A $300,000,000 Aspen Estate Is One of America’s Most Expensive Listings

Now offered for sale through Aspen Snowmass Sotheby's International Realty, the estate comes to market at $300 million, positioning Little Lake Lodge among the most expensive residential listings ever offered in the United States and setting a new reference point for Aspen’s ultra-prime tier.

Set across 74 acres of private land along the Roaring Fork River, Little Lake Lodge reads less like a single residence and more like a working alpine ranch—complete with internal trail systems, a private lake, river frontage, and multiple standalone homes arranged as a cohesive compound. Despite its seclusion, the estate sits just over a mile from downtown Aspen, reachable by foot, bike, or a short drive, placing it in a rare category of Aspen properties where land, privacy, and proximity coexist.

At the heart of the property, the 18,466-square-foot main lodge, also known as Little Lake Lodge, is positioned beside a private lake and framed by preserved native landscape. Across the grounds, four additional residential structures—including a modern riverside guesthouse and multiple alpine-inspired homes—bring the total built footprint to more than 27,000 square feet, with 18 bedrooms and over 20 bathrooms distributed across the estate.

Since its development in the 1990s, the property has functioned as a private hosting environment rather than a conventional retreat—designed to accommodate large gatherings with discretion and autonomy, a quality that has historically distinguished estates of this scale within Aspen’s upper tier.

Miles of internal trails, Roaring Fork River frontage, an 80-foot infinity-edge pool, winter-groomed cross-country ski loops, and year-round outdoor living areas reinforce the sense that this is a fully self-contained environment rather than a traditional Aspen home.

What truly separates the property from its peers, however, lies beyond what has already been built. Through decades of negotiated planning with Pitkin County, the owners secured fully approved rights for a future 19,750-square-foot secondary residence—far exceeding today’s permitted maximum house size in Aspen. Designed by Rowland + Broughton, the ready-to-build plans position the estate as a rare multigenerational compound at a scale that is no longer achievable under current zoning or land-use constraints.

The listing arrives at a moment when Aspen’s ultra-prime market continues to tighten rather than expand. Over the past decade, the town has seen sustained demand from UHNW buyers, limited new inventory, and increasingly restrictive development rules aimed at preserving open land and controlling mass. As a result, value has shifted away from new construction and toward assembled parcels, legacy entitlements, and proximity—particularly properties that combine acreage, privacy, and walkability to town.

Little Lake Lodge reflects that broader market evolution. While Aspen regularly trades homes in the $50 million to $100 million range, opportunities to acquire more than 70 contiguous acres with river frontage, public-land adjacency, and existing large-scale approvals are virtually nonexistent. The $300 million price point does not hinge solely on finishes or square footage, but on the closing of a chapter in Aspen’s development history—one where land, permissions, and time itself have become the scarcest commodities.

In a resort market defined by constraint, Little Lake Lodge stands as an extreme case study in how Aspen continues to grow not outward, but upward—quietly redefining the ceiling of American residential real estate in the process.

All photos belong to the listing agency.