Cyndia Zwahlen Photo courtesy of Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce

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Today the average price of a single-family home in downtown Aspen is $4.9 million. In 1977 it was $130,634.

While not every Colorado town is headed for Aspen-like glory, there are many hidden gems that offer outdoor fun and the prospect of home-price appreciation.

Barring an unforeseen calamity, housing prices will likely continue to climb in these areas as baby boomers search for second homes and once-sleepy towns catch the eyes of developers.

“Really, it comes down to the fact that it’s a very attractive place to live and land is a limited commodity,” says Bob Kray, a Crested Butte-area real estate agent. “There is a finite amount of space that can be developed in the future, making the existing property more valuable.”

For those who want to avoid suffering the pangs of “if only” regrets, here are three up-and-coming mountain communities to consider buying property in now.

Winter Park (Grand County)

Amenities: Beloved by Front Range skiers for its easy access (less than two hours north on I-70), the ski resort here is known for its moguls and powder. A sprawling Nordic ski center is located just outside of town. Down valley is Grand Lake with its traditional sailing regattas and famed west entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.

What’s Next? Intrawest, which recently took over operations of the 30-year-old resort from the City and County of Denver, will launch a major, 15-year makeover this spring. The goal, in part, is to tie the resort more closely to the town.

Housing: Countywide, condominium prices are up 137 percent since 2000 to an average median of $195,760 versus $82,500 five years ago. Single-family home prices are also up, about 10 percent, to $328,890 in the first eight months of last year, compared with $300,000 for all of 2000. Most observers look for prices to continue to climb as the resort is refined and demand for lodging increases. “We expect top properties such as the Trademark to potentially appreciate about 18 percent a year,” says Marilyn Anderson, a veteran broker with Black Diamond Real Estate and a 30-year area resident.

For additional information: Ski resort, skiwinterpark.com.

Pagosa Springs (Archuleta County)

Set in a southwestern Colorado river valley on the west side of the Continental Divide, the Pagosa Springs area has earned the surrounding county of Archuleta the title of second-fastest growing in the U.S. The population almost doubled between 1990 and 2000 to 9,898.

Amenities: The mineral-rich Great Pagosa Hot Springs have attracted people to the area for centuries. Today, kayaking and fly-fishing on the San Juan River, which runs right through town, is a big draw. There is also boating on nearby Navajo Lake and skiing at the Wolf Creek Ski Area, while golf is a popular warm-weather pastime.

What’s next? Plans are underway to build two new hot springs resorts on the San Juan River, with a luxury hotel and timeshare units on the drawing boards. A riverfront restoration project was recently completed, and the town is in the middle of its first downtown master plan to address the current and expected growth. Meanwhile, Red McCombs, the owner of the Minnesota Vikings, continues his years-long battle to build a resort development next to the ski area.

Housing: The potential attracted a California company that specializes in recreational properties. It recently bought all the vacant lots that it could get its hands on in a 1980s-era development north of town—about 300 in total, according to town manager Mark Garcia. After sitting empty in the aftermath of the Colorado oil bust of the mid-1980s, the 12 new subdivisions in Pagosa Lakes have been steadily filling. The average median price of a single-family home in the first eight months of 2005 was about $188,570, an increase of 24 percent from about $152,500 five years ago. Large, multi-million dollar luxury homes are also on the market. “It’s gone totally crazy,” says Garcia, a 12-year resident. “I wish I’d bought a lot more property than I did.”

For additional information: Pagosa Springs, townofpagosasprings.com. The weekly Pagosa Springs Sun newspaper, pagosasun.com. Pagosa’s online newspaper, The Pagosa Daily Post, pagosa.com.

Crested Butte (Gunnison County)

Amenities: An authentic Victorian mining town located at the end of a canyon, Crested Butte has always been known for its serious skiing but its growth has been somewhat stunted by its end-of-the-road location. Still, the area’s aspen-studded meadows, big mountain vistas and annual wildflower festival have attracted devoted fans who have maintained its laid-back sense of community, warmth and friendliness to newcomers.

What’s Next? New life has been breathed into the town and the ski resort, located two miles out of town, since the resort was bought in March 2004 by Tim and Diane Mueller, who elevated the struggling Okemo Mountain Resort in Vermont to one of the top ski resorts in the East. The family has already worked with developers to add new condominium properties. Last fall, 80 of those condos at the newly revived base area, in the range of $600,000 to $1 million each, were pre-sold in one day.

Housing: The Victorian architecture won Crested Butte designation as a National Historic District, which brought with it restrictions on growth. Increased demand has driven the average median condo price up 63 percent since 2000, and single-family home prices have grown even faster. The median price in the first eight months of last year was $320,685, up 76 percent from $182,500 in 2000. That trend is expected to continue as the area is thought to have considerable growth potential. “There are still good values here in relation to other so-called name brand resorts,” says Kray, a 12-year resident.

For additional information: Gunnison Crested Butte Tourism Office, gunnisoncrestedbutte.com. Crested Butte Mountain resort, cbliving.com, skicb.com.