Richmond Magazine...

WINTERGREEN & MORE:

FALLING FOR LIFE IN NELSON COUNTY

Every Richmonder knows Wintergreen Resort, thanks to its addictive winter white stuff, but what many may not know is that it’s actually a great place to be year-round. In fact, many Richmonders will be heading there this fall to enjoy their getaway home away from home.

Situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains and mostly in Nelson County,, Wintergreen has long-time Richmond connections tracing back to its beginnings. The late Jim Wheat of Wheat, First Securities fame, got the ball rolling way back in 1969, when he put together a group of investors to buy the land. Ironically, Wheat had originally learned of the property through a Richmond real estate broker, Don Faulkner.

While Wheat eventually sold to a successful Boston developer, Cabot, Cabot & Forbes (which went on to develop Wintergreen in the mid-70s), he maintained a financial and personal interest in the property throughout its early growth years. A further Richmond connection is that the idea for the ‘Wintergreen’ name came from Reeves Louthan, son of local businessman Frank Louthan.

The first Wintergreen real estate sale closed in 1974 and Richmonders have been heading there ever since. Of course, as with nearly every real estate development, there have been changes and challenges over the years. But the one constant has been the number of Richmonders headed west on I-64 to their home away from home throughout the year.

“We’ve served Richmonders since the beginning,” says Tim Hess, a partner at Wintergreen Real Estate Co. in Nellysford. “Each year, we help many people from Richmond get involved as new owners up here.”

RICHMONDERS LOVE WINTERGREEN

It’s easy to fall in love with Wintergreen and all of Nelson County anytime of year, but fall is especially lovable. That’s why Richmonders like Jim and Gwen Wamsley will be heading there often this season.

The Wamsleys are celebrating their 15th year of ownership at Wintergreen, where they have a wonderful home in the woods near the mountain golf course. “Wintergreen is the perfect distance from Richmond,” says Jim, an acclaimed travel writer who frequently writes for Architectural Digest and many others. “At under two hours, it’s far enough to feel you’ve gone somewhere, yet not too far to be tiresome.”

“We go up on winter evenings, build a roaring fire, and gaze at the lights of the Shenandoah Valley,” says Gwen, a retired school teacher. During the day, they play golf or go hiking, all the while admiring the colorful mountain scenery. “There’s always something to do,” Gwen continues. “With the resort’s increasing maturity, the offering of activities continues to grow.”

In the fall, the long list of available activities includes 45 holes of championship golf on the mountain and in the valley, tennis (also up top and down below), biking, hiking, varied programs through the Wintergreen Nature Foundation (including the Natural History Weekend September 13-15), the Wintergreen Performing Arts fall schedule (with a wide range of music amidst mountain views), the Fall Foliage Festival (October 19-20), and lots of possibilities (like mountain biking and boarding, a BMX course, rock climbing, and team-building) with Wintergreen’s Out of Bounds Adventure Center and Outdoor Wilderness Leadership Schools.

In addition, the Wamsleys say Wintergreen is an ideal base for exploring the rest of Nelson County, as well as Staunton, Lexington, and the rest of the Shenandoah Valley. The Wamsleys also use their Wintergreen home to welcome their children and grandchildren, who have all grown to love the resort as a second home as well.

Richmonders Dick and Margaret Prinstein just bought their Wintergreen condominium last December and they’re looking forward to their first fall visits this September. “We bought a condo, rather than land or a house, because we wanted to use it as a base to decide where and what kind of home we want,” says Dick, a technology director at Honeywell. “Ironically, we primarily bought at Wintergreen for the golf, but now we’re enjoying many more things.”

Along with lots of golf, the Prinsteins have already taken advantage of the skiing, wine and music festivals, and many other activities on and off the mountain. When asked what else he thinks Richmonders should know about buying at Wintergreen, Dick joked that he didn’t want anyone else in on the four-season secret (he did reveal that they worked with Wintergreen Real Estate’s Gary Horvath--about whom they raved).

The experience of Larry and Betsy Dinardo has been remarkably similar to the Prinsteins. They purchased a Wintergreen condominium right after Thanksgiving last year and they’re also looking forward to their first fall as owners. “We bought there because of the proximity to Richmond, all of the amenities and activities, and the friendliness of the residents and employees,” says Betsy, a stay-at-home mom who recently started pursuing a career in real estate (Larry is a physician at MCV). That seems to echo the sentiments of many Richmonders who have joined the Wintergreen (and Nelson County) club!

MEMBERS ONLY

Whether you buy a condominium, a house, or a lot, Wintergreen is a bit unusual on the second home front in that property owners on the mountain and in the valley own the resort. When you buy at Wintergreen, membership in Wintergreen Partners (WPI) is automatic. WPI owns and operates the ski slopes, golf courses, tennis courts, the Wintergarden Spa, restaurants, Stoney Creek recreation facilities, and property management operations. Property owners also become members of Wintergreen Property Owners Associations, which maintains roads, landscaping, and other common areas throughout the resort. Thus, owners have a vested interest in the entire resort, rather than just their own home.

WPI benefits include preferred reservations for golf, tennis, and dining, special lift lines and gated member parking during ski season, and reduced rates for Mountain Inn lodging and rental condominiums. Of course, fall brings leaf-peepers to the Blue Ridge Mountains in full force, but Wintergreen owners have an 11,000-acre ‘private’ viewing area (6,000 acres of the resort will always remain as undisturbed forest).

There’s a wide range of options at Wintergreen, including everything from condos for as little as $70,000 or so to lots with incredible views for more than $400,000 and huge houses hugging the million dollar range. As elsewhere with real estate, much of it comes down to location--and at Wintergreen, there are lots of great locations.

There are a total of about 1,550 lots at Wintergreen on the mountain and around 790 currently have homes, which means it’s about 50% ‘full.’ Of course, large lots and lots of woods and vistas will never make these mountains feel full at all. Down in the valley at Stoney Creek, there are about 910 lots (including backcountry), of which about 320 have homes, making it about one-third built out thusfar.

That means there’s room for many more Richmonders. “We never go a day without getting a call from someone in Richmond,” says Wintergreen Real Estate’s Laura Spivey.

FURTHER AFIELD

Naturally, you don’t have to be a member to enjoy the rest of Nelson County. While Wintergreen may be the area’s centerpiece, much more awaits those visiting this fall.

“Nelson County is wonderful any time of year, but fall is especially enjoyable,” says Helen Driver, president of the Nelson County Hospitality and Travel Association. The county’s excellent Visitor Center is located in Lovingston, where you can get information about events, attractions, specific driving tours, and much more.

Along with activities up at Wintergreen, highlights of any visit to Nelson County can include Walton’s Mountain Museum (a schoolhouse where Earl Hamner, Jr. got his inspiration for the TV series he created), various vineyards and apple orchards (wine tastings and apple harvest/butter festivals throughout September and October), formal gardens, clay pigeon shooting, and more at Oak Ridge Estate, and the State Fish Hatchery (typically featuring more than 170,000 newly hatched trout), but the fall makes driving, biking, and hiking tours especially popular on and off the county’s backroads and the famed Blue Ridge Parkway.

A driving or biking tour may also reveal other real estate opportunities in the county. Wintergreen doesn’t have a monopoly on great mountain property and the real estate firms mentioned below also have listings throughout the rest of Nelson County.

Thus, whether you already own somewhere in Nelson County or are getting ready to take the second home plunge familiar to many Richmonders, the fall season offers an ideal time to head to Wintergreen and the surrounding area.