clubhouse and its expansive porch offers panoramic views of Lake Hartwell and a tantalizing glimpse down the first fairway of the Jim Fazio-designed, 7,513-yard golf course that encircles the clubhouse, winding its way through forested slopes with many fetching views of the lake and mountain beyond. The strength, and beauty, of the course has helped it and the club win numerous honors since its debut three years ago.

Currahee Club’s founders, Bob and Chris Whitley, are known for creating some of the most distinguished golf communities in the southeast, among them, Jack Nicklaus’s home course, the Bear’s Club in Palm Beach County, Florida; The Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa in Jupiter, Florida; and Colleton River Plantation near Hilton Head. They had the vision, the know-how to execute it--and the location: The 1,200-acre north Georgia property includes three miles of shoreline along Lake Hartwell, one of the largest lakes in the Southeast and a fisherman’s paradise year-round. Not many mountain communities can boast lakefront homes—or, soon, a full-fledged marina—as an amenity. And not many lakefront resort communities can boast 360-degree mountain views encompassing four states.

Currahee Club will also add a recreation center, swimming pool, tennis club, children's playground and general store for what will become a vibrant, close-knit community of some 800 residences. As part of its goal to create a family-friendly atmosphere, Currahee Club even has a Director of Adventure and a Director of Fun to organize activities for all to enjoy. The club currently offers mountain, lake, and golf-view homesites, maintenance-free cottages, as well as custom homes created by preferred builders.